Heart Aerospace redesigns regional aircraft again as ES-36

Heart Aerospace has redesigned its regional aircraft again, replacing the ES-30 with a model called the ES-36. The manufacturer says it now seats 36, up from 30.

The propulsion layout changed most. The ES-36 has two nacelles instead of four, each with a 1.65-megawatt electric motor driving a propeller. Turboprops are gone from the design, the company said.

Turbogenerators that Heart had discarded are back. Gas turbines drive generators that supply electricity to the electric motors in flight. Range on kerosene is up to 1,200 kilometres; on battery power alone it is about 200 kilometres.

Heart says payload rises by 20 percent even though take-off weight and battery capacity are unchanged. Wingspan shrinks to just under 29 metres. The simpler propulsion system should cut maintenance costs, according to the manufacturer. A first flight is planned for 2028.

The programme has been reworked several times. It began in 2020 as the ES-19, a 19-seat design. Two years later it became the ES-30, a 30-seat aircraft with four electric motors drawing power from a large battery bay under the fuselage and two turbogenerators at the rear as a reserve. In 2024, Heart replaced two of the four electric motors with turboprops and removed the battery bay and turbogenerators.

The company was originally Swedish and is now based in Los Angeles.