Heart Aerospace has again delayed the first flight of its HX-1 all-electric demonstrator, with the milestone now having slipped into early 2026.
At the unveiling of the HX-1 in September 2024, Heart, then based in Sweden, had planned for the maiden sortie to take place in the second quarter of 2025.
But announcing the closure of its Swedish operation and a move to California in April this year, the developer revised that timeline and said the HX-1 would not take to the skies before the final quarter of 2025.
At the time, it blamed the delay on a need to rebuild the HX-1’s wing due to issues discovered with the composite material used.
However, in a video extolling the virtues of its product development strategy over a traditional aerospace industry approach, Heart founder and chief executive Anders Forslund says the maiden sortie will now take place “early next year”.
No reason for the latest slippage has been disclosed, and Heart did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the timeline disclosed in April, the new wing was to arrive in September at its flight-test centre at Plattsburgh International airport in upstate New York.
Heart selected Plattsburgh in November 2024 as its flight-test base, requiring the HX-1, which had been assembled in Sweden, to be dismantled and shipped to the USA.
It is also unclear if the new delay will have an impact on the HX-2, a pre-production prototype that is meant to fly in 2026.
In April, Forslund admitted the slippage would have a minor effect on the HX-2’s schedule but pointed to the parallel development of both aircraft.
Heart intends to build the HX-2 at a new “pilot factory” it will establish at its headquarters in El Segundo, California.
Heart is ultimately developing the ES-30, a hybrid-electric regional airliner capable of carrying 30 people on routes of up to 108nm (200km) operating solely on its batteries, or 25 passengers up to 431nm using hybrid power.
Certification and service entry are presently slated for 2029.
