Electric aircraft: what do you actually certify?

Before buying or preparing to operate an electric aircraft, distinguish a test flight, approval of the model and records for the aircraft delivered. A flying demonstrator does not establish that a production aircraft is ready to carry your passengers.

Type certification concerns a design. Continuing airworthiness then means keeping each aircraft safe to fly under the applicable requirements. These stages need different evidence. Heart Aerospace’s X1 programme illustrates the distinction.

What Heart announced, and what it establishes

In its 13 August 2026 announcement, Heart reports a 27-minute flight by its X1 demonstrator the previous day at Plattsburgh. The manufacturer says the aircraft flew on batteries under a US special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category. We are reporting that announcement, not independently verifying the test campaign.

The X1 supports development of the ES-30, a 30-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft: its propulsion combines electrical energy and energy from fuel. The product page checked on 12 September 2026 advertises 200 km of all-electric range, 800 km in hybrid mode and a 30-minute charge. These are manufacturer figures to check against the intended mission, reserves and operating conditions.

Heart targets FAA Part 25 certification, the US transport-aircraft standard. Its announcement schedules first pre-production flight testing for 2028 and entry into service for 2031. These dates are programme objectives. A flight announcement or commercial target establishes neither a type certificate nor authorisation for your future operation.

How certification addresses a new propulsion system

Certification rules depend on aircraft type. Applying Part 25 to every electric aircraft would therefore be misleading. A smaller precedent exists: EASA announced certification of the Pipistrel Velis Electro on 10 June 2020, a two-seat aircraft intended mainly for training.

When existing rules do not adequately cover a novel feature, the authority can supplement the certification basis with special conditions. These are additional design safety requirements. In Europe, SC E-19 addresses electric and hybrid propulsion systems.

Means of compliance describe methods of showing that those requirements are met. On 12 September 2026, EASA’s page lists “Endurance and Durability Demonstration (A)” and “Calibration Assurance” as final publications. Consultations on “Safety Assessment” and “Overspeed and Containment Demonstration” are closed, with final publication still pending. That does not mean SC E-19 itself remains under consultation.

For European operation of a future US-approved type, establish the model’s European approval status and applicable conditions. The EU–US bilateral framework organises cooperation between authorities; an FAA announcement alone does not establish European authorisation.

Electric aircraft records already have a regulatory framework

Regulation 2025/111, applicable since 13 February 2026, already adapts Regulation 1321/2014 for electric, hybrid and non-conventional aircraft. EASA Decision 2026/002/R supports it with compliance methods and guidance.

A CAMO, a continuing airworthiness management organisation, must start with the regime applicable to the aircraft and its use. Instructions for continued airworthiness, commonly called ICA, specify type-specific tasks and data. A proposed list of fields for a future aircraft cannot replace those documents.

When preparing a discussion with the manufacturer or maintenance organisation, we recommend identifying:

• Installed equipment: the pack’s part and serial numbers, installation or removal dates, and documentation establishing compatibility.
• The limit being monitored: document reference, unit, measurement method and information required to determine when action is due. We propose no universal battery-health threshold here.
• Relevant software: the battery management system, or BMS, version and documentation required for applicable changes.
• Access to evidence: who supplies the data, a usable format, expected frequency and retention when providers change.

Maintenance tasks and staff competence require separate checks. Electrical safety training should not be confused with the complete set of licences, qualifications and authorisations required to work on the type.

Fictional case: preparing an order without inventing the future records

An airline is considering a hybrid aircraft. It receives a brochure and an example screen displaying battery health. Its records manager asks what the indicator refers to: which pack, date, method and published limit?

The manufacturer supplies draft instructions and explains that some data remain under definition. The team retains this revision as a planning document. It records open questions, their recipients and the evidence needed to close them. It does not turn the draft into an approved maintenance programme.

Before acceptance, the team must compare its preparations with the documentation actually applicable. Missing history calls for a specific assessment of the consequences; it does not, by itself, establish that a battery cannot be sold or an aircraft is unfit to fly.

The useful next action is to request this first set of references. Our mixed-fleet records guide then explains how to manage them alongside records for aircraft already in operation.