Potez builds expertise in doors with Eviation's Alice

The first set of passenger access doors, baggage doors and emergency doors for the all-electric Alice are due for delivery in the first quarter of next year. They will be lightweight carbon fibre.

Eviation Aircraft has selected Potez Aeronautique to design and develop the doors of Alice, the first all-electric regional aircraft.

This is the first door design and build contract consisting of carbon fibre for Potez, and comes just as the company has acquired a production facility specialising in composite materials for aerostructures and aircraft cabin components, now operating as Potez Composites.

The contract, which started in July, sets in motion the collaboration between Potez Aeronautique and Eviation to supply a set of main passenger access doors, baggage doors and emergency doors. These doors will be due for delivery in the first quarter of 2021, ahead of the Alic'se first flight. This new program reinforces Potez's declared mission to become a world-class manufacturer of complex aerostructure assemblies and one of the world’s leading and established specialists in design and build work packages for aircraft doors.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity and challenge for Potez as we are tasked with developing and producing aircraft doors within a timescale never achieved before,” says Antoine Potez, Potez Aeronautique’s CEO. “As innovation is a part of our very DNA, it is an honour and pleasure for our organization to contribute to Eviation’s success and to be a part of developing the aircraft of tomorrow.”

“We selected Potez Aeronautique from a very competitive pool of companies because of their excellent design, expertise, talented individuals and passion for taking on a challenge in the name of innovation,” says Omer Bar- Yohay, co-founder and CEO of Eviation. “These doors will be created with the best of lightweight carbon fibre materials, paving the way in how we build and design aircraft as we know it.”