The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has entered into an expansive partnership with BETA Technologies to install the first ever electric aircraft charging station at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Initiated in 2020, this partnership has been instrumental in expediting the adoption of electric aviation within both the United States military and the broader commercial aviation sector. An illustrious milestone in this journey saw BETA Technologies being recognized as the foremost electric aircraft developer to secure an airworthiness certificate for manned flight from the military. Furthermore, they have conducted the sole piloted qualitative evaluation flights, featuring esteemed test pilots from the United States Air Force and Army.

This partnership, dedicated to evaluating the feasible mission capabilities and broad applicability of BETA’s electric aircraft and chargers, is set to persist with the forthcoming introduction of BETA’s ALIA aircraft to Eglin Air Force Base this autumn. Notably, BETA’s versatile and intermodal electric charger has demonstrated the remarkable capacity to recharge an electric aircraft in under an hour.

BETA originally was in pursuit of developing its eVTOL aircraft version, but recently decided to also certify a CTOL version, Alia, which will be delivered to Elgin Air Force Base. Meanwhile other eVTOL companies including Joby and Archer have also committed to delivering their respective air taxis to other Air Force bases near the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Related:

• UPS and BETA Technologies to test UAE electric flight deliveries
• Beta Technologies to Enhance Focus on Electric Aircraft Certification

Bearing conformity to the established standards jointly agreed upon by a substantial segment of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry, as delineated in the recent ‘Interoperability of Electric Charging Infrastructure’ whitepaper by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), BETA’s chargers exhibit the versatility to support an array of electric aircraft while also accommodating ground electric vehicles.

“The DoD, and specifically AFWERX’s Agility Prime team, have been invaluable partners to us for the past several years, offering deep insights that have helped us continue to progress our technology,” said Beta founder and CEO Kyle Clark. “The installation of this charger is an enabling step as the DOD looks to transition to a more sustainable fleet. We look forward to using it to charge our aircraft later this year during planned on-base experimentation with the Air Force at Duke Airfield.”

“Charging station installation is a critical step to unleash test and experimentation with the DoD to leverage emerging electric aviation technology as a capability for the warfighter,” said Maj Anthony Zartman, Agility Prime’s program manager and team lead. “Two charging test sites will be set up by the end of the calendar year, marking the first multimodal charging capabilities for the Air Force. Further, the charging stations will provide an opportunity to explore the utility of electric vehicle fleet modernization as well as base and flight line support equipment to improve energy use and reduce emissions.”

Why it’s important: This pioneering Level 3 DC fast-charging facility is poised to provide essential support for on-site electric vehicle experimentation, signifying the latest advancement in the enduring collaboration between BETA Technologies and the DoD through its esteemed AFWERX Agility Prime Program.

The United Arab Emirates has just granted the United Parcel Service (UPS) a license to test new cargo aircraft provided by the eVTOL manufacturer BETA.

BETA recently announced its intentions to Focus on Electric Aircraft Certification, an effort which relies on prioritizing the development of its electric conventional takeoff and landing aircraft (eCTOL). When UPS starts deploying and testing BETA’s vehicles in the UAE, it will use the CTOL model, called the CX300, before introducing the Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft.

“We’re accelerating our journey to decarbonize the future of flight and these aircraft will help us get there,” said Laura Lane, UPS EVP & Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer. “As a company, we’ve made a commitment to 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. And we’ve set clear goals to get there such as sourcing 30% of aviation fuel from sustainable sources by 2035.”

The two partners are employing the CX300 and Alia 250’s groundbreaking whisper-quiet capability to take off and land directly on UPS property. eVTOLs are an ideal solution for:

• Moving smaller package loads
• Reducing aircraft emissions
• Cutting time-in-transit
• Saving on operating costs

“These incredible aircraft serve as a foundation for future solutions to reduce emissions in our air and ground operations,” said Bala Subramanian, UPS EVP & Chief Digital and Technology Officer. “With the support from the UAE government, we’re excited to focus on innovations that meet the needs of our business, our customers and the environment.”

The license was signed by H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority, Bala Subramanian, and Blain Newton, Chief Operating Officer at BETA, and is part of the UAE government’s vision for 2023 as the ‘Year of Sustainability.’

UPS has a longstanding reputation for pursuing electric vehicles solutions for its logistics services. In 2021, UPS Flight Forward announced plans to purchase eVTOL aircraft to augment our air service, but UPS has been investing in, researching and driving electric vehicles since the 1930s.

Why it’s important: UPS is committed to the electrification of its fleet and has already deployed EV solutions throughout North America, Europe and Asia. This license will further its global reach of carbon footprint minimization as UPS 40% alternative fuel in ground operations by 2025.

Beta Technologies announced recently that they will enhance their focus on the development and certification of a conventional configuration electric aircraft. Beta is labeling the configuration as an eCTOL aircraft (electric conventional takeoff/landing).

The company has been flight testing a conventional fixed-wing version of its eVTOL prototype, which will now become the company’s certification candidate. The aircraft, called CX300, will generate lift from its wings rather than lifting propellers and has already generated orders from the cargo, medical, and defense sectors.

“We continue to progress our ALIA eVTOL design through certification, in harmony with the eCTOL program,” BETA Technologies Founder and CEO Kyle Clark said. “The two aircraft are common in their design, allowing us to economize validation of our high-performance solutions. With the eCTOL aircraft launch, we have further de-risked our path to commercialization and concurrently provide lower cost, more utility, and optionality to operators. This has given us the confidence to industrialize and invest heavily in production at scale over the last year.”

Beta intends to have the CX300 fully certified and ready for delivery by 2025. The company will continue development and certification efforts of its ALIA-250 eVTOL which will be closely based on the design of the CX300.

The company states that manufacturing will begin at the new South Burlington production facility this summer.

Why it matters: Amid regulatory churn and uncertainty over the future market demand and infrastructure required to support the eVTOL space, manufacturers like Beta are taking a middle ground on the innovation curve. By maintaining a conventional fixed wing configuration, operators can take fully advantage of the cost savings from the implantation of an electric aircraft for commercialization, while developers still pursue eVTOL models simultaneously. With planned certification only two years away, Beta has provided itself with a new road to market entry.

Source // Beta Technologies

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On Monday, May 30th, Beta Technologies’ all-electric Alia aircraft completed a 1,400-mile journey from Plattsburgh International Airport in eastern New York to Bentonville, Arkansas, making only seven charging stops along the way.

The full 1,400 mile journey of the Alia, which is an all-electric, VTOL aircraft capable of carrying four passengers plus a pilot, took place over seven days. Each approximate 200-mile leg of the journey was completed per day, with the aircraft using fixed wing mode to take-off and land. According to Beta’s CEO Kyle Clark, this journey was meant to prove that that the Alia can be used for more than just local flights, with the ability to repeatedly complete regional flights between major cities as well.

With regard to this series of flights, CEO Kyle Clark said, “I think that with this type of flight, at a very high level, we change the image of what electric aviation is. It’s not an aircraft that’s hopping within a city; it’s not flying test flights around a range, unmanned; it’s you put a couple pilots in it, you put some cargo in it, and you go halfway across the country.” 

Clark also mentioned that since the initial use case envisioned for the Alia will be cargo flights of about 150 miles each, these consecutive flights prove that the Alia can reliably make such journeys repeatedly.

Beta Tehchlogie’s Alia plugged into an electric vehicle charger in Springfield, Ohio

Why it’s important: While these seven flights of Beta Technologies’ Alia aircraft did not utilize the vertical take-off and landing capabilities of the aircraft, they were consecutive, with one high-range flight taking place each day, proving the reliability and range capabilities of the all-electric aircraft. Once the Beta Alia begins making these longer flights while also utilizing its vertical take-off and landing feature, Beta will have fully proven out the immense capabilities and potential of this aircraft.

LCI, a large and highly established aircraft leasing company, has placed an order for 50 of Beta Technologies’ all-electric ‘Alia’ eVTOL aircraft, with options to purchase up to 125 aircraft in total.

LCI is a major aircraft leasing company that offers helicopters and airliners to commercial aircraft operators. As a subsidiary of Libra Group, clients of LCI include British Airways, Air France, Singapore Airlines, and leading helicopter operators such as Babcock. The company was founded in 2004, initially only working with fixed wing aircraft, but made its first helicopter purchase in 2012 with a $400 million order from Leonardo. While the company has already taken over US$8 billion in transactions of fixed-wing and helicopter markets, the order of Beta Technologies Alia aircraft will be LCI’s first electric aircraft purchase.

Unlike traditional helicopters, Beta’s ‘Alia’ aircraft features a fixed wing and pusher propellor for forward flight, giving it the efficiency of an airplane combined with the vertical take-off and landing abilities of a helicopter. This efficient design allows the aircraft to travel up to 250 miles on a single all-electric charge, while having room for up to four passengers or 1400 lbs of cargo.

Other air transport stakeholders have also shown interest in the Alia, with Blade Urban Air Mobility placing an order for 20 aircraft, UPS placing an order for up to 150 aircraft, and United Therapeutics partnering with Beta for transplant organ transportation.

Said Jaspal Jandu, CEO of LCI: “We are embracing this new era of sustainable flight and BETA Technologies’ innovative approach makes them a natural and credible partner for LCI. We believe that the aircraft’s blend of rechargeable battery power, significant internal capacity, and plentiful range is an optimal one. We are confident it will be a popular choice for operators and end-users seeking to develop and augment their fleets with this truly sustainable technology.”

Kyle Clark, founder and CEO of Beta Technologies, commented: “As a leading aircraft lessor with an established global track record, LCI has a strong pulse on what operators are looking for. We are gratified by their confidence that the solutions we’re building will answer the need for next generation, zero-emission electric aircraft. We are excited to partner with LCI and push adoption of this solution forward within the industry.”

Why it’s important: As one of the largest aircraft leasing companies in the world, LCI has signaled its belief that the eVTOL could soon augment or even replace segments of traditional helicopter business. This purchase from such a large financial stakeholder in helicopter aviation indicates that LCI believes that there are very real and lucrative use cases for eVTOL, and that companies who invest early in eVTOL will be much better positioned for the future of aviation services.

Source // LCI, Helicopter Investor, Aero Mag

After receiving a Military Flight Release (MFR) and airworthiness approval from the U.S Air Force in May of last year, Beta Technologies’ Alia aircraft has now taken its first military crewed demonstration flight, which was flown by two Air Force test pilots over two hours of total flight time across Lake Champlain.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not allow experimental aircraft to fly from their base airport to another airport until they have undergone rigorous testing to prove their safety in doing so. Marking a major step for Beta Technologies, this latest military crewed flight of the aircraft departed from the company’s primary test location in Plattsburgh, New York, to fly across Lake Champlain to the company’s headquarters in nearby Burlington, Vermont; a distance of about 35 miles. Each pilot took a turn flying the aircraft for around one hour each, after studying the flight characteristics through Beta Technologies’ flight simulators.

Said Hank Griffith’s, one of the pilots of the Alia, “Today’s USAF qualitative evaluation flight is the first of many that we will be doing with Beta Technologies and our other Agility Prime vendors. In addition to accelerating these companies’ path to FAA type certification by providing access to USAF engineering expertise and test infrastructure, we are also evaluating these prototypes for opportunities to utilize them for unique military missions. We need government pilots to accomplish these evaluations, and this is the first step in developing the training and experimentation plans to do so.”

Beta Technologies is one of the top growing eVTOL aircraft developers in the U.S, among others such as Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. The latest version of its aircraft, The Alia, will be able to cruise at speeds up to 170mph, with a flight ranges of over 200 miles. In addition to its growing partnership with the U.S Air Force, the company has also recently raised over $368 million from companies like Amazon and Fidelity, with a total valuation of about $1.4 billion.

Why It’s Important: With its growing partnership with the U.S Air Force, and its impressive progress along the path to certification, Beta Technologies is set to be one the first and most prominent eVTOL makers to bring their aircraft to market in the United States. Based in Burlington, Vermont, the company has been in operation since 2017, has already installed over 60 charging sites throughout the U.S, has raised over $350 million, and plans to begin commercial operations by 2024. This latest test flight shows that the company and its aircraft is quickly moving forward on the path to commercial operations, and has gained the safety confidence it needs to begin administering crewed flights to outside organizations.

Related:

• Beta’s Alia eVTOL Completes 200+ Mile Flight Test
• Beta Technologies Secures Partnership with US Army
• Beta Raises $368 Million in Funding Round Led by Amazon, Fidelity

Beta Technologies has landed a massive contract from the US Army to support the company’s flight test development and certification efforts.

Beta Technologies, the Vermont-based eVTOL firm, has been developing its Alia prototype in hopes to use a partnership with the Army to evaluate mission capability and requirements. Engineers from both organizations will now study range, altitude, endurance, and payload limitations.

Beta’s Alia currently sports a 250nm range and payload capacity to support a pilot and four passengers. Last year, it demonstrated a 205nm mission at altitudes up to 8,000 ft.

With this partnership both parties will benefit as the Army can test missions involving eVTOL aircraft while Beta will receive support accelerating its flight test program.

“This partnership with the Army marks another important step in the military’s commitment to advancing and adopting sustainable electric aviation solutions,” said Beta founder and CEO Kyle Clark in a statement. “We’re gratified by the continued support of the sector, and this allows us to accelerate our development of Alia as an incredibly safe and reliable logistics aircraft for both military and civil applications.”

The partnership isn’t Beta Technologies’ first foray into the defense sector. In 2020, it joined the US Air Force’s AFWERX Agility Prime program which included designs from across the globe and a variety of institutions and firms.

Why it matters: Beta Technologies has secured another key partner in realizing its eVTOL vision. The Army joins the likes of UPS and BLADE Urban Air mobility who have also shown interest in Alia over the past several years. The company is aiming for aircraft certification in 2024 and entry into service shortly thereafter.

Beta Technologies, an innovative Vermont-based eVTOL developer, has recently become one of the first eVTOL companies to ever receive a MFR (Military Flight Release) from the United States Air Force. This marks one of the first ever such approvals for a vertical flight electric aircraft.

Capable of both fixed-wing forward flight and vertical take-off, BETA’s ‘Alia’ aircraft weighs in at arounnd 7,000lbs, and can carry at least four passengers plus a pilot. The aircraft will remain semi-autonomous during initial operations, but will have full-autonomous capabilities. BETA expects the Alia to go into operation within the next five years, and has already inked partnerships with both BLADE Urban Air Mobility and UPS.

The MFR from the Air Force will now allow Beta to perform flight tests in collaboration with the Air Force with a pilot on board. For now, the MFR is allowing these tests only for fixed-wing forward flight mode of the aircraft, rather than for vertical flights as well. After an early series of tethered hover tests, Beta has been flying Alia with its overhead lifting propellers removed while it tests the aircraft’s fixed-wing handling abilities and characteristics. The company plans to return to hover testing in the near future, and expects its work with the Air Force to eventually fully test Alia’s vertical capabilities and complete flight envelope as well.

With this announcement, Beta becomes competitive with Joby Aviation, which was the very first eVTOL aircraft to receive an MFR through the U.S Air Force’s Agility Prime initiative. Both companies have received approval from the FAA for piloted flight tests, but Joby only received it from the USAF for unmanned flight tests, whereas Beta’s are now for piloted tests.

The Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype

Why it’s important: Beta Technologies has now inked deals with both UPS and BLADE urban air mobility. Now that is has approval for manned flight tests from the Air Force, it will become one of the first US-based eVTOLs to fly manned. Although Joby has recently taken much of the limelight through its partnerships with Agility Prime and massive fundraising, Beta has well earned a spot competing with it, and should be watched closely as it develops further.