VIDEO: BETA Technologies completes manned, full transition of its ALIA eVTOL aircraft in key industry milestone
BETA Technologies has completed a manned, full transition of its ALIA eVTOL aircraft, in what is a significant development for the company.
The announcement follows on from BETA receiving UL certification on its charge cube, and adds to a host of other milestones which includes a distance record for manned battery-powered flight and its production facilities.
Releasing more details today (Tuesday), BETA said in a statement:
“ALIA was piloted by Nate Moyer, who is BETA’s Test Pilot and a former Experimental Test Pilot of the U.S. Air Force. We’ve been progressing toward this technical milestone for a while. It’s a new flight regime, and we fly all our missions with a pilot in the seat, so we approached it the best way we know how: by respecting physics. Like everything we do at BETA, we took a methodical, step-by-step approach.
“Transition — and all of the incremental testing leading up to it — provides us with the data we need to validate our design decisions as we continue toward certifying A250. It also brings us one step closer to getting this technology into the market and into the hands of our customers to complete meaningful missions.
This runway independent aircraft will first be used by military, then cargo carriers, followed by passenger carrying operators. The simplicity significantly reduces maintenance and cost, increases reliability and safety all while flying with zero emissions.“
BETA has flown ALIA prototypes for more than four years, and has clocked more than 40,000 nautical miles in total across both aircraft.
In September 2023, BETA flew its ALIA CTOL aircraft across the international border into Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, marking the first time an all-electric aircraft had flown into Montreal.
This mission included stops at 20 airports; inaugural charges and groundbreaking ceremonies at first-in-state electric aircraft chargers; flights through Class B airspace in Boston and New York; and a flight through the D.C. Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) to land at Joint Base Andrews.
In January 2024, BETA concluded its first deployment with the U.S. Air Force, having conducted three months of experimental operations and training with the 413th Flight Test Squadron through the Agility Prime program.
Together, BETA and the 413th achieved mission assessments across flight operations, maintenance support, and infrared signature characterization. ALIA also participated in a simulated casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) scenario with the 41st Rescue Squadron, an active duty Air Force unit based out of Moody AFB in Georgia.
Following the deployment, BETA flew to the Savannah Air Dominance Center in Georgia, where the Air National Guard invited the company to operate alongside 350 airmen and women in an Agile Combat Employment (ACE) exercise.
ALIA integrated seamlessly into operations to do key resource transport, conduct casualty evacuation simulations, and conduct tactical resupply missions, while operating alongside six military-issued aircraft, and becoming the first electric aircraft to participate in this type of training.