Beta Technologies, which is a Vermont-based aerospace manufacturer, has completed the first New York City test flight of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi.
There are plans in place for the firm to have its air taxi in commercial use by 2026. It hopes to achieve this with partner brand Blade Air Mobility handling passenger bookings.
Two versions of its ALIA-250 EVA eVTOL aircraft are in existence. While one is for cargo, the other is for passengers. The passenger version will have room for six, and will cost approximately $4 million.
The ALIA-250 EVA has a range of 250 nautical miles and can recharge in as little as 50 minutes. Being fully electric, the ALIA-250 EVA makes around one-tenth as much noise as a traditional helicopter.
The company disclosed its future plans and details about the second multi-mission flight of its electric Alia aircraft, in an interview to verticalmag.com
Verticalmag.com reported that Beta has two prototypes that flight test regularly, one configured to VTOL and one to CTOL. The aircraft in this mission was the CTOL variant, though the company believes that data from both can be brought together for the VTOL mission. The company first successfully hovered the VTOL variant earlier in 2022 and said it is making strong progress with this aircraft.
