BETA Technologies, which has recently been testing its all-electric aircraft with the Air Force, has taken another step forward with the first test flight of the production version of its ALIA eCTOL, Electrek reports.
"CTOL," short for "conventional take-off and landing," refers to an aircraft that takes off using a runway, as opposed to lifting off straight upward like a helicopter. The ALIA eCTOL is a fixed-wing airplane, unlike its cousin, BETA's ALIA-250, which was recently renamed the ALIA VTOL ("vertical take-off and landing").
Over tens of thousands of test flights of the ALIA eCTOL's prototype, BETA has drawn closer to Federal Aviation Administration certification.
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The plane is expected to begin commercial operation in 2025, Electrek reported. In preparation, BETA has constructed its first production building in South Burlington, Vermont, and completed the first production model of the aircraft.
After inspecting the plane, the FAA provided a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training. In other words, the ALIA eCTOL's production model is now certified for test flights with the FAA's approval.
BETA founder, CEO, and test pilot Kyle Clark completed the recent first test flight, Electrek revealed. Clark conducted the flight on Nov. 13. It consisted of a runway takeoff, a climb to 7,000 feet, and several tests of handling and stability. After a few practice approaches to the runway, Clark touched down after just under an hour of flight time.
In addition to sharing images of the flight, BETA released a video of the test on YouTube.
After the successful flight, Clark made a statement, saying: "This start of our production CX300 flight test campaign is a result of years of hard work and focus on studying customer requirements, hard engineering, manufacturing, production, quality and test. It represents a significant milestone for BETA, and is the beginning of an exciting new phase for the business. With this, we're one step closer to putting this technology into the hands of our customers," per Electrek.
Commenters on the YouTube video were impressed. "Exciting and beautiful!" one user said. "Electric cars are great, but electric planes are amazing!"
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