Vermont’s BETA Technologies has received federal permission to take prospective customers along in its aircraft that can lift off and land vertically.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced October 21 that it had authorized market-survey flights in BETA’s ALIA A250. The agency describes it as the first such authorization for an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
A first flight into Burlington
BETA says its first flight under the new authorization took place October 20. The A250 lifted off vertically from Plattsburgh International Airport in New York, transitioned to flying on its wings, and landed vertically at Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport. The company reports a trip of 34 nautical miles in 20 minutes.
A chance to try before buying
For a business considering the aircraft, the new permission offers a way to experience it in flight and assess how it could fit into an operation.
“Operators can now experience the VTOL firsthand and begin planning how it fits into their businesses,” BETA founder and chief executive Kyle Clark said in the company’s announcement.
The A250 is the all-electric model that uses four lift motors for vertical takeoff and landing, with a separate motor for forward propulsion. BETA also makes a conventional model that uses a runway; that aircraft already had market-survey authorization. The distinction matters because the new approval extends customer demonstrations to the vertical-flight model.
What the FAA permission covers
“Market surveys” is an authorized purpose under the FAA’s experimental airworthiness framework and includes sales demonstrations and customer crew training.
That permission lets BETA demonstrate the aircraft while it continues working toward full type certification and commercial operations.
Demonstration flights remain subject to FAA operating limitations. Federal rules also require occupants to be told that the aircraft is experimental, and allow the agency to impose additional limits on who may be carried.
What happens next
BETA can now arrange customer demonstrations within the FAA’s limits. Its October 21 announcement provides no schedule or departure locations for those rides, and no launch date for regular passenger service. For now, the new permission gives prospective operators a chance to experience the vertical-flight model as the company continues its certification work.