On Tuesday, Blade Air Mobility announced the successful completion of a historic test flight of BETA’s ALIA-250 EVA, an electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York. This was the first demonstration of an eVTOL in the greater New York City region and is a crucial step to enable the rapid introduction of this new technology in big urban cities.

An achievement

Rob Wiesenthal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Blade, said that the flight was a historic moment for the company and the urban air mobility industry. He said this demonstration is a significant milestone in Blade’s transition from helicopters to electric vertical aircraft.

Partnering with BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company developing eVTOLs has granted Blade access to an aircraft with the requisite range, capacity, and noise profile for use in its key markets, including its home base in New York City. “We are confident EVAs will be a game-changer both for our company and New York City’s transportation system once certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” Wiesenthal added.

BETA’S eVTOL

BETA Technologies is an electric aerospace company. It has developed the ALIA-250 model both for cargo and passenger operations. This eVTOL is powered by an all-electric propulsion system. Its noise profile is 1/10th the sound decibel level of conventional helicopters, which makes it ideal for use in urban areas, according to Blade. The aircraft can fly up to six passengers.

In April 2021, Blade announced the purchase of up to 20 ALIA-250 aircraft in a passenger configuration. Blade intends to deploy these eVTOLs on routes between its network of dedicated terminals in the United States and agreed to provide and install charging infrastructure at specific key locations.

Kyle Clark, BETA’s Founder and CEO, said that Blade is flying passengers in urban markets all over the world, and developing eVTOL technology is another step forward.

In the last three years, BETA has held test pilots and partnered with the FAA and the National Institute for Aviation Research to conduct several tests which will help to advance the industry’s path to safety standards and certification.

The eVTOL race

Many companies globally are currently developing technologies and eVTOL aircraft to serve the future Advanced Air Mobility, also known as the new era of aviation. There are companies worldwide such as Archer Aviation (making a five-seat eVTOL for United Airlines), Joby Aviation (working with NASA and securing investments from Delta Air Lines), Lilium (which has secured orders from many customers, including Brazil’s Azul, which is worth US$1 billion), and Vertical Aerospace (leading the sales race with conditional orders for over 1,400 aircraft, and a pre-order book valued at around US$5.6 billion).

Simultaneously, aviation regulators globally have been developing rules and certification processes to maintain high levels of safety in the skies. According to NASA, there will be as many as 500 million flights a year for package delivery services and 750 million flights a year for air metro services by 2030.

Are you excited about the development of eVTOL technologies globally? Let us know in the comments below.