The FAA on Tuesday said prototype hybrid-electric aircraft recently began a series of demonstration flights in Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that are expected to continue for three years.
Manassas, Virginia-based Electra, which conducted the flights using its EL2 Goldfinch demonstrator, said it connected Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL) to four small airports across the three states. The EL2 flew into Washington Manassas Airport (KHEF) in Virginia, Millville Executive Airport (KMIV) in New Jersey, and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (KPNE) in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday, the Goldfinch touched down at Atlantic City Bader Field (KAIY) in New Jersey, where Charles Lindbergh landed after his transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927.
“Nearly a century later, Bader Field is once again helping us demonstrate what’s possible in aviation,” Electra wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Per the FAA, the flights, conducted in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), are intended to test future hybrid-electric routes. The EL2 is Electra’s demonstrator for its flagship, nine-passenger EL9 Ultra Short.
Electra on LinkedIn said the activities will show how “general aviation airports, parking lots, and other convenient locations” can serve as “access points” for direct aviation—the company’s philosophy of flying people from where they are directly to where they want to go by eliminating airport chokepoints. Access points could also include rooftops, fields, barges, malls, casinos, or ski resorts.
Electra believes the EL9 can unlock these sites due to its 150-foot ground roll requirement, achieved using a unique blown-lift propulsion system that enables takeoffs at about 30 knots. It estimates that, compared to driving, travelers could save an hour or more on over 2,600 EL9 routes that span 50 to 265 miles and lack commercial air service within 40 miles of the origin or destination.
“For Atlantic City, that could mean direct flights to destinations like New York City and Washington, D.C.…making the region more accessible for tourism and business,” Electra said.
More to Come
PennDOT is one of eight lead participants for the FAA’s eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). It is leading a consortium of states and manufacturers including Electra.
Per the FAA, the eIPP “creates one of the nation’s largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft.” Data collected from the activities will be shared with the regulator to guide future operational requirements and study different use cases, from passenger transport to emergency response.
Spanning three years and 26 states, the eIPP will see electric, autonomous, and other novel aircraft technologies operate at airports. By its conclusion, participants believe the FAA may even permit passenger operations for revenue.
“They’re giving us an operational context now to show what our aircraft can do,” Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, told FLYING earlier this year.
For example, revenue-generating activities could help Electra determine future ticket prices. The company has not shared specific pricing but claims the EL9 will operate at one-third the cost of helicopters or eVTOL air taxis.
Over the course of the three-year campaign, Electra hopes to transition from the Goldfinch to the EL9. Working with PennDOT, it plans to demonstrate 50-to-500-mile links between Atlantic City and airports such as Philadelphia International.
Electra will also demonstrate a proposed New York City–New Jersey route with infrastructure partners Signature Aviation and Vertiports by Atlantic. The plan is to use existing helicopter infrastructure rather than build a dedicated vertiport with electric charging, since the EL9 is designed to recharge its batteries while flying.
“It’s an extraordinary opportunity to do things people had thought about before, like taking an airplane from the parking lot next door to an Atlantic City casino and flying it directly into one of the major airports in the neighborhood,” Allen said. “Or flying it into the vertiport at the south end of Manhattan, down by Wall Street.”
Electra is further working with the Florida Department of Transportation and supporting a Louisiana-led eIPP project in partnership with Bristow Group.
Beta Technologies’ Alia CX300 conducted the first eIPP activities in July, delivering organs in Maryland and Virginia. Herman Cueto, its chief technology officer, said last week that Beta will begin operations in Texas and Louisiana in the “next four to six weeks.”
Ampaire and the Utah Department of Transportation began the second eIPP project earlier this month, conducting hybrid-electric flights between California and Utah using the company’s hybrid-electric EEL, a modified Cessna Skymaster.
Joby Aviation plans to develop vertiport sites in Florida, New York, and Texas ahead of its planned terminal area activities in those states. It also anticipates autonomous flight operations in Utah and North Carolina.
Archer Aviation earlier this month conducted the first intercity flight of its Midnight eVTOL, which CEO Adam Goldstein said will serve as a “template” for its eIPP activities in New York, Florida, and Texas.
Other key states expected to host eIPP flights include New Mexico, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Alaska.
