The company believes these were the first such deployments for an electric aircraft with major commands of the Air Force.

The on-base and cross-country missions with the Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC) included daylong and even multiday exercises. Beta characterized them as “real-world” missions that were conducted at the behest of the ACC and AMC, with a little help from AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm with which the manufacturer has worked since 2019.

The goal of these flights was to see how Beta’s Alia, a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) design, could support defense use cases such as resupply, cargo delivery, and personnel transport, including during combat. The aircraft seats up to five passengers and has a range of 250 nm.

Alia took off from Beta’s headquarters at Burlington International Airport (KBTV) in Vermont and embarked on a series of cross-country flights before arriving at the Air National Guard’s Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Alpena, Michigan. There, with the ACC, the aircraft completed a four-day exercise.

Over the course of 24 flight hours, Alia moved more than 2,200 pounds of cargo—including 500 pounds at a time—delivered meals and equipment, simulated a medical evacuation between two bases, and filled in for a Lockheed C-130 Hercules that had a scheduled airlift canceled.

“We can be ready to take off in a matter of minutes, and the battery has a low center of gravity, which is not affected by the way you load the cargo,” said Ross Elkort, flight test engineer for Beta.

The next stop for Alia was Springfield, Ohio, where a pilot for UPS Flight Forward completed a ground school program, simulator training, and evaluation flight. Flight Forward in 2021 placed an order for the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) variant of Alia.

After that came a simulation of planned Alia routes in Virginia and a joint demonstration at Atlantic City International Airport (KACY) in New Jersey alongside the FAA, AMC, and others.

The AMC helped finish out the campaign with a series of flights between Dover Air Force Base in Delaware (KDOV) and McGuire Air Force Base (KWRI) in New Jersey, which are considered key hubs for military logistics. During a daylong exercise, AMC pilots flew Alia five times, delivering multi-hundred-pound payloads and slashing delivery times by more than half.

“It brings key innovation to the mission. It’s going to make things faster and simpler,” said Alyxandra Scalone of the Air Force’s 305th Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. “Dover (AFB) is about two and a half hours away from us. Today’s flight only took 45 minutes.”

Over the course of the monthlong campaign, Beta said it deployed Alia with a 100 percent success rate.

Beta has worked with AFWERX through its Agility Prime division, which focuses on vertical lift technologies, since 2020.

Beta last year installed the first electric aircraft charger at a Department of Defense site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The Alia eVTOL in 2021 became the first electric aircraft to receive military airworthiness approval for human flight.

The CTOL, meanwhile, was responsible for the first airman flight of electric aircraft and was the first of its kind to complete an Air Force deployment: a three-month campaign at Eglin’s Duke Field (KEGI) and Robins Air Force Base (KWRB) in Georgia.

From October to January, it completed what Beta claims to be the first simulated casualty evacuation and first live military exercise with an electric aircraft. The latter saw Alia fly alongside 350 airmen, demonstrating how the aircraft could integrate with existing military operations.

Meanwhile, in April, the Alia eVOL completed its first crewed transition from hover to forward flight, a key stage in that model’s development. The vertical lift version of Alia has received less attention than its counterpart, but AFWERX has shown interest in the configuration, working with eVTOL manufacturers such as Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation.

If all goes according to plan, the CTOL version of Alia will hit the market in 2025, followed by the eVTOL in 2026. The aim, however, is for the military to get its hands on the aircraft first.

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Helijet International Inc. on Tuesday announced that it placed firm orders for Beta Technologies’ Alia-250 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi, becoming the first Canadian air carrier to purchase such a design. Helijet, Beta’s first commercial customer in Canada, also expects to be the first air carrier to offer eVTOL passenger and cargo services in the country.

The British Columbia-based firm claims to be the largest and longest-standing helicopter airline in North America. As far as scheduled passenger helicopter airlines go, Helijet and New York City-based Blade Urban Air Mobility are the only major regional players. In 2021, Blade partnered with Helijet’s booking platform to expand into Canada.

Once Beta’s Alia is certified and delivered, Helijet plans to add the aircraft to its existing fleet, which is composed of Eurocopter AS350 B2s, Sikorsky S76s, Learjet 31As, and Pilatus PC-12s.

How Helijet Will Deploy Alia

Though there are similarities between helicopters and eVTOL designs—the most obvious being the ability to take off and land vertically—Alia doesn’t quite match the performance of the aforementioned models. Its 50-foot wingspan is similar. But its 250 nm range and 100 knot cruise speed are more restrictive. However, Beta’s design is expected to be 90 percent quieter than comparable helicopters.

Alia will be integrated into Helijet’s passenger transport operations in southwest British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, offering sustainable, quiet flights for a pilot and up to five passengers at a time. Beta and Helijet claim these trips will cost less than current helicopter flights, making them particularly valuable to rural or remote communities lacking convenient air services.

The eVTOL aircraft are also expected to bolster Helijet’s emergency response, air ambulance, and organ transfer services in Canada’s Lower Mainland region.

Over the past two years, the helicopter airline has shortlisted three eVTOL manufacturers building aircraft designed to fit into advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystems. Though Beta will be its first supplier, the company will continue to evaluate orders for other nominated designs.

Helijet selected Alia in part due to Beta’s plan to certify the aircraft for IFR operations. The firm is also interested in growing its industrial base in Canada, where Beta in March opened an engineering and research and development hub at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (CYUL).

Beta also has a partnership with Canada’s CAE, a large training OEM and provider of flight simulators, to develop pilot and maintenance technician training programs for Alia. Rival eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation has a similar agreement.

“With its mature air travel market demographic and existing challenges for conventional transportation between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, southern B.C. provides an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the commercial viability and environmental sustainability of AAM in B.C. and Canada,” said JR Hammond, executive director of Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM), the country’s national AAM consortium, of which Helijet is a founding member.

Citing a 2020 white paper from Nexa Advisors, another member of the CAAM consortium, Helijet and Beta estimate that, over the next 15 to 20 years, the Greater Vancouver area has the potential to serve 4.2 million passengers using eVTOL aircraft. That could translate to about $1.5 billion (2.1 million Canadian dollars) in new AAM business activity.

To support those aims, Helijet is leading the development of a commercial vertiport at its downtown Vancouver waterfront heliport. The site is planned to be an intermodal transportation hub, connecting AAM passengers with road, marine, air, and rail access throughout the region.

“This provincial government recognizes the potential of advanced air mobility to decarbonize the aviation sector, improve regional connectivity, improve emergency response times and introduce new manufacturing opportunities in our province,” said British Columbia Premier David Eby, who attended the announcement of the deal at Helijet’s Victoria Harbour Heliport (CBF7).

Alia’s Flight Path

Per Tuesday’s announcement, Alia is in “advanced flight standards development” and on track for commercial certification in 2026, one year after Beta’s eCTOL (electric conventional takeoff and landing) variant is expected to be approved. Shortly after, it will be available for private and commercial service.

Beta so far has conducted eVTOL evaluation flights with the FAA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army. The aircraft has completed multiple thousand-mile-plus jaunts across the U.S., the most recent of which saw it travel more than 1,500 nm across 12 states en route to Duke Field (KEGI), a military airport at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base. Beta also delivered an electric aircraft charging station to Eglin in September, the first to arrive on an Air Force base.

Alia’s flight from the company’s home field in Plattsburgh, New York, to Eglin represented Beta’s first eVTOL delivery to a contracted partner. Just weeks earlier, the firm’s eCTOL completed a cross-border flight from Plattsburgh to Montreal, marking the first time a battery-utilizing electric aircraft landed in the city.

“Between our growing engineering hub in Montreal, our first cross-border flight to the region earlier this year, and the support we’ve received from the government and regulators across Canada, we look forward to continuing to grow our presence in the country,” said Kyle Clark, founder and CEO of Beta.

In addition to Helijet, Beta has Alia purchase orders from UPS, Blade, Bristow Group, LCI Aviation, United Therapeutics, and Air New Zealand, and the aircraft are expected to fulfill a variety of use cases. However, Beta plans to target cargo and medical delivery and military and defense missions before transporting passengers, per Tuesday’s announcement.

Earlier this month, the company opened a 188,500-square-foot final assembly plant at Vermont’s Burlington International Airport (KBTV), which it says is the first such operational facility for electric aircraft in the U.S. Beta also claims the site is the largest net-zero manufacturing plant east of the Mississippi River.

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A2Z Drone Delivery’s latest model is an exception. The company this week unveiled a revamped, second-generation version of its classic RDST design, the Longtail. Available in standard and premium configurations, the drone comes with expanded range, a factory-integrated autonomous delivery system, and—most importantly—the ability to cut through rain.

“Many of the upgrades included in this second generation RDST have been made in response to customer feedback on capabilities they need to deploy for missions in inclement weather, and the platform has proven robust during testing in rain conditions,” said Aaron Zhang, founder and CEO of A2Z.

The redesigned Longtail is an off-the-shelf, ready-to-fly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built for last-mile delivery. Billed as a “heavy-lift” model, its maximum payload of 19.5 pounds pales in comparison to cargo drones from companies such as Elroy Air or Dronamics. But in the world of last-mile delivery—the final stage of the supply chain—most drones carry half that weight.

Longtail’s release comes just months after the May launch of A2Z’s RDSX Pelican, a long-range model capable of carrying payloads up to 11 pounds over distances as far as 25 sm (21.7 nm).

“The RDST Longtail is further democratizing commercial drone delivery by allowing businesses of any kind to quickly and easily launch a drone logistics operation from delivering parts to offshore energy platforms, to deploying live-saving medical equipment to first responders right on scene,” said Zhang.

Customers can pay extra to integrate Longtail’s hexarotor design with the company’s Rapid Delivery System 2 (RDS2), a winch and tether mechanism. RDS2 is both drone- and payload-agnostic—it can be attached to any drone and pick up any shipper’s boxes.

When the drone reaches its destination, RDS2 allows it to lower payloads on a tether from as high as 100 feet, directly into the customer’s backyard or front step. Keeping the drone at that height avoids any noise and privacy concerns. And with the addition of an auto-release mechanism, it won’t need to wait for the recipient to step outside.

In standard configuration, Longtail is now available starting at $20,000. The standard model can fly an 11-pound payload almost seven sm (6 nm) at a cruise speed of 38 knots. According to A2Z, that makes it ideal for local food and parcel delivery, emergency medical delivery, offshore logistics, search and rescue, water sampling, and more.

But for a rainproof glass fiber exterior, customers will need to upgrade to the premium Longtail model, which comes integrated with RDS2 and boasts an extended 16 sm (13.9 sm) range and a battery quick-release system. The ability to fly in the rain expands potential use cases for the premium model, while the battery quick-release mechanism places a cap on downtime.

“In upgrading our off-the-shelf RDST platform, we’ve streamlined the overall design and upgraded the propulsion system, but the most sought-after upgrade from customers has been the rainproofing built into our new RDST Longtail Premium edition,” said Zhang.

Users can also upgrade the premium edition for mission-specific needs. They can add dual 4G LTE connectivity, a parachute system, and even extra auto-release hooks for RDS2. However, the extra features come at a cost—the premium Longtail starts at $27,000.

The standard and premium configurations each offer a large cargo bay (18 inches by 18 inches by 14 inches) and an 18.5-mile unobstructed transmission range. Both meet the FAA’s 55-pound maximum takeoff weight requirement and are Remote ID compliant, with factory-integrated beacons.

Each also comes with the portable A2Z Ground Control Station and the Q Ground Control (QGC) mission planning software, which can conduct preplanned, automated deliveries without the need to land the drone. Like automated dispatch systems do for trucking, QGC figures to reduce operating costs for last-mile drone deliveries.

So far, a prototype Longtail has already logged 500 flight hours making daily residential parcel deliveries outside Shanghai, China, near A2Z’s test facility.

It’s unclear whether A2Z plans to phase out its previous RDST design in favor of Longtail. But on the company’s website, clicking on the RDST product page now redirects to the RDS2, suggesting the first-generation model may be discontinued.

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RigiTech is a Swiss drone manufacturer and operator boasting some of the most extensive beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight authorizations in the industry. And it just completed a landmark test of its Eiger delivery system, flying spare parts to the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm, located 20 sm (17 nm) off the coast of Denmark. But there’s a catch—the drones didn’t need to land.

The tests marked the rollout of RigiTech’s prototype precision dropping system, which autonomously releases cargo from a few feet in the air when it detects the drone has reached its destination. That’s a game-changer in the case of offshore wind turbines, which typically do not have landing pads.

RigiTech and partners Holo and DSV made 40 deliveries, each lasting 30 minutes, to the offshore wind farm—with a 100 percent success rate—on behalf of energy company Ørsted. Remarkably, the entire operation was monitored remotely by Holo, an autonomous systems operator based in Copenhagen 83 sm (72 nm) away.

“This project started with a simple customer challenge: How do we get parts directly to a technician inside a wind turbine?” said Adam Klaptocz, CEO of RigiTech. “The solution was nothing but simple and pushed us to develop multiple cutting-edge technologies, including AI-based flight planning algorithms, precision navigation in high-wind environments, computer vision and sensor fusion algorithms. The results speak for themselves—spare parts delivered with centimeter-level precision, fully autonomously, every time.”

The Swiss company and its partners began initial testing with Ørsted in 2022. But these recent tests introduced RigiTech’s precision dropping prototype, billed as an optional add-on to the Eiger platform.

Ørsted warehouse workers loaded Eiger drones with spare parts, but from there, flights were completed entirely BVLOS. Holo technicians and Ørsted workers were able to monitor them through live video streaming, but RigiCloud—RigiTech’s AI-based logistics software—did the heavy lifting. The software determined when the drone was hovering over the 310-foot-tall turbine, initiating the supply drop autonomously.

Interestingly, only a handful of drone delivery firms are attempting to scrub the landing phase of delivery by dropping cargo from the air. The most notable is Amazon, which has struggled to match the trip volume of competitors such as Alphabet’s Wing.

RigiTech’s Eiger drone is incredibly durable, with a range of 62 miles and the ability to fly in winds as fast as 33 mph (28 knots). Configured for daytime as well as nighttime operations, it’s able to deliver between cities and rural or hard-to-reach areas alike. With a payload of 6.6 pounds and a temperature-controlled cargo hold, it’s ideal for medical and humanitarian deliveries of items such as blood or vaccines.

But Eiger’s key differentiator is its ability to be flown autonomously and remotely. That’s thanks to RigiCloud, which enables launches from tens of miles away, provides real-time flight tracking, and creates preprogrammed routes in compliance with regulatory authorities across Europe. It also tracks drone maintenance and operator credentials, which protects customers from butting heads with aviation rulemakers.

Because the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has yet to finalize a standard BVLOS rule, RigiTech was only able to complete wind turbine tests with authorization from Denmark’s civil aviation agency. The company also owns BVLOS approvals in Switzerland, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

BVLOS flight is also heavily restricted in the U.S., requiring drone delivery firms to establish bases of operation and deploy visual observers close to where they fly—unless they obtain an FAA waiver. That limits most operations to small areas and makes it more challenging to expand into new markets.

RigiTech, though, has its eye on long-range deliveries in multiple countries. In March, it became the first company to launch routine BVLOS flights in France, delivering blood and biological samples between laboratories in Bourgoin-Jallieu and Tignieu-Jameyzieu, 16 miles apart. Those flights averaged just 15 minutes in duration, half the time it would take to drive.

The company also announced a partnership with U.S.-based drone operator Spright in May to deploy Eiger across its global health care delivery network. In 2020 it completed the first long-range BVLOS deliveries (20 sm or 17 nm) of biological samples in Italy. All of this is despite RigiTech being around for just five years.

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The aircraft in question, Swiss eVTOL manufacturer Dufour Aerospace’s Aero2, has been in development for years and is now entering its final prototype phase, the firm announced Thursday.

It’s a huge milestone for Dufour. Designed to enable flight testing and certification before the autonomous Aero2 enters serial production in 2025, the fourth and final prototype, X2.3, is just about ready to be built. Slated to begin testing in early 2024, X2.3 will bring Dufour closer to European Union Aviation and Safety Agency (EASA) design approval.

The announcement follows Dufour’s historic deal with Spright—a subsidiary of helicopter services firm Air Methods—for the purchase of up to 140 Aero2 aircraft, one of the largest civilian drone purchases to date.

More recently, the company secured a Series B funding raise led by Vista Global, one of the world’s leading private aviation groups. It also earned a $2.8 million grant from Innosuisse, the innovation agency of the Swiss Confederation, the most it was eligible to receive.

Aero2’s unique, tilt-wing design gives it the vertical lift capabilities of a helicopter with the cruise speed of a winged plane. The key differences between X2.3 and Dufour’s previous prototype—which has flown successfully at the firm’s airfield in Dübendorf, Switzerland—are an improved maximum takeoff weight (around 459 pounds) and the addition of hybrid-electric propulsion through a frame contract with Suter Industries.

And while the latest prototype is projected to have a slightly slower cruise speed (81 knots versus 92 knots in earlier iterations), Dufour will give it more ground clearance and a larger fuselage and wingspan. Other changes include a new front-loading mechanism, the replacement of a conventional tail with a more stable H-tail configuration, and swapping ducted fans for a rear propeller.

“Aero2 is able to transport 88 [pounds] over a distance of 215 nm. The structure and systems have to be safe and aerodynamically efficient, and delivering this is not an easy task,” said Simon Bendrey, Dufour’s head of design. “I’m especially proud of the hard work of our teams to lock in a design that will meet or exceed our customers’ stringent requirements.”

Aero2’s specifications—which also include redundant motors and control surfaces as well as a flight time of three hours in standard configuration—make it a good fit for multiple operations, hence the “Swiss Army knife” moniker. 

Dufour envisions it being used to deliver critical cargo, such as blood and vaccines, conduct remote sensing and data gathering (including beyond the visual line of sight), and enable public safety operations from search and rescue to wildfire prevention to border monitoring.

Now, the company is acquiring the materials needed to build the X.23 design, which will align with EASA’s Specific Assurance and Integrity Level IV (SAIL IV) standards. The agency has yet to fully define the requirements and means of compliance for that approval, which would enable operations over populated areas. But as soon as it does, Dufour plans to apply for it.

“Dufour Aerospace is working hard to develop the Aero2, and we have full confidence in their ability to deliver their innovative product,” said Joseph Resnik, president and CEO of Spright. “We’ve worked closely with the team at Dufour for more than one year now and are pleased with the progress being made. In close contact with our existing and prospective customers, we see a huge potential for this aircraft for numerous applications.”

In addition to the Spright deal, Dufour agreed to a long-term contract with Blueberry Aviation that will see the commercial aircraft and helicopter specialist purchase 100 Aero2 drones. The agreement also calls for Blueberry to acquire 100 Aero3 aircraft—a larger, piloted model that Dufour expects will become its flagship product.

Aero3 will maintain the tilt-wing and hybrid-electric propulsion components of Aero2 and is expected to handle a similar range of operations. The difference is it will hold up to eight passengers and fly farther, faster, and more efficiently than its predecessor, capable of carrying a useful load of 1,650 pounds.

Dufour is working to certify Aero3 by late 2025, about a year after Aero2 is expected to be approved. Worth noting, though, is the firm initially anticipated serial production of Aero2 to begin this year—that date has now been pushed back.

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