Historic Electric Vertical Aircraft Flight At Westchester Airport

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — This week, the Hudson Valley bore witness to a moment that could someday soon change air travel as we know it.

On Tuesday, a successful test flight of BETA’s ALIA-250 EVA at the Westchester County Airport was announced by Blade Air Mobility and BETA Technologies. The companies said that the flight marks the first test of a piloted EVA in the greater NYC area and is a significant milestone in the companies' partnership to bring safe, quiet and sustainable air transportation to commuter and commercial customers.

"This is a historic moment for Blade, New York and the urban air mobility industry," Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal said in a statement announcing the groundbreaking test flight. "This demonstration is a big milestone in our transition from helicopters to electric vertical aircraft, and we are pleased that our partners at BETA have designed the right aircraft with the requisite range, capacity, and noise profile, for use in our key markets, including our homebase of 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 FAA."

The ALIA-250 aircraft is powered by an all-electric propulsion system with vertical takeoff and landing capability and a noise profile that is just a tenth the sound decibel level of conventional helicopters. Company officials said this makes the aircraft ideal for use in urban areas. The ALIA-250 can fly up to six people and has a range of features to ensure the highest levels of safety and comfort, according to the manufacturers.

"Blade is flying passengers in key urban markets all over the world, and this flight is another step toward delivering our electric aircraft to support those operations," BETA Founder and CEO Kyle Clark explained. "We continue to progress our aircraft, flying real-life missions and gaining proficiency in the national airspace. We were glad to be able to fly here from our flight test facility in Plattsburgh to work with Blade to operationalize our partnership."

During Tuesday’s flight, the ALIA-250 flew alongside a conventional helicopter before pulling away for a second pass above the airport to demonstrate the dramatic noise reduction.

In April 2021, Blade announced an agreement to purchase up to 20 of BETA’s first passenger-configured ALIA-250 aircraft by its network of operators. Blade says it plans to deploy these initial aircraft on routes between its network of dedicated terminals nationwide. BETA has also agreed to provide and install charging infrastructure at key locations.

Over the past three years, BETA says it has demonstrated reliably strong performance with its two full-scale prototype aircraft, accomplishing significant steps toward certification and commercial viability.

BETA had test pilots from the U.S. Air Force and Army fly the ALIA-250 in full-pattern evaluations in March 2022 and July 2022, marking the military branches' first-ever flight of an electric vertical aircraft and the industry’s first manned qualitative evaluations. BETA also partnered with the FAA and the National Institute for Aviation Research to conduct the first-ever 50-foot drop tests of its full-scale battery packs, successfully completing the test and advancing the industry’s path to setting and meeting safety standards and eventual certification.

For more information, visit the Blade Air Mobility website and the BETA Technologies website.