Hanneke Weitering

<p>News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.</p>


Medical technology group's executives learn to fly the Alia CX300 electric aircraft

Beta's First Electric Aircraft Customer Evaluates Pilot Training Program

<p>News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.</p>


Student pilots now authorized to fly Beta's Alia 250 eVTOL

Beta Wins FAA Approval for Dual Control eVTOL Flight Training 

Charles Alcock

<p>News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.</p>


<p>News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.</p>


<p>News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.</p>


The carrier has scrapped its 2030 target for reducing carbon dioxide emissions

Air New Zealand Keeps Electric Aircraft Plans Despite Net-zero Target Stall

The Alia prototype recently completed two more military exercises with the Air Combat and Air Mobility Commands

U.S. Air Force Deploys Beta's Alia Electric Aircraft Prototype

<p>Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.</p>


Electric aircraft developers will face scrutiny from independent analysts and the financial community

Revolution.Aero Draws Advanced Air Mobility Leaders to London

Jessica Reed

<p>New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.</p>


<p>News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.</p>


The Libra Group subsidiary will lease 10 Beta Alia eVTOL air taxis

Aria Hotels To Establish Four Vertiports in Greece

<p>News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.</p>


Alia 250 eVTOL prototype aircraft achieves key transition from hover to cruise flight

Beta Achieves Piloted eVTOL Aircraft Transition Flights

<p>New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.</p>


<p>News and information on safety procedures and concerns.</p>


UL certification verifies compliance with safety standards and regulations

Beta's 'Charge Cube' Earns UL Safety Certification

<p>Signature Aviation is teaming up with Beta Technologies to bring electric aircraft chargers to its fixed-base operators (FBOs) across the U.S. East Coast. The business aviation services group inaugurated its first Beta charging station on Thursday at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (KMHT) in New Hampshire.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The partners signed an agreement covering the installation of charging stations at three Signature FBO locations, and discussions regarding additional locations are already underway. This summer Beta will install another two chargers at Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK) in Maryland and Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (KCHO) in Virginia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This agreement represents the third such partnership for Vermont-based Beta, which is also installing charging stations at several <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2024-01-16/atlantic-aviation-expands-plans-evtol-air-services-partnering-joby-and">Atlantic Aviation FBOs</a>. Avflight, another FBO chain operator, recently installed one of Beta’s chargers at Golden Triangle Regional Airport (KGTR) in eastern Mississippi. Beta’s charging stations are multimodal and interoperable, meaning they can charge electric aircraft as well as electric ground vehicles.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So far Beta’s charging infrastructure network across the eastern U.S. consists of 19 sites that are already operational and another 50 that are either in the permitting or construction process.&nbsp; Meanwhile, as Beta continues to build out its charging network, the company is also developing <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-03-13/beta-technologies-plans-certify-electric-ctol-airplane">two electric air taxis</a>—the CX300 conventional airplane and the Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft, which it aims to have certified and in service by 2025 and 2026, respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Signature has headquarters in Orlando, Florida and operates more than 200 FBO locations at airports around the world. It provides business aviation customers with hangars and fuel, as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services and passenger amenities.</p>
<p>In recent years, Signature has strived to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainability as part of a rebranding strategy. For example, Signature has made sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) available at several locations, including <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-10-20/all-signature-fbos-california-now-stocking-saf">all of its FBOs in California</a> as well as its <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-03-10/signature-introduces-saf-vail-fbo">Vail Valley Jet Center</a> FBO at Eagle County Regional Airport in Colorado, where it will soon introduce its first electric refueling truck. In 2022, Signature announced that it had achieved <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-03-01/signature-achieves-chainwide-carbon-neutrality-2022">carbon neutrality</a> across its entire network.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“We are thrilled to further solidify our partnership with Beta, which underscores our unwavering commitment to shaping the future of aviation through our sustainability initiatives in Signature Renew,” said company chief commercial officer Derek DeCross.</p>
<p>“Today’s announcement is indicative of a transformative time for Signature, with our recent visual identity update focused on delivering innovative hospitality across every element of the guest journey. Together with Beta, we're not only creating greater access to electric aviation but also unlocking new possibilities in regional air mobility for our guests, all while championing sustainability and innovation in the aviation industry.”</p>


Science & Technology Editor

Signature Aviation Electrifies FBO Locations With Beta's Aircraft Chargers

<p>Shortly after Beta Technologies’ Alia electric airplane prototype completed its three-month <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2024-01-30/betas-electric-air-taxi-demonstrates-military-use-cases">deployment at Eglin Air Force Base</a> in Florida last month, it spent more than a week in Savannah, Georgia, where the U.S. Air National Guard used it for a series of military training exercises, the Vermont-based aircraft developer announced February 12.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the&nbsp;weeklong military mission assessment sequence, Beta and the Air National Guard—a military reserve for the U.S. Air Force—jointly conducted an agile combat employment (ACE) and domestic response exercise at the Air Dominance Center, also known as the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center.</p>
<p>The Air Force defines ACE as an “operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase survivability while generating combat power.” This strategy aims&nbsp;to shift operations from centralized physical infrastructure, such as large overseas military bases, to a network of smaller, dispersed locations&nbsp;“that can complicate adversary planning and provide more options for joint force commanders.”</p>
<p>More than 350 airmen from six U.S. states participated in various mission exercises using the Alia aircraft, including the swift relocation of personnel between bases and simulated attack and casualty evacuation scenarios. The Alia also transported cargo between its starting base in Savannah and three other locations nearby, among them a regional airport and a USAF airfield in South Carolina.</p>
<p>“It was incredibly validating to see firsthand how Alia was able to accomplish meaningful missions in support of a large-scale training exercise, with very minimal assets,” said Beta test pilot and former Air Force fighter squadron commander Chris Caputo. “We were able to accept missions from an alert status and be airborne within minutes, fly to a contingency location, completely shut down the aircraft, unload and/or load cargo, and be airborne again within 10 minutes.”</p>
<p>“Alia’s flexibility, low cost, and exceptionally high utilization rate, not to mention its interoperability with our own and existing infrastructure, make it an ideal asset to help sustain the combat capabilities of the USAF,” Caputo added.</p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/Maple%20Thunder%20Day%203%2020240130_0077%20%281%29.JPG" width="2200" height="1467" alt="Beta's Alia prototype is pictured while charging in a hangar" title="Beta has developed its own aircraft chargers, including permanent charging stations the company is installing across the country, as well as portable &quot;charge cubes&quot; that are small enough to stow inside the aircraft. (Photo: Beta Technologies)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Beta has developed its own aircraft chargers, including permanent charging stations the company is installing across the country, as well as portable "charge cubes" that are small enough to stow inside the aircraft. (Photo: Beta Technologies)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Beta has developed its own aircraft chargers, including permanent charging stations the company is installing across the country, as well as portable "charge cubes" that are small enough to stow inside the aircraft. (Photo: Beta Technologies)</figcaption>
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<p>Beta's work with the Air National Guard was separate from the work the company is conducting <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-03-14/us-air-force-pilots-take-controls-betas-alia-first-crewed-military-evtol">with the U.S. Air Force's Afwerx Agility Prime program</a>, which has been collaborating with Beta since 2020 to develop military use cases for small electric aircraft such as the Alia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The all-electric Alia prototype that Beta has been utilizing for these military exercises takes off and lands like a conventional airplane, or eCTOL, although the company is also developing a similar eVTOL model. Configured as an air taxi, either model can seat five passengers plus one pilot. The cargo-carrying variant can carry up to 1,400 pounds (635 kilograms) of payload. Beta expects the eVTOL aircraft to have a range of about 250 miles, while the eCTOL prototype has already flown up to 386 miles on a single charge. The eCTOL model, called CX300, is expected to receive FAA type certification in 2025, with the Alia-250 eVTOL model to follow in 2026.</p>
<p>Beta’s aircraft arrived in Savannah on January 22 and conducted at least 16 sorties in the area before departing for Louisiana on February 3. On its way to Houma-Terrebonne Airport (KHUM) in Louisiana, where Beta conducted <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2024-02-08/betas-alia-electric-aircraft-touches-down-louisiana-visit-partner-bristow">a flight demonstration with its partner Bristow</a> on February 7, it made pit stops at three small airports: Jimmy Carter Regional Airport (KACJ) in Georgia; Dannelly Field (KMGM) near Montgomery, Alabama; and Mobile Regional Airport (KMOB) in Mobile, Alabama.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Following the flight demonstration at KHUM, the aircraft began its multi-leg trip back to Beta headquarters in South Burlington, Vermont, on February 7. A company spokesperson told <strong>AIN</strong> that it expects the aircraft to arrive back in Vermont by the end of the month. From Houma, it flew to Allen Parish Airport near Oakdale, Louisiana;&nbsp;then on February 8, it flew to Jackson, Mississippi, after making a pit stop at Hardy-Anders Field near the Louisiana-Mississippi border.</p>
<p>It ended the week with a flight to Golden Triangle Regional Airport in eastern Mississippi, where Beta installed one of its aircraft chargers at the Avflight FBO. Avflight is the second FBO operator to partner with Beta, which is also <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2024-01-16/atlantic-aviation-expands-plans-evtol-air-services-partnering-joby-and">installing its chargers at Atlantic Aviation FBO locations</a> across the U.S. in partnership with eVTOL developer Archer Aviation.&nbsp;</p>


Beta Technologies

News

Beta's First Electric Aircraft Customer Evaluates Pilot Training Program

Beta Wins FAA Approval for Dual Control eVTOL Flight Training

Air New Zealand Keeps Electric Aircraft Plans Despite Net-zero Target Stall

U.S. Air Force Deploys Beta's Alia Electric Aircraft Prototype

Revolution.Aero Draws Advanced Air Mobility Leaders to London

Aria Hotels To Establish Four Vertiports in Greece

Beta Achieves Piloted eVTOL Aircraft Transition Flights

Beta's 'Charge Cube' Earns UL Safety Certification

Signature Aviation Electrifies FBO Locations With Beta's Aircraft Chargers

Air National Guard Trains with Beta's Alia Electric Airplane Prototype

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