<p>Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.</p>
<p>Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.</p>


Managing Editor

<p><span><span><span>Electra.aero has built a technology demonstrator vehicle that it will use to complete the development of its hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. During an event on Monday attended by some 200 guests at its headquarters in Manassas, Virginia, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-28/how-electra-plans-deliver-fixed-wing-payload-and-range-helicopter-habitats">the company</a> revealed the two-seat model, which it says is the world’s first blown-lift aircraft powered by distributed electric propulsion.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>Flight testing is expected to start over&nbsp;the summer to track performance that will help Electra’s engineers complete the design of the nine-passenger production aircraft that could also be used to carry up to 2,500 pounds of freight. The company is aiming to produce an aircraft with exceptional short takeoff and landing performance that will be able to operate from landing surfaces of little more than 300 feet and fly routes of up to around 400 nm at a cruise speed of 175 knots. If it operated&nbsp;from longer runways of up to around 1,000 feet, payload and range could be increased.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>The eSTOL aircraft’s propulsion system consists of eight electric motors and a turbogenerator that can recharge batteries inflight and run on sustainable aviation fuel. Electra says that this capability has the added benefit of avoiding the need for ground recharging infrastructure, giving far greater scope for the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/electra-estol">eSTOL aircraft </a>to operate from multiple locations, including city-center landing sites and more than 5,000 underutilized public airports in the U.S.</span></span></span></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/Electra%20Manhattan%20heliport.png" width="2048" height="1365" alt="Electra.aero eSTOL aircraft" title="Electra.aero says its eSTOL aircraft will be able to operate from small spaces such as the Manhattan heliport in New York City. (Image: Electra)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Electra.aero says its eSTOL aircraft will be able to operate from small spaces such as the Manhattan heliport in New York City. (Image: Electra)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Electra.aero says its eSTOL aircraft will be able to operate from small spaces such as the Manhattan heliport in New York City. (Image: Electra)</figcaption>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="subheading"><span><span><span><strong>Ground Tests with the Aircraft Riding on a Truck</strong></span></span></span></h3>
<p><span><span><span>Electra has already conducted extensive ground tests with <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-07/electra-completes-test-hybrid-electric-engine-estol-aircraft">the propulsion system</a> and has also mounted the demonstrator on a truck to drive it down Manassas’s Virginia Municipal Airport runway at speeds of between 30 and 60 knots. Marc Ausman, the company’s chief product officer, told <strong>FutureFlight</strong> that engineers have been able to change the aircraft’s angle of attack and flap settings during ground runs that have generated data to be compared with its computer models. He said that this progressive approach, which began with flying a much smaller subscale model, has reduced the program’s technology risk.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>“In the three years since we founded Electra, we’ve designed our eSTOL aircraft, validated our blown-lift technology with a subscale demonstrator, and run a fully integrated test of our 150-kilowatt hybrid-electric generator at full-scale,” said Electra’s founder and CEO, John Langford. “Now we’re ready to test the entire system with this technology demonstrator aircraft. We can’t wait to fly this plane and show the world what our eSTOL aircraft can do.”</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>According to Electra, it now holds letters of intent for over 1,200 aircraft, which could lead to firm orders worth more than $4 billion, which implies a unit price of around $3.3 million. The company recently raised $85 million in new funding, which includes a $30 million award from the U.S. Air Force to develop potential military applications for eSTOL aircraft.</span></span></span></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/Electra.aero_Prod_Configuration_Interior.jpg" width="3741" height="1675" alt="Electra.aero eSTOL aircraft" title="Electra's eSTOL aircraft will seat up to nine passengers, or carrying around 2,500 pounds of freight. (Image: Electra)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Electra's eSTOL aircraft will seat up to nine passengers, or carrying around 2,500 pounds of freight. (Image: Electra)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Electra's eSTOL aircraft will seat up to nine passengers or carry around 2,500 pounds of freight. (Image: Electra)</figcaption>
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<p><span><span><span>According to Ausman, most of the 32 prospective customers are <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-18/welojets-plans-deploy-electras-estol-aircraft-charter-flights">Part 135 operators</a> operating fleets of aircraft, with some Part 91 private operators in the mix as well. Almost three-quarters of the anticipated clients&nbsp;are already flying commercial operations, mainly with aircraft such as Textron’s King Air, Caravans, and Skycourier, as well as Pilatus PC-12s.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>Blown-wing technology (sometimes referred to as blown lift) involves an aerodynamic effect in which by increasing the flow of air over the wing, the lift is generated at a much slower airspeed than with conventional aircraft. This is a key factor in the anticipated eSTOL performance of Electra’s design and also is expected to improve energy efficiency.</span></span></span></p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-oembed-video field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item"><iframe src="https://backend.ainonline.com//media/oembed?url=https%3A//youtu.be/PjdmNp-xL3U&amp;max_width=0&amp;max_height=0&amp;hash=JY9C7BSq-wJQfAhXfHYmkTBY89SuH7nooeN-bQD0ZfI" width="200" height="113" class="media-oembed-content" loading="eager" title="Does eSTOL Hybrid Power and Blown Lift Beat Vertical Powered Lift? – FutureFlight"></iframe>
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Charles Alcock

The Electra.aero team is about to start flight testing a technology demonstrator for its hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. (Image: AIN/Kerry Lynch)

Electra Rolls Out eSTOL Technology Demonstrator Aircraft Ahead of Flight Testing

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