BETA Technologies (NYSE: BETA) (“BETA”), an aerospace and defense company, has completed 14 flights across Florida, covering nearly 700 nautical miles, under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). BETA is a partner in Florida’s eIPP project, alongside lead participant Florida Department of Transportation, Republic Airways, Brickyard Connection and Metro Aviation. BETA’s conventional fixed-wing electric aircraft, the ALIA CTOL, has flown across the Orlando and Tampa regions, including routes from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (KPIE) and Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG) to Tampa International Airport (KTPA).
“The eIPP lets us fly electric aircraft in the National Airspace System alongside our customers to evaluate how the aircraft perform in real-world operations,” said Kyle Clark, founder and chief executive officer of BETA. “ALIA is all-electric and mechanically simple, so it’s inexpensive to operate and maintain, and we built the charging network in parallel. Florida invested early, and our chargers are now at nine sites from the Panhandle to the Space Coast. Earlier this year, the aircraft and the network together supported high-cadence operations with Republic Airways along the I-4 corridor, up to nine flights a day at under $17 in energy per flight. We’ve logged more than 250,000 nautical miles across our CTOL and VTOL fleet to get here. The eIPP is where we put that experience to work, on the routes our customers will fly in commercial service.”
BETA’s flights from Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg to Tampa International follow the route of the world’s first scheduled commercial airline flight, which Tony Jannus flew in 1914.
“Florida is helping safely integrate these new aircraft into the airspace system and prove that the next great era of American aviation is already here,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “Each flight provides crucial data and lessons learned that will help establish safety standards for everyday operations.”
“More than 100 years ago, Florida helped launch the commercial aviation industry. Today, we are helping shape the next era of flight,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “Through strategic investments, statewide planning, and partnerships with some of the industry’s top innovators, Florida is creating the infrastructure and policies needed to safely integrate Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) into our transportation system. These flights demonstrate how we are turning vision into reality.”
Earlier this year, BETA signed an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation to supply 34 chargers and thermal management systems. Florida is home to BETA’s largest charging network in the U.S., with chargers currently online at nine sites:
- Bob Sikes Airport (KCEW)
- Duke Field (KEGI)
- Tallahassee International Airport (KTLH)
- Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (KCRG)
- Gainesville Regional Airport (KGNV)
- Tampa International Airport (KTPA)
- SunTrax Advanced Air Mobility Facility
- Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM)
- Space Coast Regional Airport (KTIX)
BETA’s chargers are multimodal and interoperable, and designed to integrate with existing airport infrastructure. They are UL-certified and use the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard, so any CCS-compliant electric vehicle, in the air or on the ground, can charge at a BETA site.
“We believed in Kyle Clark and his team long before most people understood what electric aviation could mean for our industry,” said Todd Stanberry, vice president and co-owner of Metro Aviation. “What I love about these demonstrations is that we’re not just talking about the possibilities anymore. We’re seeing them happen. Whether it’s moving passengers, cargo or patients, BETA continues to show us why we believed in them from day one.”
BETA’s ALIA family includes the ALIA CTOL and an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (the ALIA VTOL), built for passenger, cargo, medical, emergency response, and defense missions.
Florida is the host of BETA’s last eIPP kickoff event. BETA is participating in seven of the eight programs selected by the FAA and U.S. DOT, which together span 26 states, including Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Utah, New York, Vermont and now Florida. Across these programs, BETA, its customers and state and local partners are flying electric aircraft in real operating environments, integrating them into the National Airspace System (NAS) and generating the operational data the FAA and U.S. DOT need to shape the rules for safe, routine commercial service.
For photos of BETA’s Florida eIPP operations, please see here.
For more information on BETA’s eIPP operations, please see here.
About BETA Technologies, Inc.
BETA (NYSE: BETA) is an aerospace and defense company designing, manufacturing and selling high-performance electric aircraft, advanced electric propulsion systems, components and charging systems to top operators worldwide. BETA’s intentional approach to developing the enabling technologies necessary to electrify aviation unlocks lucrative aftermarket revenue opportunity over the life of each aircraft. These highly scalable enabling technologies allow BETA to serve a customer base across cargo and logistics, defense, passenger and medical end markets and unlock cost-effective and safe missions. Visit www.beta.team for more information about BETA and its products.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the integration of Advanced Air Mobility into Florida and the National Airspace System.
These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially are more fully detailed in BETA’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including BETA’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that BETA believes to be reasonable as of the date hereof. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. BETA undertakes no obligation and does not expect to update these statements as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law.
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