Helijet ALIA eVTOL selects BETA Technologies

Richmond, British Columbia – Helijet International in Richmond, British Columbia, has selected aircraft from BETA Technologies in Burlington, Vermont, for passenger and cargo services using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.

Helijet, a helicopter airline and charter service primarily serving southwestern British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States, selected ALIA eVTOL BETA to integrate into its helicopter services.

BETAs ALIA electric plane has a wingspan of 50 feet, a range of 250 miles with a top speed of 138 miles per hour, and is 90 percent quieter than a helicopter.

The vertical takeoff and landing capability of electric aircraft offers the potential to enhance the provision of emergency response, air ambulance and helijet organ transport services on the mainland, as well as support rural and remote communities that lack access to affordable and convenient air. Services.

Helijet’s decision to become the first commercial customer order from Canada is due in part to BETA’s intention to certify the aircraft for IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) operations and its interest in considering the expansion of its industrial base in Canada. BETA has already begun to grow its presence across the country with an R&D center located outside Montral-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

“We are proud to partner with BeTA Technologies, leaders in the advanced air transportation space,” said Helijet President and CEO Danny Sitnam. We are committed to introducing and integrating emission-free vertical lift technologies, and related ground/building infrastructure into the communities we serve, and look forward to transforming our current heliport infrastructure to meet future urban air traffic standards.

In late October, the US Air Force took delivery of its ALIA eVTOL for testing. The USAF plans to demonstrate its potential to support agile combat employment logistics with its 1,000-pound payload capacity.

Maj. Riley Livermore, flight commander of the 413rd Flight Test Squadron, said all tests will be contractor-owned and operated, but the 413th FLTS wrote the test and safety plan. We are responsible for coordinating daily flight operations to include range planning and logistics support. Then write a report after the conclusion of the test deployment to report our findings.