While certification for passenger operations may be a little while still, the Big Apple has seen its first electrical air taxi flight. On Tuesday this past week, Blade Air Mobility and BETA Technologies operated an electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle test flight out of Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, about one hour north of New York City.BETA's piloted ALIA-250 first took off and flew over the airport alongside a conventional helicopter. Following this first accompanied test run, it then performed another on its own. This marks a milestone in what has been a fairly quick development of the all-electric aircraft. Vermont-based BETA technologies was founded in 2017, and revealed the ALIA in June 2020.The company joined forces with Blade two years ago. In April 2021, Blade agreed to purchase 20 passenger ALIA-250 eVTOLs from BETA, intending to use the quiet and eco-friendly mode of transportation to replace its current helicopter premium ride-sharing offerings between Manhattan and New York JFK.Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal commented,

“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.”

And it seems markets would agree, with publicly traded Blade's stock price rising 13% following the announcement of the successful test flight. Have a look at some of the footage from the event, along with further comments from Blade's Chief Executive below.

The ALIA-250 will come in a passenger-configured variant with space for five passengers and one pilot. It has an intended range of 250 NM (463 kilometers) and a recharge time of 50 minutes. It will also be produced as the ALIA-250C, modified for cargo operations, with a capacity of 200 cubic feet.

ALIA Over Burlington 2
Photo: BETA Technologies

Alternative to noisy helicopters

Given that its fully electric propulsion system makes it produce only one tenth the noise of a conventional helicopter, the ALIA (and other electric urban air taxis) will come as a boon to New Yorkers who, according to Bloomberg, are growing increasingly tired of noise and air pollution. In October last year, a New York judge blocked an attempt by East Hampton residents to close East Hampton Airport to commercial traffic, stopping premium helicopter service providers, including Blade, from operating in the area.

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Drawing inspiration from nature's aerodynamics

The ALIA was designed with inspiration from the Arctic Tern. In an interview with WIRED from the time of the vehicle's launch, the company's founder Kyle Clark said that the tern’s tail configuration and wing stance “proved a great baseline to start from” to support ultra-efficient long-range flights.

Would you hop on an eVTOL to get to the airport instead of sitting in traffic in a regular taxi if the price was right? Leave a comment below and tell us why or why not.

Source: Bloomberg, WIRED