Electra, in partnership with Surf Air Mobility Inc. and Virginia Tech, successfully completed the first series of public demonstrations of its Ultra Short aircraft capabilities earlier this month.
The demos – captured as part of a new video series – highlight how blown lift and hybrid-electric propulsion together enable takeoffs and landings in 150 feet or less at Ultra Short Access Points connected to novel airstrips, austere environments, or campus settings.
These groundbreaking capabilities accelerate Electra’s bold vision for advanced air mobility via Direct Aviation, opening the door to thousands of potential new routes that can be flown once its flagship EL9 Ultra Short aircraft reaches commercial service in 2029.
The demonstrations took place at several locations at Virginia Tech, including:
- A 300-foot by 75-foot paved surface used for takeoff and landing of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
- An access road on a closed test-bed campus research facility managed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
- A grass field at The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center
Electra’s EL2 technology demonstrator completed the flights. Ultimately, Electra’s flagship EL9 nine-passenger aircraft will enter service with similar capabilities.
Surf Air Mobility, via its airline subbrands Southern Airways and Mokulele Airlines, have flown millions of passengers over millions of miles since inception. With Surf Air Mobility’s decade of operational experience, existing nationwide commuter scheduled flight network, and proprietary SurfOS software, Surf Air Mobility is creating a platform to enable the launch of new electrified aircraft. Once certified, Electra’s EL9 Ultra Short aircraft has the potential to leverage Surf Air Mobility’s operations and software platform to bring the aircraft technology to market at scale.
“These demonstrations showcased breathtakingly short takeoffs and landings and pinpoint landing capabilities with the power to transform aviation as we know it,” said Marc Allen, CEO of Electra. “It’s a great credit to our amazing teammates and partners that we are now demonstrating these capabilities in real world, non-airport environments.”
“What stood out to us immediately was the operational flexibility that the EL9 will enable,” said Louis Saint-Cyr, COO and President of Hawai’i Operations. “The aircraft will be faster to turn around, less expensive to operate, and easier to deploy. These demonstration flights were a critical step forward in Electra’s journey to commercialization and will solve real pain points with regional air mobility. We’re excited to work with Electra to leverage our platform to help bring this novel technology to market at scale.”
“What Electra demonstrated at Virginia Tech was a first glimpse of how air travel will work in the near future,” said Eric Paterson, executive director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. “It was a practical demonstration of how the EL9 can integrate into everyday environments, proving it works where it needs to.”
