Beta Technologies

Beta Technologies is an American aircraft manufacturer startup based in Burlington, Vermont.[1][2] The company was founded by Kyle Clark in February 2017. Their primary customer is United Therapeutics.

Beta Technologies
Private
IndustryAerospace
Founded2017
FounderKyle Clark
HeadquartersBurlington, Vermont, United States
ProductsElectric aircraft
Number of employees
130
Websitebeta.team

History

Beta was founded in February 2017 by Kyle Clark and as of October 2020 has 130 full-time employees. Beta's first manned prototype, called Ava, was developed from concept to working aircraft in 10 months. The company has their headquarters at Burlington International Airport in Burlington, Vermont, though they store and test their latest evtol aircraft, ALIA, at Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, New York.[3]

Concept

Beta's prototype aircraft, called Ava, is the largest known eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft that has been able to successfully fly.[4] The concept has flown over 170 flights, and is planning to fly a full cross country flight from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to Santa Monica, California in 2019. The company expects to receive type certification of a derivative aircraft and start production for commercial use in 2024. It is powered by eight permanent-magnet electric motors, each producing 143 hp peak (107 kW), for a total of 1,144 hp (853 kW). This setup is fueled by two 124 kWh battery packs.[5] The motors power eight rotors, which can rotate 90 degrees, allowing for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). This gives it a top speed of 172 mph (277 km/h) and a range of 150 mi (241 km),[6] although Beta claims that the production version will have a range of 290 mi (467 km).[3]

The company chose to use electric motors as they have a smaller carbon footprint than an equivalent gasoline engine, and "will go for three to 10 times longer before requiring an overhaul".[3] Beta claims they are also more efficient than combustion engines and have constant torque across all speeds which enables control without helicopter like complexity.[5] The Ava is constructed from COTS parts and custom carbon fiber parts supplied by Blue Force Technologies in North Carolina and weighs 4,000 lb (1,814 kg), with a wingspan of 34 ft (10 m). The expected list price for the production version is US$1 million, around the same price as a conventional six-seat propeller plane.[7]

Beta has developed and prototyped re-charging stations for eVTOL aircraft made from recycled shipping containers and reused airplane batteries. The stations can be solar or grid powered and are customizable to an individual location with additional modules, such as storage, overnight lodging, maintenance and others.[3]

The company participates in the United States Air Force Agility Prime program that seeks to advance electric air mobility. In May 2020 the program announced that the company, along with Joby Aviation, would progress to the third phase of the program.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Flight recharged". BETA. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  2. Picard, Ken. "Beta Technologies Races to Develop Electric Aviation". Seven Days. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  3. Adams, Eric. "A Secret Vermont Air Taxi Start-Up Called 'Beta' Might Be About to Change the Aviation World". The Drive. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  4. Adams, Eric (2019-01-29). "The Need for Carbon Fiber Could Ground the Flying-Car Future". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  5. Adams, Eric (2019-01-10). "Snow Can't Stop the Edward Scissorhands of Flying Cars". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  6. Mortimer, Gary (2019-01-11). "Beta Technologies flies Ava eVTOL". sUAS News - The Business of Drones. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  7. Dec 2 2018December 3, Anne Wallace Allen; 2018 (2018-12-02). "Making it in Vermont: An electric helicopter that can get to Boston in an hour". VTDigger. Retrieved 2019-02-02.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. "Beta and Joby advance in U.S. Air Force Agility Prime campaign". evtol.com. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
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