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Beta Technologies: An eVTOL Developer That’s All About Flying

CEO and founder of Vermont-based Beta Technologies reveals how a unique, team-based culture is helping the startup develop an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Beta Technologies Test Pilot Nick Warren in the Cockpit
Test pilot Nick Warren sits in the cockpit of a Beta Technologies electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) demonstrator aircraft. [Courtesy: Beta Technologies]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Beta Technologies is a leading company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with its *Alia* demonstrator achieving significant milestones, including being flown by the U.S. Air Force and securing substantial funding and purchase agreements.
  • The company attributes its success to a strong, collaborative team culture that fosters "multidisciplinary optimization" and a shared passion for aviation, encouraging all employees to learn to fly.
  • *Alia* features an intuitive fly-by-wire control system without rudder pedals, aims for FAA type certification by 2024, and Beta is also developing a supporting network of electric charging stations for various electric vehicles.
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At a tiny airport nestled in the shadow of the Adirondack Mountains along Lake Champlain and the New York-Vermont border, few would suspect a close-knit team of pilots, engineers, managers, and technicians are working together to bring aviation into the electric age.

For the past few years, their small, privately held company, called Beta Technologies, has been quietly developing a new kind of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from their headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, and a flight test facility at New York’s Plattsburgh International Airport (KPBG).

Thom Patterson

Thom is a former senior editor for FLYING. Previously, his freelance reporting appeared in aviation industry magazines. Thom also spent three decades as a TV and digital journalist at CNN’s bureaus in Washington and Atlanta, eventually specializing in aviation. He has reported from air shows in Oshkosh, Farnborough and Paris. Follow Thom on Twitter @thompatterson.

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