Advanced Air Mobility Modern Flying

What I Learned at Beta Technologies’ Media Day

Electric aircraft manufacturer brought select reporters to its Vermont facilities.

Wednesday, July 01, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

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An optionally piloted variant of Beta Technologies’ electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Alia A250 comes in for a landing during a formation flight. [Credit: Matthew Leighton]

Key Takeaways:

Beta Technologies' Alia CX300 electric aircraft boasts intuitive fly-by-wire controls, allowing even a novice pilot to operate it with ease during a test flight.
Beta is developing both conventional (CX300) and vertical (A250) takeoff and landing variants, which share core components to streamline the certification process.
The company aims for CX300 certification by 2027 and A250 certification by 2028, with early commercial revenue operations (cargo and potentially passengers) with pre-certified aircraft beginning as early as September.
The Alia aircraft are designed for simplicity and efficiency, inspired by the Arctic tern, to achieve significant reductions in operational costs compared to traditional turbine aircraft and helicopters.

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There are many active and former pilots who write and contribute content for FLYING. I am not one of them. Yet on June 3, I found myself at the controls of an all-electric aircraft.

The fly-by-wire controls of Beta Technologies’ Alia CX300 are intuitive enough that I—someone with zero flying experience—was able to take command from test pilot Chris “Pooter” Caputo for a few minutes without plummeting into Lake Champlain, next to the company’s facilities in Burlington, Vermont.

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.