Electra Flies Hybrid-Electric Aircraft In Downtown Charleston

Electra completed an urban demonstration flight of its hybrid-electric EL2 Ultra Short aircraft at the Columbus Street Terminal in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, last week. The demonstration operated from a non-airport site during the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Americas.

Downtown Demonstration

Hosted by SC Ports, the flight used Electra’s EL2 technology demonstrator and was intended to show how the company’s blown-lift design can support takeoffs and landings in 150 feet or less. According to Electra, the company’s planned EL9 nine-passenger aircraft is being developed for regional shuttle operations from compact access points such as parking lots, rooftops, fields and barges.

“This demonstration is about showing what’s possible in the real world for urban/suburban airspace access,” Electra CEO Marc Allen said. “When you can offer air services close to where people live, work and play, that opens the door to transformative options for regional mobility. It is [a] new way to travel that’s more direct, flexible and much easier to use.”

Market Outlook

The Charleston demonstration followed Electra’s release of its first Direct Aviation Market Outlook, which reviewed U.S. regional travel patterns and focused on trips between 50 and 500 miles. Its analysis found 35 million daily passenger trips by car in that range, representing 1.6 trillion passenger-miles annually, along with more than 6,000 routes carrying at least 1,000 travelers per day.

For those routes, Electra’s analysis identified 1,851 with what it believes have more than one hour of potential time savings, 540 with more than two hours and 227 with more than three hours.

The company said operating the proposed regional shuttle model would require new access points, aircraft built for short-haul service, operators, infrastructure and regulatory support, and estimated demand for 12,000 to 16,000 aircraft over the first 10 years of operations.

Electra is among the companies selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Advanced Air Mobility pilot operations program. The company will be involved with demonstrations and other support services in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.