Electra said Tuesday it completed a series of Virginia flight tests using its hybrid-electric EL2 demonstrator to evaluate helicopter-style instrument procedures and nontraditional landing areas. The flights tested point-in-space procedures and dedicated instrument routings at Virginia Tech/Montgomery Regional Airport, Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport and Allan C. Perkinson/Blackstone Army Airfield.
Testing Beyond The Runway
The flights also included sites in Newport News and Richmond, with operations from heliports, vertiports, taxiways and other unconventional access points. At Roanoke, Electra flew its fixed-wing EL2 demonstrator from a heliport on the commercial airport ramp. The work was conducted in coordination with the FAA’s eIPP program, the Virginia Smart Airspace Program, Virginia Tech, the Virginia Department of Aviation and PennDOT.
“This is the kind of practical flight testing needed to move Advanced Air Mobility from concept to operational reality,” said Tombo Jones, director of Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. “The goal is not just to fly a route, but to generate the data and operational insight needed to help new aircraft types integrate safely, efficiently, and repeatably into the airspace system.”
Building Toward The EL9
Electra and its partners collected operational data to compare aircraft performance with procedure requirements and evaluate future fixed-wing AAM operations using helicopter-style instrument procedures. Electra said the work followed more than a year of development involving vertiport and heliport approaches, instrument arrival and departure procedures and air traffic concepts for off-runway operations at airports.
The flights are intended to support development of Electra’s nine-passenger EL9 aircraft. Electra described the demonstrations as an initial step toward developing procedures for ultra-short aircraft at major airports and unconventional access points.
The FAA says data gathered through eIPP demonstrations will be used to identify regulatory and procedural gaps, refine procedures and support integration of advanced aircraft into the National Airspace System.
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