What will it take to reinvent aviation for the next century?
For decades, flight has been defined by incremental improvements, like faster engines, better safety systems, or more efficient operations. But today, the industry is facing a different kind of pressure: rising emissions, volatile fuel costs, and growing demand for more flexible, regional mobility.
A new generation of companies is responding by rethinking aviation from the ground up.
One of the frontier companies in this space is BETA Technologies. BETA, which was founded in the twenty-teens, now has a range of ALIA vehicles, a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) model and a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) model, that are illustrating what’s possible in aerial piloting design. The technology pioneered by BETA is part of the vanguard of self-piloting planes in the space.
“We believe the industry is on the precipice of a real step change,” said BETA CEO Kyle Clark in a press statement in September of last year. “We look forward to partnering to codevelop products that will unlock the potential of hybrid-electric flight, and to do it with the rigor, reliability, and safety that aviation demands.”
Bringing Value to the Table
Another recent piece of testimony from a BETA insider comes in the form of a TED Talk by Kristin Costello, Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the company.
Costello spoke highly of the company, which is based in Burlington, VT, a twist she says adds to a different corporate culture.
“It really spoke to the aviator in me,” she said, detailing a life of experience in the air. “Aviation is an element of my identity.”
Changing with the Times
“Aviation has always evolved in response to the defining pressure of its era,” Costello explained, citing WWI, WWII, and an ensuing culture of safety that developed subsequently in peacetime.
“The world became smaller, faster, more interconnected,” she said. “Aviation is now one of the safest forms of transport.”
But challenges like emissions constraints and fuel price volatility, she suggested, put flight on an “unsustainable trajectory.”
How people in the field respond to these challenges, she said, matters. Costello called for companies to be disciplined and follow first principles.
Re-Inventing Flight
Speaking to BETA’s roles in the industry, Costello referenced its unique track record with electric and hybrid designs.
“BETA is really solving for more than just a concept,” she said. “It’s building a system that will work. They pivoted to a whole new philosophy – simplicity.”
In going over various points of the BETA business plan, Costello mentioned energy storage in the form of batteries, and testing and iterating on storage systems at a state-of-the-art battery testing facility, where stakeholders are harvesting lots of data.
A Path to Certification
BETA is employing a pragmatic step-wise approach to certification, in which the airplane parts and systems are developed according to what works within existing frameworks to the extent that they can, working alongside the regulators.
“We’re recognizing where regulatory readiness is today, where we’re still solving what’s needed for the future,” she said of the CTOL design, while explaining a different process for the VTOL.
There is, she noted, a lot of commonality in the design of the two aircrafts.
She also mentioned starting with cargo and medical logistics first, before passenger operations.
“This isn’t just meeting the bar for safety – we’re raising it,” she said, citing a “pragmatic stepwise approach” in which airplane parts and systems are developed according to what will work for regulators.
“We’re recognizing where regulatory readiness is today, where we’re still solving what’s needed for the future,” she said of the CTOL design, while explaining a different process for the VTOL.
There is, she noted, a lot of commonalities in the design of the two aircrafts.
She also mentioned starting with cargo and medical logistics first, before passenger operations.
More Innovation with Chargers
“Aircraft alone do not create a new industry,” Costello said, describing a charging network, and the in-house development of a UL-certified charger for electric aircraft as well as ground EVs.
“We didn’t want to encounter a bottleneck,” she said. “So we identified it and removed it early ourselves.”
A Whole New World
“This is here, and happening now,” Costello said. “We have moved beyond the proof of concept phase.”
Estimating BETA has flown about 125,000 miles to date, she added that there are over 50 chargers deployed, and a total of 107 sites in development. BETA flights have navigated American airports like Atlanta, JFK, etc., and flown across Europe as well.
“We’re at an inflection point in the industry. And if history has taught us anything, it’s not that the most futuristic design or the concept with the sexiest marketing campaign will be what defines this, it will be who can deploy a reliable, scalable solution – and this is what BETA’s out to do.”
I thought all of this was a spellbinding look into a modern aviation company and how it defines its moat in the market. But on a broader level, this asks us to also re-think conventional travel.
