Vermont-based electric aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies has received a $20 million grant from the state of New York to expand its facility at Plattsburgh International airport into a flight-test and aircraft delivery centre.
The office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul disclosed on 1 December that the grant from the Empire State Development’s Regional Economic and Community Assistance programme will go toward a $41 million expansion of the company’s existing facility in Plattsburgh through a partnership with Clinton County.
”The new, upgraded facility will serve as the manufacturing and final assembly hub for Beta’s all-electric aircraft and will establish a permanent flight-test and aircraft delivery center, responsible for final flight testing, aircraft painting and customer delivery,” Hochul’s office says.
Beta is developing two variants of its all-electric Alia aircraft – a fixed wing, conventional take-off and landing type and an electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
”At Beta, we’re focused on making aviation cleaner and more efficient for the future, and that requires a number of pieces including technology, infrastructure and a capable workforce,” says chief executive Kyle Clark. ”We’ve been developing, flying and maintaining our electric aircraft at Plattsburgh International airport since 2017, and in that time we’ve been overwhelmed by the state and county’s support of our vision.”
Beta has accomplished many of its milestone flights in Plattsburgh – a small city on the shores of Lake Champlain – including its longest flight of an electric aircraft with a 336nm (622km) journey from Jamestown to Plattsburgh.
The company has recently been executing a plan to install dozens of electric aircraft charging stations on the East Coast. It has installed charging infrastructure at three airports in Upstate New York – Jamestown, Rome and Plattsburgh.
Last month, Beta received $169 million from the Export-Import Bank of the US, which will be used to finance its new manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vermont.
