In what start-up Electra calls a first for the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, the head of a US government agency has flown aboard the company’s Goldfinch EL2 demonstrator.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson sat on the right side of the two-seat EL2 for a 24min flight starting and ending at Virginia’s Manassas Regional airport on 8 December, with chief test pilot Cody Allee demonstrating the aircraft’s “ultra-short” take-off and landing capabilities.
The aircraft took off and landed with as little as 150ft of ground roll thanks to the EL2’s “blown-lift” technology, and registered an acoustic profile of just 55dB at an altitude of 500ft, Electra says.
Electra recently secured a contract with NASA to to explore future aircraft concepts with the goal of potentially scaling its technology into the 200-seat commercial aircraft segment.
”Flying aboard this new technology is an inspiring example of how innovation and determination can redefine what’s possible in aviation,” Nelson says. “Advancements in hybrid-electric flight are a critical part of the aviation industry’s transformation toward cleaner, quieter and more accessible air transportation.”
The start-up says the sortie marks the “first-ever [flight] by a US government agency head on a next-generation” AAM aircraft.
Electra revealed last month the design for its conceptual nine-seat EL9 Ultra Short aircraft, which is aimed at service-entry near the end of the decade.
Chief executive Marc Allen told FlightGlobal on 11 November that momentum building from the EL2 demonstrator has given Electra confidence to “pivot toward product”.
Nelson, a former astronaut appointed in 2021 to lead NASA by outgoing president Joe Biden, is likely to be replaced by incoming president Donald Trump’s nominee Jared Isaacman – a billionaire and private astronaut who became the first person to conduct a private spacewalk during a SpaceX mission in September.
