The days of the internal combustion engine may be numbered as electric vehicles continue to proliferate, but airplanes and their polluting engines are going to be harder to replace. A startup called Beta Technologies is one of several making progress toward fully electric air travel, and it’s got a new vehicle in the works. After focusing on an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the company has announced a fixed-wing version that could be flying passengers sooner than you think.
According to Beta, it has already logged over 22,000 test miles (35,405 kilometers) with the CX300. Unlike the company’s ALIA-250 eVTOL, the CX300 uses a fixed-wing design to take off and land like a conventional aircraft; thus, it’s known as an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) vehicle.
The Vermont-based Beta has managed to move quickly with its eCTOL craft because it’s based on the eVTOL design it has been working on for several years. Both vehicles have a rear-facing propeller for forward thrust, but the eVTOL version has four wing rotors that give it vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. They have a 50-foot wingspan and enough room for five passengers and a pilot.
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