Beta Alia

Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (EVTOL) Aircraft [ 2024 ]

The unique Beta Alia EVTOL product has garnered the interest of the United States Air Force.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/06/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from Beta Technologies marketing materials.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

The future of flight lies in wholly electric propulsion as more and more startups emerge touting all new impressive designs for the growing market. Beta Technologies, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, has developed its "Alia" as an Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (EVTOL) solution complete with quadcopter arrangement for vertical hovering actions and pusher prop for horizontal flight. The aircraft seats one and its internals can be arranged to accept cargo or up to five passengers.

The design of the aircraft is unique with the rounded, streamlined fuselage held under the mainplane and tailplane lines. The mainplanes are seated over the fuselage ahead of midships and are of slim design with cranked-back tips. Booms run through the mainplanes with a pair of rotors fitted forward and another fitted aft of the wing members. The booms are joined to the horizontal plane at the tail. The tailplanes are swept back and joined lower at the sides fuselage at its extreme end while straddling the pusher prop arrangement.

The air vehicle sits atop a four-point skid assembly though a wheeled undercarriage has also been seen in testing. The pilot is seated in the cockpit at front-left with oversized windows ahead and hinged, automobile-style doors along the sides of the fuselage for general entry into the cabinspace. As the mainplanes are high-mounted with their vertical lift rotors, there is no danger to personnel on the ground.

The Alia-250c model has been in development for three years (as of May 2021) with the goal to produce the most cost-effective, electrically-efficient aircraft capable of traversing from vertical, hovering flight to horizontal movement within a single design. Subscale, ground-operated designs have been completed to prove the life-size model sound.

Currently, the aircraft features a distributed Direct-Drive electric propulsion system to drive the 4 x Two-bladed lift rotors and the single three-bladed tail rotor / pusher prop. Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) is rated at 6,000lb. Dimensions include a wingspan measuring 50 feet. Operational range is 250 nautical miles with a total recharge time of the onboard battery being 50 minutes.

The electric propulsion system is dependent on a battery bank which is air-cooled and sealed from environmental interference and represents the heart of the electric drive unit. The vertical lift motors are also air-cooled units allowing for high-torque and general operating efficiency. The pusher prop relies on dual inverters which convert energy for the motors. A triple-redundancy system is built into the units for maximum safety.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

May 2021 - The United States Air Force has begun active flight testing of the Beta Alia EVTOL aircraft.

Specifications

Beta Technologies - USA
Manufacturer(s)

United States (testing)
Operators

2024
Service Year

United States
National Origin

In-Development
Project Status

1
Crew

1
Units

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

VERTICAL TAKE-OFF / LANDING (VTOL)
Series has a tactical capability to take-off and / or land vertically, a quality commonly associated with helicopters.

MULTI-ENGINE
Incorporates two or more engines, enhancing survivability and / or performance.

RUGGED AIRFRAME
Inherent ability of airframe to take considerable damage.

EXTENDED RANGE PERFORMANCE
Capability to travel considerable distances through onboard fuel stores.

ENCLOSED CREWSPACE(S)
Features partially- or wholly-enclosed crew workspaces.

50.0 ft
(15.25 meters)
Width/Span

6,008 lb
(2,725 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

Distributed, Direct-Drive Electric battery-fueled system driving 4 x Rotors for vertical lift / hovering flight in quadcopter arrangement on mainplane booms and 1 x Three-bladed propeller unit at the rear of the fuselage in "pusher" arrangement for horizontal flight.
Propulsion

288 miles
(463 km | 250 nm)
Range

None.

Alia - Base Series Name.

Alia 250

Alia-250c

Cockpit image represents the Beta Alia-250 production model.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images

1 / 3

Image from Beta Technologies marketing materials.

2 / 3

Image from Beta Technologies marketing materials.

3 / 3

Image from Beta Technologies marketing materials.

❮ ❯

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)