Latest news with #KyleClark
New York Post
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Whisper-quiet electric helicopter-plane could turn NYC into ‘The Jetsons'
On Tuesday morning, the first-ever passenger flight of an electric-powered plane in North America glided down onto the tarmac at JFK with little more than a whisper. The quiet milestone has big implications for the future of aviation. 'We've drastically lowered the cost of flying, increased the safety and reduced the noise of the airplane — all concurrently,' Kyle Clark, the pilot of the flight and CEO of electric aerospace company BETA Technologies, told NYNext. 6 ALIA, an electric-powered plane, took off on the first ever North American passenger flight Tuesday morning. In 49 minutes, the plane traveled from East Hampton to JFK. Courtesy of BETA Technologies The 49-minute, 72-nautical mile jaunt from East Hampton to Queens was fueled by just $8 worth of electricity, but it was the culmination of years of development. Clark, a 45-year-old entrepreneur who studied engineering at Harvard, launched BETA Technologies in 2017 with the aim of developing electric-powered aircraft and the infrastructure to support them. He's since raised more than $1 billion in funding from investors such as the Qatar Investment Authority, Fidelity, and Amazon. 6 Kyle Clark, pilot of the flight and CEO of electric aerospace company BETA Technologies, spoke at a press conference after ALIA landed at JFK. In interviews with NYNext, he said, 'Creating a new form of air transportation will be transformative for society.' Courtesy of BETA Technologies In 2018, design began on the ALIA, a sleek, electric-powered aircraft that can seat five — four passengers and one pilot — and take off both horizontally, like a traditional plane, and vertically, like a helicopter or military jump jet. The latter is accomplished with the addition of four modular propellers mounted atop the aircraft that give it the look of a giant drone. 'I would never compare ourselves to the Wright brothers,' Clark said, 'but creating a new form of air transportation will be transformative for society.' ALIA are manufactured in Burlington, VT. And while there are others working to build similar vessels, Clark said that Beta is the only company in North America producing at scale. 6 ALIA has the capacity to ascend and descend vertically, like a helicopter, when rotors are added to the top of the plane. The configuration was not used during Tuesday's flight. Courtesy of BETA Technologies Thus far, the plane has completed 8,000-nautical miles worth of flights — many of them out of a small airport in Plattsburgh, NY. But Clark selected JFK as the landing site for Tuesday's flight to demonstrate the plane's true potential. 'It would have been too easy to fly between two minor class airports,' said Clark, who started taking pilot lessons in his early 20s, after dropping out of Harvard, to play professional ice hockey for three years. 'And to do so wouldn't really show the world that the FAA, the Port Authority and the controllers at JFK are ready for this new form of air travel.' 6 Executive Director of the Port Authority Rick Cotton spoke at the post-flight press conference at JFK. Clark said that landing at JFK, Class B airspace, required matching commercial jet approach speeds and altitudes while responding to air traffic control without deviation or delay. Courtesy of BETA Technologies At JFK, ALIA had to integrate seamlessly into Class B airspace — the most tightly controlled in the U.S., matching commercial jet approach speeds and altitudes while responding to air traffic control without deviation or delay. More remarkable than the plane's compliance with commercial protocols is its quiet nature. Until 1977, New Yorkers could fly from Midtown to the city's major airports, including JFK and Newark. Today, heliports are largely confined to the city's periphery because of noise concerns. Quiet aircraft, though, could mean that ports could be built in denser, more convenient locations. Blade, who works with BETA and other leading aircraft manufacturers, is planning on it. 'Quiet and emission-free aircraft will not only mitigate noise issues that concern New York and East End residents, but it will also make flying more affordable and accessible to the public,' Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal said. While Tuesday's flight took off and landed horizontally, other test flights have ascended and descended vertically; vertical passenger flights are expected within the next year, and commercial service with the ALIA is expected within the next two years. 6 Aboard the flight Tuesday was Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal. He told NYNext that, 'Quiet and emission-free aircraft will not only mitigate noise issues that concern New York and East End residents, but it will also make flying more affordable and accessible to the public.' Courtesy of BETA Technologies 'There are many, many safety thresholds that we have to cross on our way to get there,' said Clark. 'But we're rendering the recurring cost of operation to be pretty small — and that's after you increase the safety and reduce the noise.' BETA has already signed agreements or entered into partnerships with various companies, including UPS and Air New Zealand. The research and development that went into getting ALIA to this point, Clark estimated, cost BETA somewhere in the ballpark of $300 to 500 million. A similar amount, he told NYNext, went toward building a charging network. In addition to the 46 operational sites stretching from Monterey County, CA., to Gainesville, FL., to Portland, Maine. — each able to fully charge ALIA in under an hour and support electric vehicles like Teslas — another 50 are in permitting or construction phases. 6 Clark is congratulated at the conclusion of Tuesday's flight, which featured horizontal take off and landing. Vertical passenger flights are expected within the next year. Courtesy of BETA Technologies While BETA's long-term goal is to enable short-haul electric flights across the U.S. and beyond, Clark's current focus is squarely on New York. The ALIA could quietly land on vertiports on rooftops, ferrying passengers from Midtown to JFK with ease. Clark envisions a city connected by air — ala 'The Jetsons' — not someday but soon. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). Electrification, he believes, is aviation's next great leap, a long overdue new chapter after the jet age made flight global in the mid 20th century. 'This really has all the legs,' he said, 'to be a meaningful mode of transport for New Yorkers.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Electric airplane makes first landing at NYC's JFK Airport
STORY: :: June 3, 2025 :: New York :: This is the first time a passenger-carrying electric airplane has landed at a New York airport :: Kyle Clark, Founder and CEO, Beta Technologies "So this is a 100% electric airplane that just flew from East Hampton to JFK with passengers on it, which was a first for the New York Port Authority, for the New York area, and we covered 70 odd nautical miles in 35 minutes." :: Beta Technologies' flight showcases the quiet, low-cost potential of electric air travel "The most transformative thing is that you drastically reduce the cost of flying. Charging this thing up and flying out here cost us about $8 in fuel, right? Of course, you have to pay for the pilot, gotta pay for airplane, but fundamentally, it's way less expensive. It's quieter, so the communities are happier. It's a simpler aircraft, so you're quiet, you're accessible, and people love flying it. If you asked the passengers how they liked it, we could talk to each other the whole time. There's no propeller in front of you, there's no jet engine. It's just a quiet whooshing across the plane." The flight to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport flew 45 minutes with a pilot and four people, they said in a statement. Transportation companies, including airlines, are looking to develop services using electric battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers for short city trips, allowing them to beat traffic. In October, the Federal Aviation Administration finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying air taxis, calling it "the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term." In the same month, Beta raised $318 million in equity capital to fund production, certification, and commercialization of electric aircraft, bringing its total raised value to more than $1 billion. The Vermont-based company was founded in 2017. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
7 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Beta Technologies conducts first all-electric aircraft landing
Aerospace manufacturer BETA Technologies' electric aircraft, ALIA, taxis at John F. Kennedy Airport with the lower Manhattan skyline in the background in New York City, U.S., June 3, 2025. It is the first Advanced Air Mobility flight into JFK Airport. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper (Reuters) - Beta Technologies became the first U.S. company to land an all-electric aircraft at an airport in the New York-New Jersey region, the company and port authorities said in Tuesday. The flight to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport flew 45 minutes with a pilot and four people, they said in a statement. Transportation companies, including airlines, are looking to develop services using electric battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers for short city trips, allowing them to beat traffic. In October, the Federal Aviation Administration finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying air taxis, calling it "the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term." In the same month, Beta raised $318 million in equity capital to fund production, certification, and commercialization of electric aircraft, bringing its total raised value to more than $1 billion. The Vermont-based company was founded in 2017. "After years of rigorous safety testing in all types of environments, we're proud to stand here with the Port Authority and the city of New York to demonstrate exactly how this aircraft can serve cities by easing congestion, reducing emissions, and increasing accessibility," Kyle Clark, CEO and founder of the privately held company, said in the statement. (Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
CBS News
7 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
All-electric aircraft makes historic landing at JFK Airport
JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing History was made Tuesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an all-electric aircraft made a successful runway landing for the first time. The aircraft made a 45-minute journey from Suffolk County to Queens in a first-of-its-kind passenger-carrying demonstration flight. "So quiet, so efficient, so green" Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based start-up, is now the first United States company to land an all-electric aircraft at an airport in the New York-New Jersey region. The company's founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, piloted the Alia CX300 himself, landing successfully – and quietly. He says the historic flight showcases the future of urban air mobility amid a longstanding push for electric aviation. "That flight we just took from East Hampton to here was like $8 in electricity," he said. Clark says the company's all-electric aircraft have undergone years of rigorous safety testing. "It's super meaningful to bring an aircraft of new technology through six years of development and testing to the point that we can actually put passengers in it," Clark said. Joining him on Tuesday's flight were four passengers, including Andrew Kimball, CEO of NYC Economic Development Corporation. "So quiet, so efficient, so green. Really will transform the industry," Kimball said. "It was terrific. It was quiet," another passenger said. Beta Technologies aims to fly commercial passengers by 2026 Clark says the goal for such electric aircraft is to ease congestion, reduce emissions and increase accessibility for all. He hopes to be flying commercial passengers by 2026, although at this time, it's unclear exactly how much a commercial flight would cost. "Next year, we will achieve [Federal Aviation Administration] certification, we expect. It's gonna be a lot of hard work, more testing, so 18, 20 months from now, you can probably be flying one of these airplanes around New York," Clark said. "The airports have a big job to do in terms of establishing charging stations, developing areas where they can safely land and take off," said Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton. In October 2024, the FAA finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying such electric aircraft, calling it "the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term."
CNA
7 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Beta Technologies, in a first, lands passenger-carrying electric aircraft at NY airport
(Corrects headline to reflect that the milestone was at a New York airport, not that it was the first such aircraft ever) Beta Technologies became the first U.S. company to land an all-electric aircraft at an airport in the New York-New Jersey region, the company and port authorities said in Tuesday. The flight to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport flew 45 minutes with a pilot and four people, they said in a statement. Transportation companies, including airlines, are looking to develop services using electric battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers for short city trips, allowing them to beat traffic. In October, the Federal Aviation Administration finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying air taxis, calling it "the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term." In the same month, Beta raised $318 million in equity capital to fund production, certification, and commercialization of electric aircraft, bringing its total raised value to more than $1 billion. The Vermont-based company was founded in 2017. "After years of rigorous safety testing in all types of environments, we're proud to stand here with the Port Authority and the city of New York to demonstrate exactly how this aircraft can serve cities by easing congestion, reducing emissions, and increasing accessibility," Kyle Clark, CEO and founder of the privately held company, said in the statement.
