en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Aircraft Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), jointly launched by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), has entered the actual flight phase. BETA Technologies, using its ALIA CX300 aircraft, conducted the program's first electric conventional takeoff and landing flights in Maryland and Virginia to transport manufactured organs.

United Therapeutics, together with BETA and the Multistate Collaborative eIPP National Integration Complex, participated in this flight mission. The mission aims to demonstrate how electric aircraft can support time-sensitive medical supply transportation between existing operational airports.

The CX300 aircraft uses runways for takeoff and landing. BETA is seeking FAA certification for this model and has verified its range at 337 nautical miles. The company expects that flights of its vertical takeoff and landing variant, the ALIA, will follow conventional aircraft operational procedures under this program.

The FAA and DOT selected eight projects from this program in March. These projects cover 26 states and include categories such as passenger transport, cargo transport, medical emergency response, and autonomous aircraft operations. BETA was selected to participate in seven of these projects and is expected to operate in at least 10 states.

The integration pilot program is expected to run for at least three years. The FAA plans to use actual flight data collected during operations to develop regulations for integrating electric and other advanced aircraft into the National Airspace System.