Flight Training - August 2024 - 21

YOU CAN FLY
FUTURE FLIGHT
BY NIKI BRITTON
REACHING
NEW HEIGHTS
SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
TO 253 ASPIRING PILOTS
THE 2024 YOU CAN FLY SCHOLARSHIP
awards include the largest group of
recipients and the most scholarship funds
distributed to date. Some 253 students,
teachers, and other aspiring pilots have
been awarded funds that will help them
pursue their dreams for a future in the
aviation industry.
Awards for AOPA scholarship recipients
range from $250 to $20,000, with an
average scholarship amount of approximately
$9,000. Scholarships are allocated
to help recipients pursue pilot, aviation
maintenance, and aerospace careers;
cover the cost of flight training; and
provide funds for advanced ratings and
certificates. The total awarded for 2024 is
$1.593 million.
These scholarships are made possible
through the AOPA Foundation-the
501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of AOPA that,
through generous donations, funds programs
that AOPA membership dues don't
cover. Beyond helping people reach their
aviation goals through the annual flight
training scholarship program, the AOPA
Foundation funds content distributed by
the AOPA Air Safety Institute and initiatives
that help build the pilot community
and keep it safe.
The You Can Fly program and the Air
Safety Institute are funded by charitable
donations to the AOPA Foundation, a
501(c)(3) organization. To be a part of the
solution, visit aopafoundation.org/donate.
TO MARKET, TO MARKET
BETA'S EVTOL ACHIEVES A MILESTONE
ELECTRIC AEROSPACE DEVELOPER BETA
Technologies achieved a milestone when
its electric vertical takeoff and landing
Alia 250e prototype transitioned from
powered-lift flight to wing-borne flight
and back again, with a pilot on board, in
Plattsburgh, New York.
The Alia 250e (A250) features a fixed
wing and is electrically powered by four
vertical lift propellers and one rear
pusher-propeller. Once the aircraft
reaches cruise speed and lift is achieved
by the fixed wing, the vertical propellers
power down.
The transition test was piloted by former
U.S. Air Force test pilot Nate Moyer.
" The transition is a massive technological
hurdle for aviation, being able to safely
cross that is huge, " Moyer said. " Obviously,
it's big for the business, but it's also
big for the industry as a whole. "
The Vermont-based company began
development of the A250 and its eCTOL
counterpart in 2019 and over the last
five years the company has achieved
several milestones, including setting
the record for the longest manned flight
of a battery-powered aircraft covering
336-nautical miles in 2022. Since 2020
Beta's Alia prototype has flown more than
40,000 nautical miles.
" We've been progressing toward
this technical milestone for a while, "
the company said in a press release.
" It's a new flight regime, and we fly all
our missions with a pilot in the seat,
so we approached it the best way we
know how: by respecting physics. Like
everything we do at Beta, we took a
methodical, step-by-step approach. "
A250 is designed to be runway
independent and combine the benefits
of a helicopter with the range and speed
of a fixed-wing aircraft. Through its
zero-emission design, the company says
Alia will help reduce maintenance and
operating costs and increase reliability
and safety for carriers.
Data collected from this test flight, as
well as all previous flight tests, is being
used to prove the company's design as it
works toward certifying the A250, a necessary
step to bring this aircraft to market.
Beta plans to enter the Alia into service
with the military, then cargo carriers, and
finally passenger operations.
niki.britton@aopa.org
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2024
21
BETA TECHNOLOGIES
http://www.aopafoundation.org/donate
Flight Training - August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2024
