The Alia-250 was inspired by an Arctic tern and features a 50-foot (15-m) wingspan and an in-house-built electric propulsion system powered by high-density lithium batteries. Beta estimates a 250-mile (402-km) range and top speed of 138 mph (222 km/h).
In 2021 Beta Technologies received the very first military airworthiness approval for manned electric aircraft flight, meaning the Air Force was confident enough to put its own pilot in the seat and take flight. A few months ago, Beta delivered the Alia platform (in conventional takeoff and landing/CTOL form) to the US Air Force at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base.
Beta completed a full transition from VTOL hover to wing-borne cruise, and then back to hovering for landing, becoming the first company ever to demonstrate that feat with a pilot on board. Beta test pilot Nate Moyer took the helm at New York’s Plattsburgh International Airport, guiding the Alia-250 straight upward off the ground via its four horizontal electric propellers in April 2024.
Once it was high enough, the rear propeller kicked in, and as the aircraft gained enough speed for the wing to take over, the wing-top propellers slowed to a stop for a short cruise flight. Shortly thereafter, it turned around, the four propellers flipped back on, and it glided down toward the airstrip before coming to a mid-air halt and gently dropping straight down for the landing.
This ALIA CX300 electric conventional take-off and landing aircraft has kicked off Norway’s Test Arena for Zero & Low Emission Aviation after completing a weeks-long tour of major European countries in 2025.
In 2025 BETA Technologies has delivered its ALIA CX300 electric CTOL to the company’s first customer. The short-hop passenger aircraft will now be used to evaluate use cases and possible routes for zero-emission operation in the Nordic region.
Unlike its electric vertical take-off and landing counterpart – the A250 – the ALIA CX300 gets in the air and lands using a runway. It’s designed to carry five passengers plus a pilot over short distances between airports, and features an electric motor driving a single five-blade prop to its rear. According to the spec sheet, its onboard batteries should be good for more than 300 nautical miles between one-hour top-ups.
The aircraft’s very first passenger pioneers were flown from Long Island to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, staying in the air for 45 minutes. Now the first ALIA CX300 has been delivered to Bristow Norway AS, a subsidiary of US helicopter operator, the Bristow Group.
The delivery to Stavanger Airport in Western Norway’s Rogaland county also marks the end of a weeks-long 6.976-km (4,335 mile) demonstration tour of seven EU countries by the aircraft, which began in Ireland and closed in Norway. It also signals the start of operations for Norway’s Test Arena for Zero & Low Emission Aviation.
The first test flight by a BETA-trained Bristow pilot was also undertaken at the launch event, following on-site instruction at BETA’s Vermont headquarters recently. Bristow pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel will now undertake further demonstration flights over the next six months, in cooperation with Avinor and the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway, as part of a “six-month regulatory sandbox evaluation project.”
The battery-electric aircraft, manufactured by BETA, seats two crew and up to 5.6 cubic metres of cargo on missions for up to approximately 398km.
The ALIA CX300 first took off in New Zealand on 17 October 2025, flying in New Zealand from Tauranga to Hamilton after a sunrise blessing ceremony.
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