Electra has completed first-of-its-kind flights at Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport in Virginia using helicopter-style instrument procedures and novel take-off and landing areas for its EL2 Ultra Short aircraft. The demonstrations were designed to show how the hybrid-electric aircraft could operate from heliport-like access points at commercial airports without adding traffic to congested runways.
The flights were part of a broader Virginia test campaign that also included Virginia Tech/Montgomery Regional Airport, Blackstone AAF, Newport News and Richmond. Electra used small heliports, vertiports, taxiways and other access points normally associated with helicopter operations, while testing point-in-space procedures and dedicated instrument routings. The work was carried out in coordination with the FAA’s eVTOL and AAM Integration Pilot Program and state aviation partners.
The company is developing the EL2 as a two-seat demonstrator for its broader Ultra Short concept, with the larger EL9 intended for future regional service. The trials are meant to help establish operating procedures for fixed-wing advanced air mobility aircraft that can reach non-traditional airport areas while remaining integrated with existing air traffic flows.