Close X
    Sunday, December 1, 2024
    ADVT 
    National

    B.C.-based Helijet orders first electric vertical-takeoff aircraft

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Nov, 2023 10:29 AM
    • B.C.-based Helijet orders first electric vertical-takeoff aircraft

    Vancouver-based Helijet International has placed what it says is Canada's first order for an electric vertical-takeoff aircraft to add to its current fleet of passenger and cargo helicopters.

    Helijet president Danny Sitnam said Tuesday that the ALIA aircraft built by Vermont-based BETA Technologies would allow quicker, quieter and more efficient landings and takeoffs from hospitals and other emergency zones.

    The ALIA is an eVTOL aircraft, standing for electric vertical takeoff and landing, and Sitnam said those capabilities offer benefits for emergency response, air ambulance and organ transfer services in British Columbia.

    Sitnam said the zero-emission aircraft, which is currently undergoing regulatory tests, would carry five passengers and a pilot.

    The ALIA has wings, four drone-like horizontal rotors that allow it to take off like a helicopter, and a propeller at the back for thrust. 

    B.C. Premier David Eby, who attended an announcement about the order in Victoria, said it represented an innovative response to the challenges of climate change.

    Helijet was "reducing pollution, showing the way forward and doing it in a way that is cost effective," Eby said.

    Helijet said in a statement the ALIA would be available for private and commercial flights in 2026.

    BETA Technologies said it also has orders from UPS and Air New Zealand, and contracts with the U.S. military. 

    It has a research and development facility at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

     

    Prev Next

    MORE National ARTICLES

    One evacuation imposed, another dropped, as B.C. wildfires burn through September

    One evacuation imposed, another dropped, as B.C. wildfires burn through September
    The order is the only one issued in B.C. in the last 24 hours, but several other orders and alerts have been ended or downgraded over the same period, including orders covering 25 homes affected by the out-of-control McDougall Creek wildfire near West Kelowna.

    One evacuation imposed, another dropped, as B.C. wildfires burn through September

    Liberal MPs meet to prep for fall sitting, as Trudeau stares down slumping polls

    Liberal MPs meet to prep for fall sitting, as Trudeau stares down slumping polls
    Liberal MPs are gathering in London, Ont., to plan their strategy as the party grapples with rising discontentment toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Polls show the Liberals have sunken to their lowest levels of support since taking government in 2015, largely to the benefit of the Conservatives.

    Liberal MPs meet to prep for fall sitting, as Trudeau stares down slumping polls

    Canadian accused in U.S. of stealing cash using sleight-of-hand techniques

    Canadian accused in U.S. of stealing cash using sleight-of-hand techniques
    A Canadian man has been indicted in a U.S. federal court in St. Louis after being accused of using sleight-of-hand methods to steal more than $64,000 from more than 40 Walmart stores across the U.S. Thirty-seven-year-old Mohsen Akbari was indicted August 16th on one count of wire fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.  

    Canadian accused in U.S. of stealing cash using sleight-of-hand techniques

    Premier Eby 'white-hot' angry over Chinatown stabbing suspect's release from hospital

    Premier Eby 'white-hot' angry over Chinatown stabbing suspect's release from hospital
    British Columbia Premier David Eby says he is "white-hot" angry over the day release of a man from a forensic psychiatric hospital before he was arrested for a triple stabbing in Vancouver's Chinatown. Eby says the decision to release the man boggles the mind, and he wants to get to the bottom of how it occurred.

    Premier Eby 'white-hot' angry over Chinatown stabbing suspect's release from hospital

    Health Canada approves updated Moderna vaccine for COVID-19

    Health Canada approves updated Moderna vaccine for COVID-19
    Health Canada has authorized the use of an updated Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 for all Canadians over the age of six months. The new vaccine targets the XBB.1.5 variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.  

    Health Canada approves updated Moderna vaccine for COVID-19

    Delayed by plane troubles, Canada's PM Trudeau finally heading home from India

    Delayed by plane troubles, Canada's PM Trudeau finally heading home from India
    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally left India on Tuesday after technical issues with a government aircraft delayed his departure by two days. Trudeau and the Canadian delegation that attended the G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi was set to depart for Ottawa on Sunday, but the plane was grounded over an issue discovered during pre-flight checks.

    Delayed by plane troubles, Canada's PM Trudeau finally heading home from India

    PrevNext