The future of flight

What if your next regional flight didn’t require a trip to a major airport? What if you could lift off from a local parking lot or grassy area the size of a soccer field, quietly, quickly, and sustainably, then land closer to your destination than ever before?

That forward-looking vision was on display in Blacksburg this month as Virginia Tech convened leaders in aviation, transportation, and national security to explore the future of direct air mobility and smart airspace. The event followed the first public test flights of Electra's hybrid-electric EL2 ultra short takeoff and landing aircraft.

The gathering underscored Virginia Tech’s growing role as a national hub for transportation innovation, where research, real-world testing environments, and deep partnerships with government and industry come together to advance the next chapter of flight.

While getting an innovative aircraft off the ground is a milestone, launching an industry around it — regulations, infrastructure, trust — is also a big challenge. Both goals were front of mind for the panelists at the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport, where more than 130 people heard from experts in aviation policy, commercial operations, defense, and technology.

The event highlighted Virginia Tech’s connection to the innovation: Electra used three university-affiliated sites — Kentland Farm, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and the Corporate Research Center — for six successful test flights of its two-seat EL2 prototype aircraft on July 13 and 14. The company’s senior vice president for product development, JP Stewart, is a Virginia Tech aerospace engineering graduate.

The July 14 panel included experts in airspace regulations, transportation innovation, national security, and commercial airline operations — areas that would be profoundly impacted by the widespread use of planes like Electra’s, which can take off and land in just 150 feet.

Using eight small electric motors powered by a hybrid-electric propulsion system featuring a combination of battery packs and a turbogenerator, the aircraft demonstrated blown-lift technology that enables takeoff and landing in extremely short distances, even without conventional runways. A full-scale, nine-passenger version known as the EL9 is in development.

“More than 50 airline partners have already committed to buying the EL9 because they see its potential to unlock new forms of regional air connectivity,” Stewart said. “What sets the EL9 apart is its hybrid-electric propulsion system, which dramatically reduces noise, operating costs, and emissions, and enables access to new places that you’d never expect an airplane to go. We call this direct aviation — point-to-point regional travel that bypasses congested hubs and opens service to underserved smaller cities or remote areas without traditional airport infrastructure.”

Virginia Tech is a proven hub for insights on the development, deployment, and impact of technology on transportation due to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), Virginia Tech National Security Institute, and the university’s land-grant emphasis on applying research to real-world innovation that benefits its region. Wing, which like Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet, worked with MAAP on the first U.S. trials for drone delivery service nearly six years ago.

“At Virginia Tech, we’re deeply committed to advancing technologies like electric and hybrid aircraft and shaping the future of smart, integrated airspace,” said National Security Institute Executive Director Eric Paterson, who helped arrange the Future of Flight panel in collaboration with the university’s Innovation and Partnerships team. “It’s an exciting time, with incredible opportunities for innovation and collaboration across industry, government, and research.”