On November 14, 2022, the Clarkson University senior aerospace engineering design class took a tour of the Beta Technologies (https://www.beta.team) aircraft company. Beta has a test flight facility located about two hours from Clarkson at the Plattsburgh, NY airport. This tour was then followed by a second tour of Beta’s main engineering and manufacturing facility at their Burlington, VT airport location. The students were accompanied by Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Professors Brian Helenbrook and Ken Visser.
Beta is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for cargo and passenger service. The students were first given a presentation of the company’s history, followed by a Q & A period with the Beta engineers.
In the hangar, the students were shown the first technology prototype Beta developed named Ava. Ava served as a tech demonstrator to get the company off the ground. Beta explained that their initial concept focused on a tilt-rotor propulsion system. They then went through the design process and how they decided to decouple the lift and forward flight modes, namely the electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft mode from the Conventional TakeOff and Landing (CTOL) configuration, and so was born the concept of Alia.
Alia is a 6-passenger eVTOL aircraft that can also operate solely as CTOL aircraft. Beta has built two prototypes of the vehicle, one for each mode, and is actively flying these as they move toward certification. Students were allowed to examine the aircraft and even climb inside to sit in the pilot seat.
Alia is driven forward with a conventional pusher propeller. It obtains vertical lift from 4 lift props located on the upper booms. After lifting off vertically, the rear propeller engages and the lift props are stowed for forward flight, once enough forward motion has enabled conventional flight.
The students were next taken to the main engineering plant and hangar at the Burlington airport in Vermont. Here they were shown the manufacturing facilities and where the company engineers work. Both of the Alia aircraft were constructed there. In addition to the overall aircraft design, there is a major focus on motors and controls, as Beta has determined they need to develop and produce their own motors and control systems. The tour then took everyone outside to one of Beta’s aviation charging station concepts, an elevated platform that Beta hopes to deploy as infrastructure across the US, not just for their aircraft, but for all electric aircraft. They have already built additional stations and there are plans for more. (https://www.beta.team/charge/)
The Clarkson Coulter School of Engineering wants to thank Ken ‘71 and Grace Solinsky for their support! The trip supported one of the program goals of the Solinsky Engineering Leadership Challenge, namely, to get more Clarkson engineering students to visit manufacturing and industrial plants. These visits help students make connections between their coursework and real-world engineering and to excite them about careers in advanced manufacturing.
