Companies · United States

Electra

Electra.aero, Inc., which gives its headquarters as 10761 James Payne Court, Manassas, VA 20110, said on October 26, 2026 that it took off and landed a hybrid-electric Ultra Short aircraft at Downtown Skyport in Lower Manhattan. Electra says that landing is believed to be the first at the heliport by a fixed-wing aircraft without vertical takeoff capability. Aviation International News reports that the aircraft was the two-seat EL2 technology demonstrator, that the flights were on Monday morning, and that it used the heliport's 62-foot-by-62-foot landing pad. AIN says the nine-passenger EL9 is the model Electra aims to bring into commercial service from 2030. That year is a target. The visible opening of an Aviation Week article the same day, the part that loaded, says the EL2 demonstrator operated from the 300-foot-long barge at Downtown Skyport (JRB). The EL2 is a demonstrator. These sources do not state an EL9 type certificate, a certification basis or a price. Electra says it has more than 2,200 letters of intent from 60+ commercial customers. AIN separately reports provisional letters of intent for 2,200 EL9 aircraft purchases. A letter of intent is not a firm order. Electra says its contracted customers include the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and NASA. The aircraft is not on the vehicle tracker: that list is limited to consumer vehicles and air taxis, and these sources describe a regional hybrid-electric aircraft, not an air taxi on that list. The photograph is the image Electra published with the October 26 release. On November 5, 2026 Electra said it signed a memorandum of understanding with VertiPorts by Atlantic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Aviation, to assess barges, piers, elevated surfaces and new or existing VertiPorts by Atlantic sites in New York City for the nine-passenger EL9 Ultra Short. The EL9 is a fixed-wing hybrid-electric aircraft, not an eVTOL. Electra says it can take off and land in as little as 150 feet. That distance is Electra's design claim. The memorandum is an assessment. It is not a firm order. No site, date, price or operation is confirmed. Avweb reports the same memorandum and says no operating location or commercial timeline has been announced. GlobalAir says the EL9 has not flown. The November 5 release does not say it has. No type certificate is stated in that release.