Electra and VertiPorts by Atlantic sign an assessment memorandum for New York City

Electra said on November 5, 2026, in a release datelined Manassas, Virginia, that it and VertiPorts by Atlantic signed a memorandum of understanding to assess infrastructure that could bring Ultra Short aircraft operations closer to where people live and work. VertiPorts by Atlantic is described as a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Aviation. The two companies will explore how barges, piers or elevated surfaces could unlock Ultra Short operations at new and existing VertiPorts by Atlantic sites in New York City. Electra calls this the first step in a broader collaboration to identify access points across multiple regions. An assessment memorandum is not a firm order. The release names no pier, no barge, no airport and no date, and it does not say any operation has been approved.

Avweb reported on November 6 that the companies will evaluate whether existing vertiports and alternative locations, including barges, piers and elevated platforms, could support fixed-wing operations, and that they have not announced specific operating locations or a timeline for commercial service. GlobalAir, the same day, says the memorandum is a study, that the release names no sites, sets no timeline and discloses no financial commitment, and that the EL9 itself has not flown. GlobalAir's headline says Atlantic "wants to land" the EL9 on piers and barges. The body of that article, and Electra's release, describe an assessment. This page uses the assessment wording.

The EL9 is a fixed-wing aircraft

Electra says the EL9 Ultra Short is a nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft designed to take off and land in as little as 150 feet. The 150-foot figure is Electra's design claim. Neither Avweb nor the November 5 release states a measured takeoff or landing roll for an EL9 flight. GlobalAir says the EL9 has not flown. The release does not say it has. Avweb says the aircraft uses distributed electric propulsion and blown-lift technology to generate additional lift at low speeds. That description is Avweb's.

Electra says the EL9 delivers helicopter-like access with the safety benefits of fixed-wing flight. Avweb's headline and deck call the operations fixed-wing. The EL9 is a fixed-wing short-takeoff aircraft. It is not an eVTOL. VertiPorts by Atlantic's own description, in the same release, says the subsidiary is positioned to enable emerging eVTOL operations. That sentence is about the subsidiary's general remit. It is not a description of the EL9.

The memorandum follows the October 26 demonstration at Downtown Skyport in Lower Manhattan. Electra says that landing is believed to be the first time a fixed-wing aircraft without vertical takeoff capability has landed at the heliport. Avweb identifies the October aircraft as the two-seat EL2 Goldfinch demonstrator. "Goldfinch" is Avweb's name. The October 26 pages on this site call it the EL2. The EL2 is a demonstrator. It is not the EL9, and the memorandum is not a report that the EL9 has used a New York site.

What the release also projects

Electra's Direct Aviation Market Outlook, described in the same release, says a nationwide analysis of nearly one billion trips identified 35 million passenger trips each day across distances of 50 to 500 miles. Electra estimates potential time savings of about 1 hour and 45 minutes from New York City to Boston, 3 hours and 30 minutes from New York City to Washington, D.C., and 45 minutes from New York City to Philadelphia, compared with driving. It projects that the category could carry one million passengers a day within its first decade, which it says would require an estimated 12,000 to 16,000 aircraft. Those figures are Electra's outlook. They are not traffic, and they are not an order.

Electra says it recently selected Springfield, Ohio, as the site of its first EL9 production facility. The planned development is $850 million, expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs and ultimately support production of up to 800 aircraft a year. "Planned" and "expected" are the release's words. Avweb reports the same $850 million proposal and the figure of up to 800 aircraft a year. No groundbreaking is stated in these pages.

The release repeats that Electra's contracted customers include the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and NASA, along with over 2,200 letters of intent from 60-plus commercial customers. A letter of intent is not a firm order. The memorandum does not add an aircraft count. Diana Siegel, Electra's vice president for commercial programs, said the companies are assessing how the sites could accommodate the EL9 and taking a step toward connecting New York City with communities across the region. Kevin Cox, chief executive of VertiPorts by Atlantic, said they are assessing how existing and emerging infrastructure can support a new generation of aircraft. "Assessing" is the verb in both quotes.

GlobalAir also writes that Electra applied for an FAA Part 23 type certificate in December 2025 and that the company says the FAA closed a G-1 issue paper in July 2026, which GlobalAir says established the EL9's certification basis. The November 5 release does not say that. Avweb does not say that. This page did not open the application or the issue paper. An application is not an issued type certificate. A closed issue paper, in GlobalAir's description, is not an issued type certificate either. GlobalAir also lists cruise speed, range, payload, a ferry range, a late-2027 or early-2028 first flight and a 2030 service target, and it names Bristow and Atlas Group. Those sentences are not in the November 5 release. This page does not adopt them as specifications. The 2030 service year already on the Electra company page remains a target from an earlier report.

The photograph

The photograph is the one Electra published with the October 26 Downtown Skyport release. Aviation International News identified that aircraft as the two-seat EL2 demonstrator. It is not a picture of this memorandum, and it is not the EL9. Avweb credits Electra for a photograph of that same demonstration.

What is not established

The document is a memorandum of understanding to assess sites. It is not a firm order. No New York site is named. No operation, no date and no price are stated. The EL9 is a fixed-wing hybrid-electric aircraft, not an eVTOL. The 150-foot figure is Electra's design claim. GlobalAir says the EL9 has not flown. The release does not say it has. No type certificate is stated in the November 5 release. GlobalAir's account of a Part 23 application and a G-1 issue paper was not opened here and is not an issued type certificate. The market-outlook numbers and the Springfield factory figures are Electra's projections and plans. The letters of intent are not firm orders.

Sources

Facts as reported by the linked sources as of Nov 11, 2026. Company targets are plans, not guarantees. Corrections: see About.