Today 47G and BETA Technologies signed an MOU to position Utah as the nation's premier Advanced Air Mobility hub. Initiatives include electric aircraft deployment, charging networks, route planning, and community engagement.
Today, Defense and Aerospace Engineering Organization 47G and Aviation Manufacturing Company BETA Technologies met to sign an MOU, Under this agreement, the parties will collaborate on a series of initiatives with the objective of making Utah the nation’s premier ecosystem for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) — a form of transport that relies on next-generation technologies to increase access and efficiency, while lowering cost.
The initiatives include, but are not limited to, activities such as:
This agreement will be signed and executed by Aaron Starks, President & CEO of 47G | Utah Aerospace & Defense, and Kyle Clark, Founder and CEO of BETA Technologies, with letters of support from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO), and Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).
Prior to the signing, Clark gave background on BETA Technologies. “BETA was something that I had dreamt of. It was actually my senior thesis and project, about 22 years ago in college. We kept advancing and pushing it and in 2017 we finally got the opportunity to start designing commercial aircraft for Advanced Air Mobility.” Clark continued with, “We've taken a very different approach within BETA, where we've focused on the core enabling technologies, electric motors, super high reliability, power electronics, the integration of energy storage and a new configuration of aircraft that exploits the benefit of these new technologies while respecting the detriments. And then we look for commercial entry points that make a ton of sense for us, the aircraft, the aircraft is fundamentally a cost savings to it cost about half to move a package a mile than it does with a turbine or a recent engine aircraft. And that's actually including the pilot insurance, the airframe, all the energy that goes into it, and of course, the capital asset which is moving that is key for economic development, in my opinion, to use technology to drive the economy. It starts for us with moving packages, moving medical supplies, moving things for the military, then moving passengers. That aircraft is really small on the table there, but it's actually about twice the size of most of the other AAM players. You can put three or four pallets of stuff in it. You can put six to eight people in it.”
Clark also spoke about how this new technology will fit into infrastructure. “We're really excited to get out here and start connecting the airports together. There's a lot of pieces that go into that. The charging infrastructure is one of them, a super reliable, simple charging infrastructure that can be used across multi model transportation, trucks, motorcycles, package delivery vans, all the way up to airplanes. And at BETA, we have the only certified electric charger that can go and charge airplanes all the way down to trucks, motorcycles and extra delivery bands. And that's a technological play of creating a wide voltage, rain on range, on the output, while keeping the currents very high for fast charging to drive the economies. And I think you start to sense a theme that we're building a foundational technology is an entirely new field of aerospace. And what's super exciting to me is seeing a state, the state of Utah, stepping up, seeing this trend coming.”
Clark also spoke about the safety of the airframe BETA has been working on. “Electrification allows for redundancy. There are 16 motors in the top of this aircraft and two in the back, so 18 total motors keeping you in the air. So you have massive redundancy. They're all independent. They're all time asynchronous, which means they're not being affected by the same failures. The second thing is, you're carrying a lot less energy in a much less volatile state. You're carrying things in batteries with electric motors, and you're using modern technologies to implement that into an airframe that's self aware, so it knows way before there's a failure. Electrification is just a fundamentally safer technology than fuel burning aircraft.The FAA has set an exceptionally high mark for certification. In fact, it's 10 times higher to introduce a new invasive technology than it is to put together certification on existing technology. So you have to be safer. You have to come in with something that is unproved. And, yeah, yeah. Time proven in the eyes of the FAA, which takes time, that's why it's taken us a decade and focus in the field and there's a bright future in front.
We also asked Clark about how he sees this technology can fit into other sectors, more specifically Life Flight and Search and Rescue. “So the big difference is the utilization in hospitals. Hospitals don't have airports out yet they carry really critical cargo, whether stroke medication or organs. So for hospitals, our product is a natural fit. No Life Flight transfers. It's a great aircraft for that. In fact, it was designed for Oregon telemedicine. There's some great applications where you're actually using IR cameras, or visual cameras, option cameras to scan and find things. Okay? So, like, if there's somebody lost in the hills there, you want to carry, cover a lot of distance, carry a pretty light payload for search and rescue,
Also before the signing, Starks spoke about this project and how 47 plants are working to support this. “Colonel John Stapp hooked himself to a rocket boat and reached 46.2 G's. 652 miles an hour. That happened on the border of Northern Arizona and Utah.We said, with our brand, we wanted to go where no man had gone before.Today with this MOU signing, we are going where no other state has gone before, to the top of Air Mobility. We are going to electrify airports and we are going to bring the community together. There will be workforce development opportunities and legislative opportunities that will create policy reform in a regulatory sandbox where companies like beta technologies can come and innovate and grow their technologies. This is an exciting and very historic moment that we all get to share together.
Stark also commented and thanked the government for their support on their mission. “It is wonderful to live in a state and do business in a state where you don't have to face bureaucracy, where the private sector can lead out, and where we can innovate. Governor Cox is a great champion of ideas, and he has cleared the path in a lot of ways.”
Gov. Cox congratulated the 47G and BETA Technologies teams on the technological advancements that they've been able to make and the certification work that is happening with the FA around Advanced Air Mobility.
"I talk a lot about building for the for the next generation," said Governor Cox. "We used to be really good at this stuff back in the 1940s and 50s and 60s. But when it comes to building and innovation in this country, we've crippled ourselves. We need to change that mindset. How lucky we are to live in a state that still believes in building...We have an incredible opportunity coming up in 2034 to welcome the world to Utah as the Olympics make their return. We can't wait. Over the next nine years, we're going to see a lot of technological changes in this country and the world. I can't wait to show the world our advanced Air Mobility opportunities."