Electra taps Atlas Group to build EL9 hybrid-electric airframes

Electra has signed an agreement with The Atlas Group to make and assemble airframes for its EL9 Ultra Short aircraft, the Virginia-based manufacturer announced Tuesday. Work starts in September, with initial deliveries expected in 2027.

That timeline fits the company's earlier target for the EL9's first flight, which it has said will come in 2027 or 2028. The hybrid-electric design seats nine passengers and is meant to operate from spaces roughly the size of a soccer field.

Electra has tested the concept with a two-seat demonstrator, the EL2 Goldfinch, which it says has taken off and landed in as little as 150 feet. In August the demonstrator began operational trials in Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including flights into Atlantic City Bader Field. Those activities fall under a contract with the FAA and are expected to last at least three years. Electra hopes to fly the EL9 under a similar arrangement before that contract ends.

The manufacturer aims for commercial service with the EL9 in 2030. In July it named Springfield, Ohio, as the site of the first production facility for the type, where it plans to invest $850 million and says output could reach 800 aircraft a year.

Safran Helicopter Engines will supply the turbogenerator, built around the Arrano gas turboshaft engine and two of Safran Electrical & Power's GENeUS electric generators. Evolito is providing eight hybrid-electric engines, and Honeywell flight control computers will form the basis of the digital fly-by-wire system.

Electra says the EL9 is intended to enable what it calls direct aviation: bringing safe and affordable air service to smaller and closer locations.