VICTORIA – Vancouver-based Helijet International has placed what it says is Canada’s first order for an electric vertical-takeoff aircraft to add to its current fleet of passenger and cargo helicopters.
Helijet president Danny Sitnam said Tuesday that the ALIA aircraft built by Vermont-based BETA Technologies would allow quicker, quieter and more efficient landings and takeoffs from hospitals and other emergency zones.
The ALIA is an eVTOL aircraft, standing for electric vertical takeoff and landing, and Sitnam said those capabilities offer benefits for emergency response, air ambulance and organ transfer services in British Columbia.
