Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

NASA has appointed Electra.aero to lead a cohort of partners developing technologies and aircraft concepts for next-generation commercial airliners. On November 12, the Virginia-based company—which is developing a hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing regional airliner—was awarded a pair of contracts worth $3.5 million under the Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative.
The primary objective of the AACES program is to significantly reduce carbon emissions from commercial air transport. Electra’s engineering team is joining a consortium that also includes Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, Honeywell Aerospace, American Airlines, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, and the University of Michigan’s Department of Aerospace Engineering.
Bidding for the contracts, Electra proposed a suite of technologies and a concept for an aircraft that could scale to fulfill a series of missions specified by NASA, with some flexibility to consider alternative applications as well. During the program, the partners will refine a market forecast for the new technologies and propose specifications for aircraft they feel will best serve the needs of the air transport industry beyond 2045.
The group will be led by Electra’s chief engineer for research and future concepts, Alejandra Uranga. She serves on the University of Southern California’s Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering faculty and previously co-led a NASA N+3 program while a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“This work is part of the research NASA conducts under its Advanced Air Vehicles Program,” said Barbara Esker, deputy administrator for programs under NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “This new collaboration will help NASA and the private sector deliver new technologies to fulfill our mutual goal of cleaner skies in the decades ahead.”
<h2>Ultra Short Hybrid-Electric Aircraft&nbsp;</h2>
On November 13, Electra will unveil the first full-scale example of its nine-passenger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-09-26/electra-set-reveal-ultra-short-operations-hybrid-electric">blown-lift eSTOL aircraft</a>. According to the company, its ultra-short landing and takeoff performance will allow it to operate routes that don’t depend on having access to major airports, delivering more than twice the payload and 10 times the range of helicopters and eVTOL aircraft at 70% of the operating costs.
The aircraft is intended for what Electra defines as the "direct aviation" sector, with a view to expanding the scope for connecting city pairs. The company, which is now led by former senior Boeing executive Marc Allen as CEO, has reported provisional sales agreements for more than 2,000 of the aircraft from 52 operators.
Electra was founded in 2020 by John Langford, who previously founded Aurora Flight Sciences, which was acquired by Boeing in 2017. The company has already flown a two-seat technology demonstrator powered by its 150-kilowatt hybrid-electric propulsion system.

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NASA Contracts Electra for AACES Sustainable Airliner Program

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Honeywell

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