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

Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Charles Alcock

Kerry Lynch

Electra Aero has built a technology demonstrator vehicle that it will use to complete the development of its hybrid-electric&nbsp;short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft. During an event on Monday attended by some 200 guests at its headquarters in Manassas, Virginia, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-28/how-electra-plans-deliver-fixed-wing-payload-and-range-helicopter-habitats">the company</a> revealed the two-seat model, which it says is the world’s first blown-lift aircraft powered by distributed electric propulsion.
Flight testing is expected to start in the third quarter&nbsp;to track performance that will help Electra’s engineers complete the design of the nine-passenger production aircraft that could also be used to carry&nbsp;2,500 pounds of freight. The company is aiming to produce an aircraft with exceptional short takeoff and landing performance that will be able to operate from landing surfaces of little more than 300 feet and fly routes of&nbsp;around 400 nm at a cruise speed of 175 knots. If operated&nbsp;from longer runways up to 1,000 feet, payload and range could be increased.
The eSTOL aircraft’s propulsion system consists of eight electric motors and a turbogenerator that can recharge batteries in flight and run on sustainable aviation fuel. Electra said&nbsp;this capability has the added benefit of avoiding the need for ground recharging infrastructure, giving far greater scope for the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/electra-estol">eSTOL aircraft </a>to operate from multiple locations, including city-center landing sites and more than 5,000 underutilized public airports in the U.S.
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<div style="margin-bottom:5px;"><img alt="Digital rendering of Electra's eSTOL aircraft at Manhattan Heliport" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f8782b40-ba1e-4f76-aa33-2ae4f1187261" src="/sites/default/files/electra_manhattan_heliport_copy.png" width="700" height="466" loading="lazy"></div>
<figcaption style="font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-style:italic;">Electra says its nine-passenger eSTOL aircraft will be able to operate from urban locations such as New York's Manhattan heliport. (Image: Electra)</figcaption>
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Electra is now selecting a supplier for the turbogenerator&nbsp;and another to provide fly-by-wire controls. It plans to be ready to fly a full-scale prototype in 2025 as it advances toward&nbsp;FAA Part 23 type certification in 2028.
The technology demonstrator, which the company has named the Gold Finch,&nbsp;is about the size of a Cessna 172 light aircraft and around 80 percent of the scale of the prototype. The prototype will be the same size as the production aircraft, albeit not fully conforming.
<h2>Truck-based Ground Testing Now Complete</h2>
Electra has already conducted extensive ground tests with <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-07/electra-completes-test-hybrid-electric-engine-estol-aircraft">the propulsion system</a> and has also mounted the demonstrator on a truck to drive it down Manassas’s Virginia Municipal Airport runway at speeds between 30 and 60 knots. Marc Ausman, the company’s chief product officer, told FutureFlight that engineers have been able to change the aircraft’s angle of attack and flap settings during ground runs that have generated data to be compared with its computer models. He said that this progressive approach, which began with flying a much smaller subscale model, has reduced the program’s technology risk.
“In the three years since we founded Electra, we’ve designed our eSTOL aircraft, validated our blown-lift technology with a subscale demonstrator, and run a fully integrated test of our 150-kilowatt hybrid-electric generator at full-scale,” said Electra’s founder and CEO, John Langford. “Now we’re ready to test the entire system with this technology demonstrator aircraft. We can’t wait to fly this plane and show the world what our eSTOL aircraft can do.”
According to Electra, it holds letters of intent for over 1,200 aircraft, which could lead to firm orders worth more than $4 billion—implying a unit price of around $3.3 million. The company recently raised $85 million in new funding, which includes a $30 million award from the U.S. Air Force to develop potential military applications for eSTOL aircraft.
According to Ausman, most of the 32 prospective customers are <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-18/welojets-plans-deploy-electras-estol-aircraft-charter-flights">Part 135 operators</a> operating fleets of aircraft, with some Part 91 private operators in the mix as well. Almost three-quarters of the anticipated clients&nbsp;are already flying commercial operations, mainly with aircraft such as Textron’s King Air, Caravans, and Skycourier, as well as Pilatus PC-12s.
Blown-wing technology (sometimes referred to as blown lift) involves an aerodynamic effect in which by increasing the flow of air over the wing, the lift is generated at a much slower airspeed than with conventional aircraft. This is a key factor in the anticipated eSTOL performance of Electra’s design and also is expected to improve energy efficiency.

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