(Electra: Manassas, VA) -- Electra, a global leader in hybrid-electric aviation, has unveiled a new conceptual aircraft design for next-generation airliners developed as part of NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 program. The study explores how targeted electrification, advanced aerodynamics, and integrated airframe-propulsion design can transform the efficiency and competitiveness of aircraft with 100-plus passengers by midcentury.

Electra’s work is rooted in the company’s view that aviation is entering a third era of flight, one defined by the ability to use new electric propulsion technologies to unlock transformative yet achievable aircraft architectures. In Electra’s nine-passenger EL9, that approach enables ultrashort takeoff and landing and a new model of “direct aviation,” which can serve smaller, underused locations as well as larger airports. The AACES 2050 concept enables a future airliner configuration designed to improve efficiency while remaining compatible with real-world airline and airport operations.

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