On a cool morning last November, 800 people gathered before sunrise in a South Burlington hangar to witness the maiden flight of Beta Technologies’ first electric aircraft to be built on its new scaled production line.
admin-2:16 PM UTC-February 24, 2025
On a cool morning last November, 800 people gathered before sunrise in a South Burlington hangar to witness the maiden flight of Beta Technologies’ first electric aircraft to be built on its new scaled production line.
Kyle Clark, Beta’s enigmatic founder and CEO, piloted the Alia CX300 — one of the startup’s two aircraft models — in a flight that lasted over an hour. As he climbed through clear skies in a “perfectly quiet electric airplane,” he says he felt grateful.
“There’s not a piece in that airplane that we didn’t design, build, assemble, test,” Clark told TechCrunch. “I got to sit in a chair in the sky, flying west by myself at 7,000 feet in a system that wasn’t even conceived a few years ago, and that’s a pretty special thing to be able to do.”
For Clark, a successful launch was crucial, in part so he could honor his commitment to the company’s board. Clark has a simple rule at Beta: Keep your promises.
“We set a goal of November 13, and on the morning of November 13, we went and flew that airplane,” Clark told TechCrunch. “Keeping that promise meant so much to our board because the next promises we make, they’ll trust us to keep.”
Clark is something of an anomaly within the burgeoning electric aviation industry — starting with his decision to headquarter Beta in his hometown state of Vermont and not Silicon Valley, where his rivals reside. His unconventional aesthetic permeates the company he founded, including the design of its two electric aircraft and a go-to market strategy that includes an EV aircraft charging business.
The Harvard-educated former professional hockey player and pilot instructor has also rejected venture capital.