Electric aircraft company plans infrastructure at Craig Airport (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — An electric airplane company has plans to build at a Jacksonville airport as it looks to participate in the medical transport industry in the area.
Beta, based in Vermont, is investing in the construction of an electric vehicle charging station at Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport as it builds up infrastructure for operating its planes across the country.
Fixed-base operator Jacksonville Jet Center has partnered with Beta. The city is reviewing a permit for the construction of an electric charging station for Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft at Craig, which will include a level two dual point car charger.
“With its simplicity and relative low cost, electric aviation has the power to reshape our health care systems and drive our economies for the future. Working with forward-leaning partners like Jacksonville Executive to install this enabling infrastructure will help get us there,” a statement from a Beta spokesperson said.
Ryan Smith, the chief growth officer of Jacksonville Jet Center said that with the demand for medical transport in Jacksonville, Beta anticipates a push toward electric aircraft.
As a health care epicenter, Jacksonville has some of the highest numbers of organ transplants in the country. The Mayo Clinic of Florida alone has reported some of the highest volumes, lowest median wait times and highest survival rates in the country, according to its website.
Two types of electric aircraft, called Alia, are being developed by Beta. One performs conventional takeoffs and landings, and the other performs vertical takeoffs and landings. Smith said he believes VTOL aircraft would be well-suited for health care because it would be easier for them to land.
“You don’t have to have an actual airport; you can just have a helipad to land,” Smith said.
Smith said Craig Airport already sees tremendous amounts of air traffic for organ transplants and medical service.
“With the amount of transplant divisions and stuff we have in Jacksonville, there’s a lot of organs that are moving into the city for those patients, so there’s a lot of airplanes that are flying constantly,” Smith said. “There’s Life Flights … doctors are flying anywhere around the Southeast to get a transplant order and bring it back to Jacksonville.”
The Beta Charge Cube is what’s used to charge the company’s electric aircraft, and it also has capabilities to charge EVs, according to Beta’s website. The company is partnering with airports, original equipment manufacturers and fixed base operators to build up a charging network.