New technology, like electric aviation, is an opportunity. When we first conceptualized our electric aircraft ALIA, both eVTOL and eCTOL, we had a completely blank canvas to envision how we were going to transport all sorts of things. 

Our first customer, United Therapeutics, needed to transport life saving medical equipment, organs and tissue, and the support teams required to help save lives. So, we built an aircraft fit to make that happen. UPS saw our aircraft and the potential for cargo space, and we worked to create a cargo option for the market, too. 

“We planned and sized ALIA way back to be a work horse… there’s a huge amount of flexibility with ALIA given this huge volume” says Richard “RD” Donnelly, one of BETA’s industrial design engineers.

When we started developing our ALIA passenger configuration, we were excited by the potential to think creatively and intentionally about how to play with the same space for a great passenger experience. From the outside, ALIA looks exactly the same as it would for a cargo mission – but inside it’s set up to fit passengers and their luggage comfortably.

“Right now we’re calling this the passenger buck…basically a giant mockup that we will use to test ergonomics for people” states Jake Pill, also on the industrial design team. 

“We’re taking the amount of space that we have and then in 3D CAD, [and we are] rolling things around and figuring out what makes the most sense logistically…and then moving things around in real life and climbing around to see what feels good,” adds Jake.

“Feeling good” isn’t usually a phrase the average passenger would use to describe an in-flight experience – “cramped,” “no carry-on space,” and “uncomfortable,” are typically the words that come to mind. But we want people who climb into ALIA to remember feeling good when they are in our aircraft – so we put ourselves into their seats.

RD, Jake, and the team got to work “climbing around.” They went to the local second hand store to pick up old luggage that future passengers would use – golf bags, roller suitcases, alpine skiing containers – and brought clubs, clothes, and skis from home to fill them.

They recruited BETA team members – and one dog – to test it out. We loaded our luggage, buckled into the seats, stretched our limbs to test the legroom, and gave feedback to the industrial design team on everything. 

“Good design is something you would never even think about,” points out Jake, “it just feels totally natural.”

We’re still at it— adjusting, and refining, until everything is just right.