Leading
sustainable aviation

Electra was founded with a simple mission: provide affordable air travel without airports, emissions, or noise.

Harnessing a wealth
of past experience

The idea for Ultra Short aircraft was born out of the collaboration of Electra’s founder, John Langford, and a team of researchers at MIT, led by Prof. John Hansman and Prof. Mark Drela, in search of an electric aircraft design that would be much more affordable to build and operate than the predominant eVTOL designs. Early analysis and sub-scale flight tests showed the tremendous potential of Ultra Short aircraft to minimize space needed on the ground, while offering sizable range and payload capacity.

Milestones of Innovation

Today, Electra is backed by major strategic partners and investors, and has proven our Ultra Short technology in piloted flight. Below are a few of the key milestones in the company’s journey:

2020 - The idea.

Electra was launched by serial aerospace entrepreneur Dr. John Langford, founder and former CEO of Aurora Flight Sciences, with MIT Professors John Hansman and Mark Drela joining as key technical advisors.

2021 - Hybrid-electric iron bird.

After more than a year of internal development, we tested our fully integrated, hybrid-electric propulsion system at Electra’s R&D facility in Bleienbach, Switzerland.

2022 - Flying Electra’s first zero-emissions research aircraft.

Over the summer of 2022, Electra’s intern program supported the build and flight test of Harvard University’s zero-emissions, solar-electric research aircraft, which the team flight tested for the first time on September 9, 2022.

January 2023 - Partnership with the US Air Force.

The Air Force awarded Electra a Strategic Funding Partnership valued up to $85M to develop and flight test the eSTOL technology.

November 2023 - EL-2 first flight.

After two years of development and rigorous ground testing, Electra’s piloted technology demonstrator aircraft, the Goldfinch EL-2, took to the skies for the first time on November 11, 2023.

February 2024 - Pre-orders exceed 2,000 Ultra Short aircraft.

Over the course of the development program, commercial customer interest continued to grow culminating in the 2000th aircraft pre-order following agreements with JSX, Surf Air, JetSetGo, Charm Aviation, and LYGG in early 2024.

May 2024 - Proving the Ultra Short.

A few months after its first flights, the Goldfinch proved that a conventional fixed-wing aircraft with blown-lift could take off and land in less than 150 ft of space on the ground.

July 2024 - Partnering with Honeywell.

Honeywell agrees to supply safety-critical flight control computers and actuation for Electra’s production Ultra Short aircraft, and becomes a strategic investor alongside existing partners Lockheed Martin and Safran.

2020 - The idea.

Electra was launched by serial aerospace entrepreneur Dr. John Langford, founder and former CEO of Aurora Flight Sciences, with MIT Professors John Hansman and Mark Drela joining as key technical advisors.

2021 - Hybrid-electric iron bird.

After more than a year of internal development, we tested our fully integrated, hybrid-electric propulsion system at Electra’s R&D facility in Bleienbach, Switzerland.

2022 - Flying Electra’s first zero-emissions research aircraft.

Over the summer of 2022, Electra’s intern program supported the build and flight test of Harvard University’s zero-emissions, solar-electric research aircraft, which the team flight tested for the first time on September 9, 2022.

January 2023 - Partnership with the US Air Force.

The Air Force awarded Electra a Strategic Funding Partnership valued up to $85M to develop and flight test the eSTOL technology.

November 2023 - EL-2 first flight.

After two years of development and rigorous ground testing, Electra’s piloted technology demonstrator aircraft, the Goldfinch EL-2, took to the skies for the first time on November 11, 2023.

February 2024 - Pre-orders exceed 2,000 Ultra Short aircraft.

Over the course of the development program, commercial customer interest continued to grow culminating in the 2000th aircraft pre-order following agreements with JSX, Surf Air, JetSetGo, Charm Aviation, and LYGG in early 2024.

May 2024 - Proving the Ultra Short.

A few months after its first flights, the Goldfinch proved that a conventional fixed-wing aircraft with blown-lift could take off and land in less than 150 ft of space on the ground.

July 2024 - Partnering with Honeywell.

Honeywell agrees to supply safety-critical flight control computers and actuation for Electra’s production Ultra Short aircraft, and becomes a strategic investor alongside existing partners Lockheed Martin and Safran.