Electra’s EL2 Returns to Flight, Driving Ultra Short Development Forward

Electra’s EL2 Goldfinch prototype is flying once again, following its first major modification and heavy maintenance cycle. With it, we’re advancing a new category of air travel that connects people and places in ways never before possible. Direct Aviation is transforming how aviation works and who it serves.

The EL2 is our two-seat hybrid-electric prototype, a testbed that’s informing the design of our nine-passenger EL9 production aircraft.

Since its first flight in November 2023, the EL2 completed 14 months of flight testing, collecting invaluable data and performance insights.

In December, we paused to upgrade the aircraft with new systems. Now, with a newly reconfigured EL2, we’re back in the sky — expanding the flight envelope for testing, refining, and validating the EL9’s breakthrough Ultra Short capabilities.

What we’re building is unlike anything flying today: a fixed-wing aircraft that takes off and lands in just 150 feet — less than the length of a soccer field. That’s why we call it the Ultra Short. Our blown-lift technology and hybrid-electric architecture make it possible.

The Ultra Short unlocks new access points for air travel — from parking lots and grass fields to small airstrips — bringing air service to communities without existing aviation infrastructure. It revitalizes general aviation airports with quiet, clean, and community-friendly operations. And the EL9 can feed large airport hubs without congestion by operating on taxiways, ramps and FBOs.

This means travelers can go directly from where they are to where they want to be — no long drives, no crowded terminals, no airport hubs. It’s air travel designed around human needs, not airport logistics.

This shift isn’t just about convenience. It’s about quieter, cleaner, more cost-effective air travel serving communities that traditional aviation leaves behind. With hybrid-electric propulsion, we’re delivering a transformative and practical solution that works within today’s regulatory and infrastructure landscape — and positions us for the future.

The EL2’s return to flight, backed by our recent $115 million Series B raise, keeps us on track to finalize the EL9’s design, enter preproduction, and begin flight testing in 2027. We’re not just building a new aircraft —we’re redefining air travel as we know it.