The electric and hybrid aviation scene is fairly varied and diverse. Nevertheless, Electra stands out as one of a kind, because of its focus on developing an ultra-short take-off and landing aircraft (ultraSTOL).
In practice, this means that the nine-seater EL9 aircraft being developed by Electra will be able to operate from surfaces as smaller than the typical supermarket parking lot. This opens up a number of interesting use cases, both in the civilian and military worlds.
And while Electra is still some way off obtaining a type certification for its novel aircraft, it has in fact it just filed for Part 23 certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, Electra has already been testing a smaller-scale two-seater demonstrator called EL2 ‘Goldfinch’ successfully near its base in Manassas, Virginia.
This effort hasn’t gone unnoticed within the industry, and Electra has already collected pre-orders or Letters of Intent (LoI) from over 60 (future) customers.
One of them is Bristow Group, which is, interestingly, first and foremost a helicopter operator. This choice, with Bristow Group even placing a multi-million-dollar pre-delivery deposit to secure the first delivery slot, underpins Electra’s claim that, with its ultra-STOL capabilities, the EL9 will be able to fulfill some missions that are currently reserved to rotary wing aircraft.
AeroTime met with Diana Siegel, VP Commercial at Electra, during the CAPA Airline Leader Summit World, which took place in Lisbon in December 2025, in order to learn more about this unique approach to regional air mobility.
Watch it in the video below: