Earlier this week, an electric-powered Robinson 44 helicopter flew for the first time in California.
Tier 1 Engineering piloted the helicopter, which was propelled by an electric propulsion unit from magniX.
Tier 1 is building the electric helicopter for Lung Biotechnology PBC, a biotech business
trying to alleviate the transplantable organ scarcity in the United States.
While numerous other helicopters with electric motors have flown in the previous decade,
this modified Robinson eR-44 might be the world's first commercially successful electric helicopter.