Inside the Jetsons-like plane that Air NZ is eyeing

Air New Zealand has its eye on a Jetsons-like electric aircraft that can take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane. It might sound fanciful - but the plane has already made multiple test flights – including with the US Air Force, and has hundreds of orders. In December, Air NZ unveiled four different zero-emissions planes it was looking to buy. While three of the planes use runways, like traditional aircraft, one of them stood out as a bit of a wild card – it will lift vertically. The plane is from USA-based Beta Technologies, which is developing an aircraft known as the ALIA-250. What is the ALIA-250? At first glance, it looks like a giant drone. It has four vertical propellers for lift-off, and one at the back to help it fly like a plane. It behaves Jetson-like, referring to the famous cartoon where the Jetson family flies around Orbit City in an aircraft that launches vertically, but cruises like a traditional plane. The company is developing two models: one for cargo and another passenger model that will carry up to five passengers and a pilot. It has a maximum take-off weight of around 3174 kg - roughly the weight of a large white rhino. The plane's design - particularly its tail - is inspired by the Arctic tern, which holds the record for the longest migration of any bird in the world. Each year, they migrate from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle.<br/>