Electra EL9 Ultra Short Production Facility — AirPark Ohio

Electra.aero looked at more than 140 sites over a year and picked Springfield, Ohio. On July 21, 2026 the Manassas, Virginia aircraft developer announced an $850 million production facility on 96 acres at AirPark Ohio, next to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, to build its EL9 Ultra Short. Design work has already started. Construction begins in 2027.

Project Scope

The plant is phased. Phase 1 targets capacity of up to 400 aircraft a year, Phase 2 doubles that to 800. Total employment at full build is 1,975. The product is a nine-passenger fixed-wing hybrid-electric aircraft that uses blown lift, blowing propeller wash across the wing to generate lift at very low airspeed, which lets the EL9 take off and land in as little as 150 feet. Safran Helicopter Engines signed a life-of-program agreement on July 15, 2026 to supply the TG600 turbogenerator, with an initial order of 250 units. On the regulatory side, the FAA has closed the G-1 Issue Paper establishing the Part 23 certification basis, and first flight is expected in late 2027 or early 2028. Bristow Group holds the first delivery slot. Incentives are still being finalized: a Job Creation Tax Credit goes before the Ohio Tax Credit Authority at a future meeting, and JobsOhio assistance is subject to a final agreement. Strategic investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell Aerospace and Safran; Prysm Capital led a $115 million Series B.

Why It Matters

Site selection here wasn’t about labor cost. AirPark Ohio sits next to the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence and SkyVision, an FAA-approved ground-based detect-and-avoid system, which gives Electra a flight-test environment for uncrewed and low-altitude operations that almost nowhere else in the country offers. That’s the real asset. For Clark County, this is the largest single industrial commitment in decades, and the construction itself will need high-bay aerospace assembly space, composites-capable environmental controls and paint facilities. Whether the aircraft certifies on schedule is a separate question from whether the plant gets built.

Project Team & Details