ALIA-250 X-Plane 12 Quick Start Guide (KBTV BETA Charge Pad)
Getting started with BETA's electric VTOL at the Burlington charging pad
Welcome! If you’re looking to try the Shirley VTOL Challenge, or get some stick time with ALIA at Burlington International Airport (KBTV), here’s how to get set up at the Beta Tech ALIA Charging Pad.
Loading the Correct Starting Position
When starting X-Plane 12:
Select the ALIA-250 aircraft
Choose KBTV (Burlington International Airport, Vermont)
Select the Beta Tech Alia Charging Pad as your starting location (Ramp Start)
This will place you at the dedicated ALIA charging pad rather than the default ramp location.
Situation File (.sit)
If you’d like to save this configuration for quick access, you can create a situation file:
Set up your aircraft at the Beta Tech Alia Charging Pad as described above
Go to File → Save Flight in X-Plane (as “Situation”)
Name it something like “ALIA KBTV Charging Pad”
Next time, load this .sit file from File → Load Situation
Recommended Flight Challenge
Once you’re set up, try the A250 Familiarization Flight challenge on Shirley:
https://airplane.team/fly/c/2-a250
This challenge demonstrates convention and demo operations where multiple pilots are waiting to fly. Shirley walks trainees through step-by-step, and they don’t even need to say a word!
Controller Setup
For the best experience, use a quality joystick/yoke:
Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS — ~$60, excellent precision, great price
Logitech 3D Extreme Pro — Budget option (discontinued, but good value if you can find one; note: has some stick slop)
Configure your controller in X-Plane’s Settings → Joystick. You may want to create a dedicated profile for the ALIA-250.
Here’s our recommended setup:
Launch Shirley
Once you’re positioned at the charging pad and your controls are configured, launch Shirley at https://FlyShirley.com/fly and you’re ready to fly!
After you’re down, use Shirley’s smart logbook tools to review your flight and see how you did. ✈️
Have a great flight!
Question about this challenge: Why is Shirley keeping track of flight time? Is there a requirement for how far the pilot must travel from the airport before returning to the charging stations?