Electric air taxi test flights have begun in Texas under a new US federal pilot programme, despite the regulatory framework for electric, hybrid-electric and autonomous aircraft still being developed.
The week-long exercise will see participating companies demonstrate potential routes linking cities with regional airports, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. No passengers will be carried, but the trials will allow regulators to assess how the additional aircraft movements affect air traffic control operations.
The programme is also intended to give manufacturers a head start on the evidence required for type certification. That approval is essential before an aircraft can carry passengers commercially in the United States.
Certification for a new aircraft can take years. The White House established the pilot scheme, known as the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Programme, to allow companies to gather operational data while the formal regulatory process continues.
Officials say information collected during the flights will help shape rules intended to allow the technology to be introduced safely and at scale.
Manufacturers argue that electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft could eventually reduce road congestion in major cities and provide new links between urban areas and airports. JoeBen Bevirt, founder and chief executive of Joby Aviation, said Texas had the infrastructure, expertise and partnerships to help advance electric aviation.
Several of the companies involved have already staged public demonstrations. Joby’s aircraft, which has a distinctive rounded design, flew a demonstration of a proposed route between Lower Manhattan and John F Kennedy International Airport earlier this year.
The Texas trials are the first official flights conducted through the new federal programme. Further demonstrations are being planned in New York, Utah, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and New Mexico.
The industry faces significant hurdles beyond certification. Joby and rival Archer are suing one another over allegations involving stolen trade secrets and corporate espionage, while the weight of batteries and decisions over the sensors needed for autonomous operation could complicate the technology’s wider rollout.
