Virginia Tech Plans ‘Smart Airspace’ Expansion

Virginia Tech is preparing to expand its Smart Airspace project following a series of flight demonstrations this summer involving hybrid-electric and autonomous aircraft. Tombo Jones, director of the university’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, told WDBJ Monday that the next phase, called Smart Airspace 2.0, will extend the experimental network into additional parts of Virginia and examine operations in more congested airspace near major airports.

Testing New Flight Procedures

The initial demonstrations used Electra’s piloted hybrid-electric EL2 aircraft and Textron Systems’ autonomous Aerosonde Mk. 4.7. The aircraft tested newly developed instrument routes connecting the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport and Allen C. Perkinson Airport in Blackstone. The flights also evaluated helicopter-style IFR procedures for Electra’s fixed-wing aircraft and autonomous operations between vertiports using the Aerosonde.

“These routes and the rules that govern them allow flights to safely occur in varied weather conditions and allow FAA air traffic controllers to keep them properly separated—especially as they move in and out of congested airspace around airports,” Jones said in a September announcement. “The result is the predictable scheduling required for a viable business model.”

Expanding the Network

The project is designed to establish shorter, more direct instrument routes that allow advanced aircraft to operate within the existing air traffic control system. Researchers are also examining how smaller landing facilities could accommodate aircraft in communities without conventional airports. The demonstrations included an established airport, an off-airport vertiport and a smaller airport facility to evaluate procedures under different operating conditions.

The aircraft involved in the demonstrations have not yet received full FAA certification for routine operations. Jones said the project’s next phase will focus on expanding its network and developing procedures for busier terminal airspace. The effort is supported by the Virginia Department of Aviation and the Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems Lab, while NAVOS Air developed the instrument procedures used during testing.