Texas eVTOL Program Moves From Planning to Flight Tests

Texas has begun flight demonstrations under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), moving the state’s advanced-air-mobility effort from planning into aircraft operations. The first Texas demonstrations took place Thursday at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport and included Joby Aviation’s S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and BETA Technologies’ ALIA, according to an FAA release. Texas is the sixth location to begin operations under the program.

Flights Across North Texas

Joby is conducting a weeklong campaign from Sept. 10 through Sept. 14 that will take its piloted S4 across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company’s planned routes include a landing at DFW Corporate Aviation, a round-trip flight from Alliance Airport through the Arlington area and a flight toward Toyota Motor North America’s headquarters in Plano. The Joby schedule also calls for operations around major infrastructure and controlled airport airspace.

A round-trip flight between Alliance Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is scheduled for Saturday. The flight is intended to test procedures for operating the aircraft between two major airports. TxDOT and other program participants are also planning additional flights through the remainder of the year.

Data for FAA Rules

The flights are part of TxDOT’s Project Nexus, which links Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and the Choctaw Nation as a test environment for advanced-air-mobility operations. According to TxDOT, the project is expected to evaluate passenger transportation, cargo, medical missions and other operations while helping develop procedures for integrating the aircraft into the National Airspace System.

The FAA plans to use data collected through eIPP to develop regulations and operating procedures for larger-scale commercial operations. Joby is also establishing a longer-term North Texas presence through a recently leased 45,000-square-foot facility at Perot Field. The company remains in the fifth and final stage of the FAA type-certification process for its S4.