By 2029, Texas skies could be buzzing with air taxis, much like they are with drones today.
To kick off the "Project Nexus" pilot program in Texas, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and Texas Department of Transportation officials attended an event September 10 at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which serves as the launchpad for a statewide pilot program that could result in air taxis, self-piloted planes, and vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft permanently buzzing across the skies of Texas.
It was the first demonstration in Texas of next-generation aircraft under the pilot program; Texas is the sixth state to participate in the program.
Air taxi service on the radar
The federal government has teamed up with aviation companies BETA Technologies and Joby Aviation, as well as the Texas Department of Transportation, to develop regional air taxi service in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and eventually Houston.
Roger Venables, Fort Worth’s aviation director, said in January that he foresees regular air taxi service becoming a reality in the next five years.
On September 12, a Joby-made electric air taxi took a roundtrip flight between Fort Worth Alliance and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to test flight operations.
The mission was part of a five-day test involving Fort Worth Alliance and DFW Airport flights, and flights over the Fort Worth Stockyards, Toyota Motor North America’s Plano headquarters, and other sites.
A new facility at Fort Worth Alliance will be Joby’s long-term home for regional flight operations.
Building a 'framework' for electric aircraft
TxDOT said Project Nexus is aimed at creating “a scalable system” to connect urban areas, rural communities, and neighboring states as air mobility technology advances.
In a TxDOT release, Marc Williams, the agency’s executive director, said the pilot program will “build a framework for how electric aircraft could one day connect people, goods, and communities across the state.”
Three-phase project will test flight capabilitiesInitial flights in the third-year pilot program won’t carry passengers, according to TxDOT. Instead, the flights will gather data, validate air travel routes, and help improve the safety of air mobility technology.
The first phase of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Project Nexus will feature piloted aircraft such as helicopters and fixed-wing planes. CultureMap previously reported Plano-based VertiPorts by Atlantic, which develops takeoff and landing sites for airplane-helicopter hybrids, would be part of Project Nexus.
The second phase will involve testing airborne medical and cargo logistics. This includes transporting critical medical supplies or donor organs between rural and urban hospitals in the Austin and San Antonio areas.
In the third and final phase, passengers will fly aboard air taxis across the Texas Triangle. Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio anchor the triangle.
“In Texas, we don’t wait for the future to arrive, we build it,” Cruz said in the TxDOT release. “The Lone Star State is pushing the boundaries by testing the next generation of aircraft through Project Nexus.”
“These technologies will connect communities, expand access to jobs and services, and strengthen supply chains,” the senator added. “What starts in Texas will help shape the future of aviation throughout the entire country.”
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.
