(TNS) — A modular building and re-charging station in
Springfield, Ohio, will boost progress toward viable electric flying cars — and a new industry built around those vehicles,
Air Force and private advocates said Thursday at a virtual "groundbreaking" for the building at
Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.
"We're fascinated by the prospect of flying cars," said Brig
Gen. Heather Pringle
, commander of the
Air Force Research Laboratory, based at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which is supporting the development of the vehicles.
The groundbreaking was captured virtually as part of a week-long series of events conducted by AFWERX, an
Air Force organization focused on bringing cutting edge technological ideas to reality.
"We could potentially help revolutionize transportation," Air Force Col.
Nathan Diller
, director of AFWERX, said Thursday, the fourth day of the AFWERX' "Accelerate" event.
"You are literally seeing a new market emerge," said
Will Roper
,
Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics.
The event showed a recharging station for the vehicles at the
Springfield airport, part of a network of charging stations, mostly in the Northeast, that will help the vehicles on longer journeys, said
Kyle Clark
, CEO of BETA Technologies.
The building will be used by BETA Technologies and
Joby Aviation, two pioneers in the field of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which are envisioned at least in some cases as flying possibly without pilots.
The new
Springfield facility will speed the
Air Force's exploration of these vehicles, a project called "Agility Prime."
Both BETA, based in
Vermont, and Joby, based in
Northern California, are deep into "advanced air mobility vehicles," also known as "air taxis."
The
Air Force launched the $35 million Agility Prime program, seeking to create and speed a market for advanced air mobility aircraft while creating a supply chain to support their production.
The
Air Force is working with those start-ups and others in an effort to refine the idea of flying cars. "How do we get (flight) autonomy and how do we get to longer ranges," Diller said.
Joeben Bevirt
, founder and CEO of
Joby Aviation, said the work the
Air Force is supporting should deliver "incredibly transformative results for everyone in the world."
He said the
Springfield simulator will give pilots the ability to experience firsthand what it's like to fly these aircraft.
Bevirt also talked about the possibility of using the craft to fight wildfires. They can also be purpose-built for carrying cargo and passengers, he said.
"We can do really transformative things," he said.
The Springfield airport is also already home to an effort to research use of drones beyond a drone pilot's visual line of sight.
The goal is for the
Air Force and the
Federal Aviation Administration to help
U.S. manufacturers capture a share of this new market, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited Diller.
It wasn't immediately clear Thursday when construction was expected to begin.
(c)2020 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
