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Florida is aiming to be the pioneer for advanced air mobility (AAM) operations using eVTOL aircraft, panelists said this morning during the “Future of Flight in Florida” session at the NBAA Miami regional forum. NBAA president Ed Bolen noted that eVTOLs will be additive to business aviation, providing another “arrow in the quiver to get people where they need to be and when they need to be there.”
Vertiports by Atlantic Aviation senior v-p Roly Tapanes told attendees that Florida has been very forward-looking on AAM, notably Miami-Dade County, which includes the Miami–Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF), where the NBAA forum was held. “These quiet and safe aircraft are the front door for the next stage of business aviation, providing more access to new places,” he said. “Airlines have 500 airports, while there are 5,000 for general aviation, all of which can be used for AAM. Vertiports would be additive to that.”
Tapanes told AIN that Atlantic Aviation is using cellphone data to identify where vertiports should be located near its 10 FBO locations in Florida. He said the company is studying this data to show hotspots, causes for travel, time of day, and the degree to which people would be willing to pay a price delta to fly an eVTOL to save time. According to Tapanes, standalone vertiports could be as small as 2 acres, while rooftop landing zones would need only about a 100-by-50-foot section.
Katie Inman, a transportation policy attorney at Holland & Knight, said there is a lot of momentum for AAM in the state, which is in the running for the FAA eVTOL infrastructure pilot program (EIPP). Next week, the agency will select at least five EIPP locations to start conducting AAM testing within 90 days. If Florida is selected, Inman said AAM testing would begin there by midyear. Tapanes added that such testing would mostly be FBO-to-FBO, putting these bases at the forefront of AAM development.
