U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced eight pilot projects to test electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, scheduled to begin in 26 states this summer.
Officially known as the eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program, the Department of Transportation says the futuristic vehicles “have the potential to create new jobs, connect communities, and strengthen American leadership in aviation.”
“Together, these pilot projects will create one of the world’s largest real-world test environments for next-generation aircraft,” the Department of Transportation said in a news release. published online. “In addition to offering the American people an exciting window into the future of aviation, the FAA will use data from the pilot projects to develop new regulations that safely enable this futuristic technology at scale.”
And while it remains to be seen whether eVTOLs can truly deliver the “flying car” future that Duffy promised in a promotional video posted to the Department of Transportation’s various social media accounts on Monday, it will definitely be interesting to see how much money the federal government ultimately invests in eVTOLs once the three-year program is over.
The video, as you can see below, begins with a clip from The Jetsons, the animated television show that debuted in 1962 and lasted just one season before rebooting in the 1980s. The Jetsons were a vital cultural touchstone for people in the 20th century when talking about the future, although they’ve been relegated to retro-futuristic status for at least a couple of generations.
Technically, these visions of eVTOL are not flying cars, since they take off vertically like a helicopter and cannot be driven on the road, but the term is usually an abbreviation that people understand when trying to talk about things like an air taxi service. Some people also tend to use the term eVTOL when an aircraft is not strictly electric. The terminology can be confusing to say the least.
The government program announced Monday includes eVTOL passenger operations at the Manhattan heliport, through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and cargo trials over the Gulf of Mexico operated from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, according to a news release. The agency also says there will be testing of Florida Department of Transportation emergency medical response operations, along with pilot programs in states such as Utah and Texas.
Companies participating in the pilot program include:
- Ampaire
- Goalkeeper
- BETA
- electra
- Elroy Air
- job
- Reliable robotics
- Math
Duffy did what every member of the Trump regime does in his Monday announcement: thank the president as if we live in an authoritarian state where the leader is responsible for everything.
“Thanks to President Trump, the future of aviation is here and will dramatically improve the way people and goods move,” Duffy said. “Congratulations to the great American innovators behind each of these exciting pilot programs. Working together, we will ensure that the United States leads the way in safely using next-generation aircraft to radically redefine personal travel, regional transportation, cargo logistics, emergency medicine and much more.”
As an industry, flying cars have a long history of failure. The concept is over a century old and for the last 20 years they have supposedly been perpetually simply two years away. Without government help, eVTOL companies may struggle. For example, Supernal, a Hyundai-backed air taxi company, was recently laid off. hundreds of workers in California. Building a flying vehicle is one thing. Making a profitable business is the hard part.
President Trump first talked about eVTOLs years ago, if you can believe it. the president made a video about flying cars in early 2023, long before he won the 2024 presidential election, promising to take them seriously as a way to technologically overtake China.
“Another big opportunity is in transportation. Dozens of major companies in the United States and China are racing to develop vertical takeoff and landing vehicles for families and individuals,” Trump said in the 2023 video.
“Just as the United States led the automotive revolution in the last century, I want to ensure that the United States, not China, leads the revolution in air mobility. These advances can transform commerce, bring a giant infusion of wealth to rural America, and connect our country’s families in new ways,” Trump said.
Needless to say, Trump isn’t paying much attention to flying cars this week. He is very busy with a war that started in Iran; one that keeps on giving contradictory messages.
Will America have flying cars before World War III? You can probably make some decent money betting online if you know the answer. But if the answer is no, getting paid for being right could be a problem, since the Internet may be experiencing problems and the US currency may no longer be worth anything.
