Doc7505
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- Feb 16, 2016
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US clears flying taxis for limited use as FAA launches nationwide pilot program
FAA clears air taxi projects to begin limited flights across US
The FAA's new eVTOL program will create the world's largest coordinated real-world testing environment for air taxis..
interestingengineering.com
The grind towards operational, commercial flying taxis might finally come to an end this summer.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has selected eight projects for the Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).
The new initiative is aimed at accelerating the safe commercial use of next-generation flying taxis.
Kickstarting eVTOL air taxi services
After receiving more than 30 proposals, the program selected eight state-led efforts spanning 26 states. These will test urban air taxis, regional passenger flights, cargo delivery, medical response, and autonomous operations in real-world conditions. Public operations are scheduled to begin by summer 2026.
~Snip~
“Here’s an opportunity for the industry to roll out in a similar way to how Waymo rolled out,” Archer Aviation CEO Adam Archer explained in a video on X. “Rather than an all-or-nothing type certificate where you can go anywhere, or no type certificate where you can’t go anywhere… You can think about it as a few concentrated areas with very, very high margins of safety, allowing us to start very low-level operations, and then expand from there.”
“It’ll allow us to get to market, show the regulators that these aircraft are safe, show the flying public that these aircraft are safe, but also show consumers that this is an amazing product.”
Investor reaction has been understandably muted, given repeated false dawns regarding eVTOL aviation. According to Aviation Week, eVTOL stocks have retreated sharply in 2026, underperforming the broader market amid stretched certification timelines. Billions in valuation have eroded since last summer’s peak, even as the new pilot program offers a faster route to limited operations.
Commentary:
Here come the Jetson's
Democrats will demand to know if whether any of them went to Epstein’s Island and are willing to say they saw Trump there. Otherwise a big yawn.
Are they going to be piloted by the typical foreign cab drivers in New York and D.C.?
Although this program sounds like another blind unconstitutional expansion of the federal government's powers imo, harnessing the usefulness of electric flying technology needs to be done as much as a longer period of experimentation and refinement should have been done with crude lithium battery EVs before climate alarmists tried to shove them down our throats.
California came to mind as I read OP. For example, will flying electric taxis render the infamous money pit California train obsolete before the first track is laid?
Also, will flying California electric taxis be occasionally grounded ("Don't charge your EV!") to avoid rolling blackouts as a consequence of elite Democratic ongoing deferred expansion of electric power generation?
