Electric Air Taxis Make First Bay Crossing From St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two battery-powered aircraft lifted off from Albert Whitted Airport on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront Friday, Oct. 30, and crossed the bay to land at Tampa International Airport, the first flights in Florida under a federal program that is testing how air taxis could fit into everyday air travel.

Joby Aviation led the way with its electric vertical takeoff and landing craft, which rises like a helicopter and then flies forward like a plane. An all-electric plane from BETA Technologies, which needs a standard runway, followed, and the pair flew in formation with a conventional helicopter. Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials were waiting on the ground in Tampa.

The Joby craft runs on six tilting propellers, seats a pilot plus four passengers and is built to cruise near 200 mph. The company says it can go from fully powered down to airborne in about 20 seconds and is far quieter than a helicopter.

The route was picked on purpose. It traces the 1914 hop by pilot Tony Jannus, whose New Year’s Day passenger that year was former St. Petersburg Mayor Abe Pheil, a trip widely credited as the first scheduled airline service anywhere. Mayor Ken Welch said the new technology could change how people and goods move around the region.

Nobody can book a seat yet. Joby is still in the final stage of FAA type certification, and no fares or start dates for a Tampa Bay service have been set. Florida is one of eight states chosen for the U.S. Department of Transportation eVTOL Integration Pilot Program announced in March.

After Tampa Bay, the test week moves on to Orlando International Airport and Kennedy Space Center. State officials will use the data on airport integration, noise and vertiport procedures as they map what Florida calls an Aerial Highway Network. A state law signed this year lets the Florida Department of Transportation pay for vertiport sites, and the agency is building a test area called SunTrax Air along Interstate 4.

Filed under: St. Petersburg FL Business News