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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowUrban air-taxis can begin service over U.S. cities as soon as 2028 by largely adhering to existing flight rules for helicopters and other low-altitude aircraft, according to federal regulators.
The Federal Aviation Administration timeline published Tuesday is three years beyond the agency’s initial goal of certifying the first of such aircraft by 2025. During initial phases, the taxis will have human pilots, rather than the robotic controllers the industry is eventually seeking, the FAA said.
Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, which are developing aircraft that can lift off vertically and then fly point-to-point like planes, dropped on the announcement. Joby shares shed as much as 5.6.% while Archer fell more than 3% before clawing back those losses.
The FAA’s 2028 timeframe represents the reality of how long it is likely to take to not only get aircraft designs approved, but also to set up small airlines, create pilot-training standards and a host of other requirements before the new devices can carry passengers.
The FAA used lofty language in its implementation plan to describe how the devices will operate, calling it “a new era of aviation once only portrayed in movies or science fiction.”
Still, the operations will closely resemble the existing aviation system as new technology is introduced. The agency also wants to create taxi corridors to keep them away from other aircraft and limit additional work for air-traffic controllers.
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Good reason to save the downtown heliport.
Only our Government fools would want to let it go and put more Pacer bike racks around. (who wants to ride non electric bikes? What a waste of our taxpayer money, trying to compete with private electric scooters and bikes.)
It’s also a waste of taxpayer money to keep something around that’s used 70% less than at it’s peak 20 years ago.
If people who want to keep the heliport and want to pony up to buy the property at market rate, at what 5 acres of downtown real estate would cost, let them.
Some, likely more than a few, do not wish to use an electric bike. One should not assume the all share the same personal views.
But asking that the “government” not provide bikes is a valid request. Or, just allow all bikes, electric or not, to be an element of the private sector. However, does the private sector assume costs for bike staging/stationing area within public rights-of-way or is this simply so-called free space made available by “the government?”