CEDAR CITY, Utah — Experiments could begin within the next year on vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in Utah — including what are essentially "flying cars."
At Governor Spencer Cox's One Utah Summit at Southern Utah University, the head of an aerospace and defense association spoke about plans for advanced air mobility.
"We can’t keep building horizontally. We have to think vertically. We’re proud Gov. Cox has given us the mandate to put this in place ahead of the Olympics," Aaron Starks, the CEO of 47G, told the crowd.
He showed a promotional video for "Midnight," an all-electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft made by Archer. Within the next six to eight months, he told the crowd, plans will be made will select 10 sites in Utah to begin experiments with various cargo and passenger aircraft.
"The timing is over the next year we’re going to get a foundation laid for the development to start, so we can go vertical," Starks told FOX 13 News in an interview following his presentation. "Once that happens, we’ll bring a certified aircraft in the state and then, through the FAA, a certified flight."
47G is working with UDOT, Gov. Cox's office, the Utah Inland Port Authority and others on the experiments. The aircraft, which are all electric, register about 40 decibels in noise, Starks said.
"Better on the environment," he said.
Utah has been preparing for a world of air taxis and delivery drones. The legislature's Transportation Committee consistently pushes through bills to regulate airspace and delegate to Utah's Department of Transportation a lot of the oversight. UDOT itself has been involved with experiments on vertical takeoff and landings, including one earlier this year in a Layton parking lot.
Intermountain Healthcare and Walmart have been involved in delivery drone experiments. Intermountain, for example, has been using Zipline to deliver prescriptions to certain households since 2022.
Initially, airports will be considered as "vertiport" sites, said Chris Metts, a former FAA official who oversees 47G's "Project Alta," which stands for "Air Logistics Transportation Alliance."
"There are 49 airports in Utah," he told FOX 13 News. "Airports can be modified and adjusted to support these vertical aircraft operations. So we’ll probably start in that area and in concert with UDOT, we’ll identify those areas."
While the goal is air taxis by the 2034 Olympics, there are questions that must be answered through these experiments, Metts said.
"It needs to be safe, secure — a lot of people worry about the security of these things as well — and financially viable," he said, adding that they would work with UDOT and communities on airspace restrictions and other concerns.
Starks envisioned tying advanced aircraft into mass transit options for Utahns.
"For utah? We want to bring the everyday commuter, the everyday consumer into this market. So we want to provide a consumer-friendly operation. We want to include these aircraft into transit authority type of operations," Metts said.
