Flying Cars Cross Tampa Bay, Echoing 1914 Route
Two electric vertical takeoff aircraft flew from St. Petersburg to Tampa on Friday as part of a state program gathering data for federal aviation rules.
By Grace Anderson ·
A century after the first commercial airline flight crossed Tampa Bay, two electric aircraft retraced the route on Friday as Florida's first Advanced Air Mobility demonstration flights.
The aircraft lifted off from Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, flew in formation over the bay, and landed at Signature Aviation at Tampa International Airport. Thousands of spectators watched, according to the governor's office. The flight echoed Tony Jannus's 1914 journey between St. Petersburg and Tampa, which is recognized as the world's first commercial airline flight.
Governor Ron DeSantis said the demonstration followed the same historic route flown in 1914. "From the first commercial airline flight over Tampa Bay in 1914, to today's AAM demonstrations along that same historic route, Florida has long been a launchpad for new ideas that shape the future of transportation," DeSantis said.
The flights are run by the Florida Department of Transportation under the Federal Aviation Administration's eVTOL and AAM Integration Pilot Program. The series, called the Future of Flight Series, is intended to collect data on noise and airspace integration as the FAA writes rules, builds infrastructure, and sets operating procedures for commercial use of such aircraft. FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue said the flights are part of work to "take highways to the sky." The agency has built an Aerial Highway Network of dedicated corridors linking major hubs, with demonstration flights planned along the Interstate 4 corridor, which FDOT calls the state's most heavily traveled.
Two manufacturers are participating. Kyle Clark, founder and chief executive of BETA Technologies, said his company flew high-cadence operations earlier in the year along the I-4 corridor with Republic Airways, running up to nine legs a day at energy costs under $17 per leg. "The eIPP lets us keep flying, gather the operational data, and prove out the case for routine commercial passenger service alongside experienced operators," Clark said.
Joby Aviation founder and chief executive JoeBen Bevirt said his company plans to fly across the state, from Tampa Bay and Orlando to the Space Coast, working with FDOT. "These flights will give communities a firsthand look at how quiet, electric vertical flight can transform everyday travel, beginning on the route where commercial aviation was born," Bevirt said.
The program also includes academic partners, local municipalities, and airports, according to the governor's office. The flights are scheduled to continue along the I-4 corridor.
Information on FDOT's Advanced Air Mobility work is posted at suntraxfl.com.
