The first advanced air mobility (AAM) operations in the U.S. may be closer than you think.
The industry could be within a few years from seeing its first certified electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Some of the manufacturers believed by industry observers to be the furthest along in the certification process include Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Joby Aviation.
Upon certification, the proposed new aircraft model entrants are poised to support transportation needs in varying ways. The expectation is that they will not initially replace traditional aircraft—rather augment how the industry serves us.
If you’re not already a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Subscribe today to get the issue as soon as it is released in either Print or Digital formats.
Dan Sloat is the founder and president of the Advanced Air Mobility Institute, which is a nonprofit research center that educates and advocates for the broadest public benefit through the aviation ecosystem globally. Orchestrating drones as a captain and air battle manager in the U.S. Air Force shaped Sloat’s vision that the evolving AAM technology would provide a real benefit in the civilian world as well.
Sloat feels that using these vehicles in support of EMS missions, cargo delivery, and wildfire suppression efforts are some of the strongest contenders for early use of the technology. As with traditional aircraft, payload capability remains of the utmost importance, and these aerial vehicles’ mission profile will continue to grow as their payload and range capabilities increase with improved battery technology.
Evolving Infrastructure Needs
Looking to the future with eager anticipation for the first operations of the forthcoming AAM technologies, it’s interesting to think about the infrastructure required to support these next-generation air transportation vehicles. Even with the expectation that there will be new aircraft types flying soon, few airports have prepared themselves for the forthcoming reality.
- READ MORE: WATCH: ‘Ultra-Quiet’ Electric Aircraft Engines Power First Piloted Flight
- READ MORE: Electric Airplane Maker Beta Sees Up to $50M Revenue in FY26
“It is really unmistakable that for any airport that is sincerely interested in being a leader in the space, the first step is to get a clear sense of the current state of your electrical capacity,” Sloat said. “How much can the local [power] grid support? That will give you an understanding of what pace of operations are feasible with the mix of electric aircraft fleets that can be accommodated.”
Joe Mattern has spent 17 years of his career supporting the development of these technologies. Much of Mattern’s attention has related to AAM toward guiding infrastructure needs, through the design of vertiports and consulting various companies on infrastructure topics.
He similarly believes that charging capabilities are of primary concern for airports that want to accept these new aerial vehicles. Many airport managers are excited about the future but hesitant to invest in supporting it before the FAA certifies one or more eVTOL aircraft.
“When I have talked to prospective customers about the purchase of chargers, they are very
skittish: ‘Joe, why do we want to buy a charger when these aircraft are not even certified?” said Mattern, noting that portable chargers carried aboard the aircraft may be a reality but not something airports should rely on always being available. “At the end of the day airport managers know that they need to get ready, but they don’t want to be ready too early.”
![The design of vertiports will vary by the area’s local needs and other factors, but many will have a similar layout as many heliports. [Credit: Floria Vertiport Sim/Joe Mattern]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FLY0726_2-vertiport.jpeg?w=1024)
Manufacturers also recognize the need of infrastructure investment to match the effort put toward the creation of the aircraft themselves. For example, Beta’s charge network already boasts more than 50 sites online, from California to Maine, and the company continues to add more.
In addition to these two staunch AAM advocates, there are hundreds of other researchers, organizations, and educational institutions looking to get these technologies off the ground. The FAA appears in step with these groups and focused on the future of flight as well.
One of the most important recent updates to the validation of new technologies in the AAM space was the introduction of the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). It seeks to serve as a basis for regulations and a guide for the future of AAM. Operations in eight related projects are expected to begin this summer and include 26 states.
Airports Advancing AAM
Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (KSGH) sits in Ohio in the greater Dayton metropolitan area. The airport’s proximity to the “Birthplace of
Aviation” bodes well for its positioning as one of the leaders in supporting the future of flight.
“Our efforts [in AAM] started at the beginning due to our proximity with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and our good relationship with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL),” said Drake Huffman, KSGH’s manager.
Springfield-Beckley has been viewed as an attractive site to validate evolving technologies for more than a decade. An airspace study was completed in 2014 which determined that a 225 square nautical mile area in and around our airport would be a great location for what is now called SkyVision.
“This is a partnership agreement between the AFRL, Ohio UAS through the Department of Transportation, and the city of Springfield, which includes that radius of airspace up to 18,000 feet. In this airspace you do not need a chase plane for [unmanned aircraft systems] testing.”
The SkyVision radar technology allows UAS to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), which reduces the complexity and costs associated with testing. It also sets a precedent for real-world operation of these vehicles following their certification. This technology, along with the local military and governmental organizations’ efforts, has attracted numerous forward-thinking aerospace companies to Springfield-Beckley.
“The construction of the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) building here also really put southwestern Ohio on the map in the AAM world,” Huffman said. “This has created an environment where tenants and partners can get together to collaborate and feed off of each other. We have basically built a sandbox, per se, where organizations come to test out new technology.”
The NAAMCE touts itself as the United States’ only build-test-fly ecosystem. On-site there is 30,000 square feet of collaboration space and 25,000 feet of hangar space, which are used by a variety of organizations to test aircraft and various technologies. Some current tenants and partnerships include Aura Aerospace, Beta, Joby, and the Ohio UAS Center.
Not only are these companies and others testing the operation of new aircraft types from a functional standpoint, eyes are also turned toward how they integrate within the airspace system. Thus far, the incorporation at the airport has proven highly effective through close collaboration as the management team provides clear, transparent communication to its operators (traditional aircraft or other) to ensure the safest airspace possible.
Sugar Land Regional Airport (KSGR) in Texas is another facility that has already invested time and money into supporting the future of flight. Understanding evolving technologies is something the management team at the airport has long been interested in, and one of the elements it sought to understand early was the potential impact of urban air mobility (UAM).
![Sugar Land Regional Airport (KSGR) has incorporated the prospect of UAM operations into the airport’s master plan. [Credit: Sugar Land, Texas/Mitchell Davies]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-24-at-8.30.01-AM.png?w=882)
“There are a lot of cities surrounding Houston and low access to public transportation, so we thought that this would actually be a compliment to what we do,” said Mitchell Davies, KSGR’s airport director.
“Our customers spend a lot of money to save time traveling to Houston. Having a vertiport at the airport will allow them to seamlessly transition to their final destination, right over all the traffic. And opening it to the public will provide the local community with a more efficient way to move around the city.”
To position itself for this promising future, the team at Sugar Land Regional has invested a considerable amount of resources identifying potential challenges and concerns. The prospect of UAM operations were actually incorporated into the airport’s master plan, meaning that the changes needed to accommodate these new vehicles will be smoother when the time comes. The airport was already prepared for conversations when a leading manufacturer sought a site to test its technology in the Houston market.
“Wisk [Aero] reached out to us and asked if we ever considered having a vertiport,” Davies said. “It was really advantageous for us to be looking ahead at that point in time because Wisk saw us as forward-thinking, innovative, and not afraid to take some risks because we saw this as something beneficial.”
In addition to being a site for air taxi testing, Davies advises that the airport will be included in a larger FAA initiative. Sugar Land will be one of the cities from Texas participating in the eIPP.
“This was huge news for us because it means we get certain resources from the federal government to help actually test real aircraft in the National Airspace System [NAS],” he said. “I think you are going to see a lot of regulatory answers from the pilot program. It’s going to be really cool that we get to be part of that.”
Vertiport Chicago (43IL) was initially constructed with the future in mind, prompted by one of the country’s most jarring airport stories in history—the overnight closing of Meigs Field in 2003. Investors saw the need to create a helicopter facility to fill the demand for aerial transportation that did not go away following the closing of the downtown airport.
“Our founders were able to achieve approval, zoning, and everything to open up this centrally located, 10-acre facility in 2015,” said Daniel Mojica, Vertiport Chicago’s executive director. “We are about a mile from all the major highways that connect the north, west, and south suburbs to the heart of downtown and are in the Illinois Medical District, which is one of the most forward-thinking medical districts globally.”
Helicopters utilize the facility for transporting people for business and leisure purposes, as well as for medical reasons. The vertiport’s proximity to major hospitals has enabled it to become an extremely important asset to that community.
It entered a private-public partnership where certified staff are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support patient and organ transports at no cost to taxpayers or the local government.
Mojica said naming the facility “vertiport” rather than “heliport” was intentional as the development was always viewed to support emerging technologies. Being that it is privately owned, Vertiport Chicago sits in a good position to quickly accept the future of flight quickly once it arrives. eVTOL aircraft will fit in easily among the existing helicopter traffic, and there is room to build additional buildings on-site to better accommodate the new vehicles and their passengers.
“Being in the Illinois Medical District, the electrical infrastructure is designed to provide backup power to the hospitals,” Mojica said. “So we have an advantage to electrification, and our footprint allows for a lot of flexibility. We have enough room to have both aircraft and unmanned drone activity coming in and out.”
Future integration is being considered with safety and community in mind, which will be supported by information gathered through the eIPP study that includes Vertiport Chicago. Regardless of when these new aircraft take to the skies, the vertiport team is as excited to accommodate them as they are current aircraft.
Positioned within immediate proximity to multibillion-dollar developments in the city, Vertiport Chicago appears uniquely situated in a rapidly expanding hub of business and hospitality, reinforcing its potential to play a leading role in the future of UAM.
Summer 2028 Olympic Games
The Olympics serve as a thrilling showcase of international athletic competition and sportsmanship. The Games can also be an important backdrop for what is going on in the world economically and politically.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will be a place where the U.S. can highlight its competitiveness within the advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystem, which is also an important priority for many other countries. Visitors to the LA28 Games are expected to observe the future of flight firsthand aboard Archer Aviation’s four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft.
The company was chosen as the official air taxi provider for the event, taking spectators across Archer’s Los Angeles network of vertiports. To support this vision, in 2025 Archer announced that it was acquiring control of Hawthorne Municipal Airport (KHHR) in central LA. The property will be an integral site during the Olympics, as well as Archer’s continued testing efforts.
This feature first appeared in the July Issue 972 of the FLYING print edition.
