Willis said the future of flight “is the beginning of the next big thing in Ohio.” His resolution affirms the state’s place is not only in aviation history, but in its future, too.
“We are already the home of aviation, and aerospace, leading in all of these spaces,” Willis said. “We get to reestablish ourselves.”
“Ohio has a robust history of aviation innovation, is positioned as a national leader in AAM (advanced air mobility), and has invested heavily in its thriving ecosystem of federal, state, regional, and local agencies, industry, research, academia, nonprofits, and partners that are mobilized to support the state’s eVTOL and AAM efforts,” H.R. 304 states.
Sponsored by Willis, the bill was pending in the House Transportation Committee, but Willis expressed confidence that support of the bill would be “unanimous” in the House.
A Willis staffer expected the bill to be discussed Wednesday afternoon in the House, with a vote possible.
The Dayton-Springfield area has generated a growing share of attention in this arena.
Greene County is home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where key decision-makers plan the arming and equipping of the Air Force.
Joby Aviation will build its electric aircraft in Dayton and Vandalia.
Springfield is home to the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, where the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence is found. Willis said that center “is a national hotspot right now.”
The Springfield airport is home as well to Skyvision, technology that lets drone pilots fly their drones beyond an operator’s line of physical sight.
The federal program, triggered by an executive order from President Trump, means Ohio could be one of five states chosen in early March to lead the way in this area, said Bob Tanner, director of the Advanced Air Mobility division within the Ohio Department of Transportation.
“We are going to be able to see these aircraft in flight in the very near future,” Tanner said.
Ohio already has electric aircraft manufacturing, emerging aircraft technologies, “the engineering backbone” and more, Willis said.
“This a reality,” he said. “It’s already here.”
Willis pointed to recent moves by Joby, Anduril, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson and others.
No federal funding is available for the participants the FAA selects. At stake are FAA contracts for pilot programs in states that show they have private-sector partners with experience in eVTOL or AAM development and manufacturing.
State lawmakers aren’t the only ones following the issue.
A January letter signed by Sen. Jon Husted and U.S. Reps. Mike Turner and Warren Davidson (with 14 other members of Congress) urged the FAA to consider DriveOhio and ODOT’s application for the program.
The federal program, announced last September, is meant to speed the testing of electric taxis, rotorcraft and other “advanced air mobility” aircraft in the United States.
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