TAMPA, Fla. — Two battery-powered aircraft crossed Tampa Bay on Friday and touched down at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, a test run for the air taxis that Florida leaders hope will one day carry passengers and cargo around the region.
The flight started at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg. Joby Aviation’s vertical takeoff aircraft, which lifts off like a helicopter and then flies like an airplane, left at 10:01 a.m. and reached Tampa International about 20 minutes later, landing on Runway 1R after circling the area. An all-electric plane from BETA Technologies, which needs a normal runway, followed it, and the two flew in formation with a regular helicopter.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials were waiting at the airport. The route was chosen on purpose: it retraces the 1914 hop across the bay by pilot Tony Jannus, widely counted as the first scheduled commercial passenger flight.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said the technology could change how people and goods move around Tampa Bay. Ed Montanari, who chairs the St. Petersburg Advanced Air Mobility Task Force, compared the trip to the 1914 flight.
The companies pitched their aircraft as cheaper to build and maintain and much quieter than conventional helicopters. Joby says its craft can go from fully powered down to airborne in about 20 seconds, a selling point for emergency missions. Supporters also talk about using them to move supplies after storms or to get fans to a Rays or Bucs game without crossing the Howard Frankland Bridge.
No one is booking rides yet. There are no immediate plans for public service, and the state is using flights like this to evaluate a planned network of air routes.
Section: More Tampa FL business news
Filed under: Tampa FL Business News
