The FlyOhio partnership carried out public flights of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Springfield-Beckley Airport as part of an air mobility showcase.
FlyOhio – led by the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODoT) DriveOhio initiative – is seeking to aid the deployment of unmanned aircraft for personal transportation.
At the event, Kitty Hawk flew its Heaviside 2 unmanned aircraft while Lift demonstrated its manned, wingless Hexa aircarft.
FlyOhio demonstrated its air mobility development ecosystem to public aviation organisations, private aviation companies, corporate partners, and academic institutions.
Lt. governor of Ohio Jon Husted, director of InnovateOhio, says: “Once again, our state is leading the way on advanced air mobility. Whether it’s on our roads, through our workforce, at our universities, in our manufacturing facilities, or up in the sky, Ohio has the people and the industry to bring big ideas into reality, continually advancing our administration’s mission to make our state the most innovative, entrepreneurial state in the Midwest.”
JobsOhio CEO J.P. Nauseef says: “The opportunity to build a new industry that has the potential to add $13 billion in market value to Ohio’s economy and support tens of thousands of new jobs in infrastructure, construction, advanced manufacturing and business development over the next 20 years doesn’t just happen. It takes hard work and partnerships, as Ohio’s Lt. Governor Husted says, ‘Those who collaborate best are the ones who win.’ As you can see, in Ohio, we are developing the mobility economy of the 21st century.”
FlyOhio also has input from the US Air Force, Nasa, JobsOhio, the Ohio Federal Research Network, the Dayton Development Coalition and the City of Springfield.
