OKLAHOMA CITY – The Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation held a groundbreaking Thursday for a new Vertical Take-Off and Landing Procedures and Analysis Range (V-PAR) at Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC.)
V-PAR includes a range of programs beginning with “verti-,” meaning vertical. A vertiport is a verticle airport, a vertipad is a verticle landing pad and a verticraft is a verticle aircraft.
Steven Bradbury, United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Chris Rocheleau, FAA Deputy Administrator spoke at the groundbreaking, explaining the reasons behind the facility.
What is the the purpose of a V-PAR facility?
It’s operationalizing these vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. These are new aircraft. We have to figure out how they’re going to work with traditional aircraft, how they’re going to work with the FAA’s air traffic control operation, airports. We want to make sure they safely integrate into the national airspace. This test range is for not just research but actually putting the nuts and bolts together, operationalizing it. So it’s very exciting. It’s, another step forward in innovation in aviation.
What uses will these aircrafts have?
Well, it’s going to be for a range of uses. We have a, pilot test program going on around the country and multiple states. 26 states are participating in that. And those states and their partners and industry will be demonstrating different use cases for these new aircraft. Some of them will be taking people, for example, from ports in metropolitan areas to a central airport will make it much faster and easier to get to where you want to go at the airport and then off to wherever your destination is. But there are other use cases taking workers out to offshore oil rigs, for example, critical. And this will be an efficient new use of this technology. But also carrying packages, medical supplies. There’s a range of needs and interests, and we’re going to be demonstrating that through what we call the IP, the electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration pilot program.
Why are DOT and the FAA collaborating for this?
DOT is leading this with FAA, and then this test range will help integrate all of that into the FAA air traffic control management system to make it safe for use within the airspace. So it all has to fit together, and these aircraft have to be proven safe. And the FAA will certify the aircraft as safe. That has yet to happen. And so all of these things are important steps to unlock this new technology. So you’ll see those steps happening. We’re leaning into this at the DOT.
Why is it important for the United States to start this program?
Well, of course, China’s doing it. Other countries. And you know, they have a different approach to safety and government, of course, over in Communist China. So they they have the ability to do things, whereas we need to work through our democratic political process, make sure. And that’s what you see going on here.
Who is participating in this beyond FAA and DOT?
Many states are involved, local governments are involved in this. Indian nations. We have the Choctaw Nation, we’ve got the Cherokee Nation here today. They’re participating in the IP and in this, test range effort. So, you know, we have multiple layers of government. We’ve got industry and the private investment in the capital markets to support this. It allows us to work together in the U.S. needs to be a leader in aviation innovation. We are a leader in this. This is an example of the leadership. But it’s not a simple thing. It’s not just a matter of getting somebody with money to invest in building the technology. A lot of other things have to happen before it’s really operationalized and commercialized. And that’s what this is. This is all about. It’s a real collaboration…