NASA and eVTOL developer Joby Aviation have successfully completed a series of air traffic simulations with NASA’s Ames Research Center that evaluated how air taxi operations can be integrated into today’s airspace, including at busy airports, using existing air traffic control tools and procedures.
The simulations were codeveloped by Joby and NASA airspace engineers, following a multi-year airspace study. The simulations tested scenarios with various eVTOL aircraft per hour flying into and out of the complex, busy airspace in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
The activity took place at NASA’s Future Flight Central, a high-fidelity virtual tower facility offering a 360-degree view of a real-time simulation of an airport, where a team of NASA and Joby engineers, as well as pilots and air traffic controllers, simulated traffic patterns at Dallas Love Field (DAL) and DFW airports, representative of complex and busy airspace.
Joby air taxi product lead Tom Prevot said: “These successful simulations were made possible by years of careful planning and collaboration between two organisations committed to redefining what is possible, and we’re proud to be paving the way towards the scaled commercialization of air taxis in the National Airspace System.”
NASA will publish a complete analysis of the simulation results in 2024.