Electric air taxi flies across Tampa Bay

Welcome back. Imagine skipping the bridges and flying straight across Tampa Bay. Well, that's the idea behind an electric air taxi set to make a test flight from St. Pete to Tampa International Airport in just a few minutes from now. Fox 13's Matthew McClellan is live over at Albert Whitted Airport. And Matt, this doesn't exactly work like a helicopter or an airplane, right? It does not. They just wheeled out the electric air taxi in the past half hour or so. We're looking live as this presentation continues now. But this is what they call an eVTOL. That stands for electric vertical takeoff and landing. So in plain English, that just means it can go straight up without a runway and then fly forward like an airplane. So you're looking live at the model here. And as we pan over to the left, you'll see the crowd that's turned out for this. A lot of people are excited. Joby's aircraft uses six. Tilting propellers that is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers. The company says it can fly about 200 miles per hour. And because it is electric, one of the big selling points is noise. Joby says it's significantly quieter than a conventional helicopter. And that's actually one of the things being studied during these tests today. The federal government and the state are collecting information about everything from noise to airport integration and how these aircraft would use special landing areas called vertiports. Florida has already started preparing for that possibility. The state can now help fund Vertiport infrastructure, while Tampa International and St. Petersburg have both been looking at how this technology could fit into future transportation. And just in the past hour, I spoke with Joby's U.S. policy chief to ask about the regulatory hurdles the company still needs to clear before this hits the market. We are laser focused on FAA certification, so that's working with the FAA so that they can ensure that it's safe so passengers and Americans can trust that the aircraft is safe. But what we're also doing is working with the federal government for the EIPP program, the eVTOL Integrated Pilot Program, which is going to allow us to partner with FDOT, the FAA, the federal government and communities around the state. And when this thing takes off about 20 minutes from now, one thing we really want you to experience with us is the sound. We, of course, have all heard a helicopter overhead as we come back out here live. Joby says this one, again, dramatically quieter. So in the 10 o'clock hour during Good Day Extra, whether it's live or whether we record it and bring it to you later in the hour, we really want you to experience the sound or lack thereof with us because I think that's... Part of the groundbreaking nature of this electric air taxi as well. Anyway, heads to Tampa around 9.54 this morning. They'll take the scenic route, not the five to seven minute standard trip that they'll be able to take, but they'll land right there at TPA sometime around 10.25. Very cool. Can't wait to see and hear or maybe not hear them. Thanks so much, Matt, reporting live for us this morning.