Florida ready for takeoff

Roads, where we're going, we don't need roads. And that was pretty cool to see that. And that is the first demonstration flight of eVTOLs with two different companies and we're in formation. And I want to thank both Joby and Beta Technologies for being here. You're going to hear from representatives from both of those companies. We also have our administrator from the federal FAA, Mike Whitaker. Thank you for coming. Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, Director of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Krantzos, and Senator Jim Boyd, and I think we have some reps. I saw Banks here, are the other candidates here? And is Linda Chaney here? She was on the thing from over in St. Pete. So welcome everyone. I think this has been very exciting. We've done a lot in Florida on transportation. We did a project that Jim and other legislators are moving Florida forward. We've been able to accelerate projects up and down the state, deliver on ahead of schedule. That's just to kind of keep up with a lot of the traffic and the tourists and all that stuff, but we're proud of what we've done. All of that was really, really important, but we know that just the roads and stuff are not the whole story here. And we have had a commitment to advanced air mobility, really for many years now, going back to things like the Paris Air Show and some of these things, and in fact last year we had a bill that the legislature passed on advanced air mobility, recognizing that's an efficient mode of transportation in Florida. We've then been able to take that and make strategic investments in infrastructure and research. to be able to create opportunity for innovation, economic growth, and workforce development. Our SunTrax facility down the road in Polk County is a good example of the commitment. It's a 775-acre research and testing facility, which was originally done to test things like how poles work. When I became governor, we're like, okay, I don't really want to be pulling on people, We do want to test. Other types of traffic solutions and including autonomous vehicles. So we were there a couple of months ago and you saw the Lamos, the CyberCab, the Tesla RoboTaxi. When they're doing all this stuff there, which is really good, and now you do have those operating in different parts of Florida. And I think we're going to continue to see that operate even more. But we announced that we were going to have SunTracks here. There will be focus on the testing of advanced air mobility vehicles. And we have them there, people can see them. There wasn't a demonstration flight when we said we're going to do the demonstration flight, and that's what brings us here today. These can be used potentially as an air taxi service. You think about some areas you would want to avoid by car. You could have a situation where these are operating almost like a ride share. Cargo delivery, medical transportation, emergency response missions, there's a whole host of things that these eVTOL aircraft would be able to do. It's the closest thing that we have right now to flying cars. You could potentially take this land at Tampa airport. First of all, First of all, thanks to Tampa Airport for hosting us and allowing us to do this. We had to make some accommodations, and I think it was really cool to see those coming in. But you would be able to go, and say you want to go to Disney World, you can come and then you can go there. Say, you know, you want to go from Miami to West Palm Beach, you'd be able to avoid traffic on the ground, you'd be able to get places a lot quicker. And I think that the technology is going to continue to advance. So there's a lot of potential here just for people's everyday lives. We've also directed Florida's Department of Transportation to partner with higher ed institutions, Embry-Riddle and Palm State University, to train the credentialed, skilled workforce needed for these and other associated technologies. And some of that will be pilots, but also technicians, engineers, and other types of professionals. We've done a lot of workforce education, we are ranked number one now in that, and I think that you're seeing how the economy's developed, why that's important, because there's a lot of opportunities if you have the skills. We also are proud to have been selected by the FAA to participate in this AAM integration pilot program, which we're here today as a result of, to give Florida a leading voice at the table when it comes to advanced air mobility. This is going to end up being a global hub for this, and I know that this is going to make a big difference for many, many years to come. Now, we've also been selected as one of seven aerospace workforce hubs by NASA. For the state of Florida, and we also are looking to do this U.S. Space Academy, and there's other places that want it. I think it would be really, really good for that to be in the state of Florida, and I'm looking forward to seeing that get done. I know our federal representatives are doing it, but before I turn it over to the next speaker, back in 1914. Thousands of people gathered on the shore of Tampa Bay to witness Tony Janus make history with the world's first commercial airline flight. More than a century later, here we are at Tampa Bay. To usher in a new era of transportation, the first demonstration flight with two different companies in formation. This is a part of history. Who knows where this will lead, but I'm just glad that we're on the forefront of this, and I thank everybody for being a part of it. The best is yet to come. Thank you. Welcome to the stage, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford. I'd like to thank Governor Santos and Senator Huber for hosting the event and obviously for the campaigner for all the work that had to go into making today possible. I want to recognize both Joby and Beta for your commitment to the EIPB program. Last June, June of 2025, President Trump signed an executive order asking the Department of Transportation under Secretary Dunford's leadership and the FAA. To develop a program to be intentional about how we will integrate these potential transformational vehicles into the national airspace and do it in a way that was transparent and fair and competitive to allow these innovators, Jovan Frederick and Kyle Clark, the two founders of Thank you. To help partner with them, rather than get in the way, as bureaucracy normally does. So I'm really grateful for the leadership that we have in Washington right now to recognize the potential of this transformational technology. I will tell you, we have eight EITP programs across the country, but I think Florida by and leads the industry in terms of its competitiveness. We saw the potential of these aircraft not just for intermodal connectivity but to reconnect small-town America to the national transportation system. Over the last 30 years, we've seen government essentially turn their back on small towns and how they're connected to... And we know aviation is the lifeblood of just about every community across the country. So creating robust connectivity, convenience, affordability, these are factors that will – these vehicles, I believe, will be the future for many, many small towns across America. So again, I want to thank the leadership that we have in D.C. under President Trump and Secretary Doug, but also the partnership that we have with the State of Florida and the innovators. So again, thank you so much for your partnership and your investment between building and the utilities and the infrastructure. We'll help take care of the safe integration of the aircraft and the airspace. And again, I think the future is extremely bright here. Great time to be here. I feel like we're almost at, you know, Orville Wilbur. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Right, I imagine if we were on the dunes, I would hate to see something for the first time, so hopefully you'll treasure these memories as much as I do. Thanks for the invitation to be here with you today. Thanks so much. Today, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue. Well, good morning. This is so exciting. I first want to start by thanking Governor DeSantis for his leadership. He has really pushed the Florida Department of Transportation to be innovative, to find efficiencies. We've advanced massive infrastructure projects all across the state by 15 to 20 years. And we're also thinking about what's next. With the advancement of mobility, we could not have done what we've done so far without the leadership. The governor and as we reconstruct a lot of our major highways in the state of Florida, we're getting ready for what comes next as we continue to relieve congestion into the future. I want to say thank you to the Tampa International Airport for hosting us here today. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I do want to say thank you to our FAA air traffic controllers who actually had to manage the air traffic out there while we did this test flight, so show a lot of gratitude to them, and I also want to thank the Florida Legislature. You know, the governor signed a monumental legislation for advancing our mobility. We have a few leaders from our Florida legislature here. In order for that bill to be ready to sign, it had to be worked on by the legislature. They had to embrace this vision, and it really was a great opportunity to help Florida lead the country in emerging technology. So I'm going to go ahead and say it. We're at the age of flying cars, right? What is special about this, you hear people say, well, these are just electric versions of a helicopter. Well, they're actually not. This is going to provide a new way for people and goods to move around the entire country, but more importantly, the state of Florida. It's going to bring regional air connectivity back to the state of Florida. And the supporting infrastructure that we're testing right now with the vertiports and technology, connected technology, autonomous technology, air traffic control management software, you could potentially see hundreds of these vehicles flying on a highway in the sky, moving thousands of people between two destinations. It truly is a transformational time. in history, and what better way to recognize it than to honor the original Tony Janis flight that the governor mentioned here in Tampa. Our SunTracks facility is a big part of it. The governor had a brilliant idea of why don't we continue to use SunTracks to advance this technology. We expanded the SunTracks area. We've already built two vertiports with charging infrastructure. We built the nation's first aerial test track, and we also have hangar space for tenants. To do final assembly and test all of our technology, we already have several tenants that are moving in there. We're really excited about the future. And I want to say thank you to all of the partners. I want to say thank you to the FAA and Administrator Brian Bedford. We were selected as one of the EIPP applicants, and we put together a statewide partnership with the private industry. With academia, Uber is a really big partner, and also with a lot of our airports across the state. Our large commercial airports, our medium-sized airports, and a lot of our rural airports are actually very forward-thinking with this. And I do want to thank Beta Technologies and Joby for helping us with the first flight as part of our EIPP program here in Florida. Again, Governor, thank you for your leadership, and thank you for all the work you're doing in this. Today, Beta Head of Flight Operations, Chris Hooter Caputo. Good morning everyone. Thank you Governor Sanchez, Administrator Bedford, Secretary Rubio, Chief Operating Officer Watts. It's an absolute pleasure to be here today. I just want to thank the entire FDOT team and the Signature Aviation folks for hosting this awesome event. Florida has a long-standing history in aviation innovation. And it shows a tremendous amount of leadership on advanced air mobility over the past few years. We at Beta Technologies are grateful for it, and we don't take that lightly. I lead our flight operations at Beta Technologies, but I'm also the head of flight I've been flying these awesome aircraft for over five years now, and this morning I was absolutely honored to be a part of history. Accelerating and retracing that flight alongside our joint aviation partners in the S4 and launching out of Albuquerque and coming in here into Tampa International. What a great day for American aerospace industry. But this isn't Beta's first time flying in this much airspace We've been here many times before, visiting military bases. Flying in various communities, several different airports, visiting the universities that are focused on aviation, helping to introduce this new technology to the next generation. Earlier this year, we were over in Orlando with our partner, Republic Airways. Just a great, great event helping to bring this new form of aviation into commercial operations. Just this week, with these two aircraft, We have been conducting high-cadence flight operations, cargo, passenger, market survey, as part of EIPP. For the last three days, we've completed 26 flights, we've flown over 1,358 nautical miles with those two aircraft right there, we've burned up 1,892 kilowatt-hours of energy, and here in the great state of Florida, because electricity is pretty cheap, It cost about $300 for those 26 flights of electricity. But what I think tells us a better story about this, those operations were accomplished with two pilots. No ground crew, two pilots that flew those two aircraft 26 times in the last three days. That's pretty awesome. This work, alongside with our 255,000 nautical miles that our fleet of six-seat and one-seat aircraft has accomplished, has helped lay the foundation for what's happening here today with the EIPP in Florida. Beta has been participating in seven of the eight EIPP... Uh, programs that were selected nationwide, we've operated in Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Utah, New York, and now here in Florida. We saved the best for last, Governor. Thank you very much. Each of these engagements helps build on the last. We are collecting a body of operational data which helps move this technology forward from a demonstration phase. to do safe, commercial, viable operations. Through EIPP, Beta will continue to work with the Republic Airways Service Board to evaluate how our fleet aircraft can complement their existing operations and we're also partnering with Metro Aviation to prove out how these aircraft can work out as high as that, much wider, but also can support low-acuity patient transfer and medical logistics. Faster regional routes, lower operating costs, enhanced safety, increased access for communities across the state. Those are super meaningful missions and benefits of electric aviation serving all Americans. EIPP here in Florida gives us a place to do this work. It allows us to bring together real aircraft, real infrastructure, real missions, and real world commercial operations and apply those lessons learned going forward. A strategic piece of that infrastructure is right here at Tampa International. We just commissioned our ninth charging location in the state of Florida. And we have 68 charging locations worldwide. You can't fly electric without a place to charge. Florida understood that well before most other states were even asking the question. Thank you, Secretary Perdue. Governor DeSantis and Chairman Guas, we're flying today, building charging air infrastructure today, working in operations with the communities preparing for commercial flights. The future of aviation is coming. It's here today, it's electric, and it's here to stay. Thank you very much. Jody, President of Operations, Bonnie Simme. It's history today. And very soon, when you and your family get in one of these aircraft, you can say, I saw it, I was there when they first flew into Tampa. So this is really amazing, and I very much hope to have you on our aircraft very soon. First of all, I really want to start by thanking Governor Sanders. Secretary Perdue, Administrator Bedford, and the CEOs, for your welcoming and this partnership to make this happen. Also, on behalf of Joby, I'd like to thank FDOT. We could not be doing this whole event without you. Tampa International Airport, I would include an airport and other communities on both sides of Tampa Bay. Now, Governor Stanton, Secretary Perdue, you've been leaders in this from the very beginning. This has been a vision of yours for quite some time. You've been engaging the communities and industry for over five years. But you just stopped there. You must have been laid out in the roadmap. You started building infrastructure. You opened up some tracks. We were very proud to be the first tenant in one of those hangars back when you showed up. The day before the hangar was open for occupancy. We were that leader. And you have this vision to connect communities like St. Pete and Tampa, just like Tony Davis did over a hundred years ago. You've launched this public-private partnership and built an ecosystem together. And it's not just about Joby, it's about others, it's about partnership. As you can see, working together with Beta, side by side, it is your focus and planning that has led to us here. But it wouldn't have happened without the FAA. Nothing happens in aviation without the FAA. And for years, it wasn't a question of whether aircraft like ours should fly. I mean, think about it. Jessup has been in people's minds for decades. I grew up with the Jessup. But the question was, how do you prove it? How do you make it safe? You're in the United States, and Americans travel every day like today. Military record, you took executive action brought it to life. Your team has answered with the EIP that puts us on wheelhouse in active airspace, as you can see, with you and your team by our side. In fact, several members of your team are here today already eager for the data that we're gathering. You build the bridge between flight test and working service, so thank you. So, thank you. Now, the two wings of the Wright mark was the beginning of scheduled commercial aviation. It was a huge moment for travel, and for America. It established us as global leaders, and today, now more than a century later, we are proud and involved for bringing you along on that journey, on that same American leadership. It's a new era of aviation, all electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. They're quiet, they don't burn fuel, they're very economical, and they're very easy to maintain. Aircraft don't make money unless they're in the air. So these aircraft then become economical, and that makes aviation economical for the people and the communities here in Florida. So as you've heard yourself, they're quiet enough to operate in and around the cities. It is so important for this mode of transportation to come into the cities, because that's how we save time. We're already working alongside the FAA state leaders and partners to develop the infrastructure, the procedures, and experience to launch the commercial service. And we're very grateful for how active the state of Florida is leading in. You built it and we came. Our goal is to give people time back by connecting them with the places that they live, and work, and travel in a very fast, economic, quiet way. Think about the drive from Albuquerque to the airport I did this morning. Fortunately, there wasn't traffic. It's about 23 miles across the Howard Franklin Bridge. Anybody who's done that in traffic five o'clock knows that it can take almost an hour. You can get over to St. Pete real quick for some meetings right around the area. You can hop on your local vertiport, we've got one here, we'll have some. We demonstrated on a basketball court last month. That's how feasible this is. So you'll be able to just push yourself, just open the map. One of our partners, Uber for example, there, asked, maybe there's joking right there, so you can look at what the pricing is, make it pretty even and simple to get across, hop on, right onto the waterfront, into your aircraft, and ten minutes later you're right here. No bridge shopping. No parking garage and it isn't just a vision, it's something that is happening. So we can only imagine the wonder and excitement that Janice had and that over a thousand people back in 1914 walked in, take off, as we eat, just like we did this morning. We can think about the future because it's happening now and we're proud to be bringing that future here to Florida. Thank you all. Please welcome back to the stage State of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to close our Thanks everybody. I think it's really exciting. I want to thank the companies. I want to thank FDOT. I want to thank Tampa International Airport. We are going to go inspect both of the eVTOLs of the aircraft. And so you're welcome to come take a look at it. I think it was really cool seeing them flying and then to see them land and come right up here. You're going to be seeing more of these things in the weeks, months and years ahead. So why don't we come and take a look. Thanks everybody.