Aviation pioneer joins advanced air mobility program

The Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace program is building the flight paths required by the aircraft of tomorrow. 

Its newest partner is delivering the future of flight, today. 

In December, the aviation pioneer Electra.aero Inc. officially became the first manufacturer to join the Smart Airspace program. Located in Manassas, Virginia, the company specializes in the type of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft the program aims to help integrate into the national airspace.

“We are so excited to partner with Electra, as well as a host of other industry experts,” said Tombo Jones, director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), which is leading the program. “As a Federal Aviation Administration test site, our mission is to assist with the safe integration of emergent technology aircraft into the national airspace. To unlock the promise of advanced flight, we need both innovative airframes and the new AAM optimized infrastructure to support them. The smart airspace program helps answer this call by serving as a national platform for collaboration among a diverse group of partners who, together, will be instrumental to the path ahead.”

Funded and supported technically by the Virginia Department of Aviation, the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace program launched in March 2025 with the aim of creating the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved civil instrument flight rules network designed for advanced air mobility research in the United States. The instrument flight rules system provides regulations and procedures for pilots relying on instruments, rather than vision, and gives air traffic controllers a clear understanding of flight paths. 

This smart airspace network will include the physical and digital research components and infrastructure needed for full-scale advanced aircraft and drones capable of transporting cargo or people to be widely used across the state.

Jones said Electra’s decision to join is a powerful signal of the value of the platform. As a champion operator with significant momentum, Electra brings valuable insights, operational experience, and technical capabilities that will strengthen the team and accelerate progress across the program.

Electra has built the world’s first hybrid-electric ultra short aircraft, which is a fixed-wing airplane designed to take off and land in as little as 150 feet. Electra joined NAVOS Air, an FAA-authorized developer of instrument flight procedures, as a technical lead in the smart airspace program. 

“This partnership marks a critical step forward on our path to unlocking a new era of aviation – one that is simpler, faster, and without the hassle of today’s commercial services,” Parker Vascik, director of product strategy, said in a news release from Electra. “By creating the necessary operational, physical, and digital infrastructure in an affordable package, we are one step closer to enabling safe, scalable, and reliable all-weather AAM operations across the country. Ultimately, our goal is to transform the future of travel, giving people the freedom to travel from where they are to where they want to go.”  

In July 2025, Electra representatives visited Blacksburg to conduct the first public test flights of the company’s hybrid‑electric EL2 ultra‑short takeoff and landing technology demonstrator aircraft. These flights highlighted the unique capabilities of the aircraft showcasing how advanced air mobility can serve locations that are inaccessible to conventional aviation. The smart airspace team will collaborate with Electra to design ultra short access point landing areas and instrument flight rules infrastructure tailored to Electra’s flight profiles, significantly expanding access to the national airspace system.

An analysis done by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation in 2024 projected that enabling advanced air mobility operations in the state could generate $16 billion in new economic activity, produce $2.8 billion in tax revenue, and create more than 17,000 jobs in the aerospace industry. 

“The Virginia Department of Aviation is happy to be working with Electra, NAVOS Air, and MAAP on this effort,” said Greg Campbell, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation and president of Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems Lab. “AAM envisions technologies, such as lower-cost air taxi and cargo operations utilizing new aircraft platforms, and propulsion systems to connect regions of the commonwealth. The Smart Airspace program represents an important step in the Virginia Strategy for Advanced Air Mobility in the commonwealth, and positions Virginia to lead in the integration of these new aviation transportation technologies.”

Jones said a successful future airspace will account for these advanced aircraft operations within an FAA-approved framework. Benefits include approach and departure procedures with advanced air mobility specific climb and descent flight profiles, saving energy, maximizing in-flight time, and increasing airspace efficiency. The smart airspace network will include vertiports, designed to support the multiple types of aircraft — vertical and ultra short takeoff and landing — that allow air travel access to be closer to where people live, work, and play.

The Smart Airspace program is establishing an initial advanced air mobility network cell of operation sites that incorporate instrument approaches and departures at each location. Approved low-level routing connecting the locations is also being developed. These locations include:

• An off-airport vertiport at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg
• An on-airport vertiport at the Class C Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport in Roanoke
• An existing FAA-approved vertiport previously developed by the Smart Airspace team at the Class D Allen C. Perkinson Airport in Blackstone
• The Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, which is a Class G airport with paved and turf runways

The original concept for Virginia’s Smart Airspace program resulted from the collaborative effort of MAAP, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, NAVOS Air, and the Virginia Tech Innovation and Partnerships team, which supports relationships with a range of companies and foundations.

Jones said the smart airspace program is a great example of the transformational impact that can be created when stakeholders come together to advance an important area of science and technology. This program not only has the potential to play a critical role in the future of Virginia’s airspace and economics, it also positions the state as a national research and deployment hub for FAA, NASA, Department of Defense, and advanced air mobility equipment manufacturers.  

“Under the leadership of Greg Campbell, the Virginia Department of Aviation, and the Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems lab, this project is reinforcing the commonwealth’s commitment to advancing the future of flight,” Jones said. “We just really appreciate the opportunity to help shape that future.”