Virginia’s Smart Airspace network lands first flights

Virginia’s Smart Airspace program reached new heights this summer when two advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft flew newly developed routes throughout central and southwest Virginia.  

The flights, performed by manufacturers Electra and Textron Systems, marked the first demonstrations of the Virginia Tech-led Smart Airspace program, which is part of Virginia’s Advanced Air Mobility Strategic Plan and funded by the Department of Aviation with support from the Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems Lab.  

Advanced air mobility is an emerging aviation field that uses automated, electric, or hybrid-electric powered aircraft to transport people and cargo between unconventional landing spaces.

“The Virginia Department of Aviation is pleased to recognize the breakthrough achievements of the Smart Airspace project, demonstrated through real-world operations of advanced air mobility aircraft,” said Greg Campbell, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation and president of Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems Lab. “The continued development of the Smart Airspace concept is opening new opportunities for communities across the commonwealth and beyond, providing the advanced flight procedures needed for emerging aviation technologies to expand access and deliver meaningful benefits.” 

Over the past year, Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) worked with its industry and government partners to develop the route network, which connects new vertiports at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport in Roanoke, and Allen C. Perkinson Airport in Blackstone. The network is a crucial step towards integrating AAM aircraft into the same air traffic management system that enables traditional commercial airlines to consistently conduct predictable, smooth operations, according to Tombo Jones, director of MAAP. 

The MAAP, an FAA-designated unmanned aircraft systems test site, coordinated the demos and the network that supports them in close partnership with NAVOS Air, an FAA-authorized developer of instrument flight procedures and routes. Conventional commercial aircraft fly on standardized instrument flight routes, Jones explained.  

“These routes and the rules that govern them allow flights to safely occur in varied weather conditions and allow FAA air traffic controllers to keep them properly separated - especially as they move in and out of congested airspace around airports,” he said. “The result is the predictable scheduling required for a viable business model.” 

However, existing flight routes often require AAM aircraft to travel long distances to safely approach and depart landing sites, Jones said. These distances are impractical for aircraft designed for regional or shorter flights. Traditional instrument flight procedures also require airport infrastructure that may be too expensive for small communities. A smaller vertiport could allow these communities to receive quality air service at a lower cost. 

The Smart Airspace program is working to solve these problems by designing new, more efficient, and lower cost routing and procedures for landing areas tailored to AAM aircraft that will serve as the blueprint for AAM instrument flight integration in the United States. This set of regulations and procedures allow pilots to navigate an aircraft using cockpit instruments instead of outside visual references. 

The recent demos were conducted as part of a multi-state team led by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation under the FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). Established in March, the program aims to accelerate the safe deployment of AAM vehicles in the National Airspace System through public-private partnerships with state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities and private companies. 

Researchers said the demos showed that advanced air mobility aircraft can safely and efficiently travel this newly created route structure with its associated instrument approaches and departures designed with AAM aircraft in mind. 

"When integrated safely and efficiently into the aviation system, AAM technologies have the potential to transform the future of air travel. Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport is proud to support this leading-edge research," said Mike Stewart, president and CEO, Roanoke Regional Airport Commission.  

Jones looks forward to collaborating with additional industry partners to demo the network. 

"Advanced air mobility isn't just the next chapter in aviation — it's the future of how people and goods will move,” Jones said. “For this project, we’re advancing this vision by bringing together industry, government, and research partners to accelerate innovation, shape policy, and build the ecosystem needed for AAM to succeed.”