Sebring Airport may have 1st ports for vertical takeoff-landing craft
In the past few months, the leading developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft made progress in delivering on their vision for advanced air mobility (AAM). Multiple companies delivered aircraft to military or commercial customers, and numerous companies conducted flight tests and expanded partnerships for the future.
Sebring Regional Airport has an opportunity to get into the cutting edge of Advanced Air Mobility.
If the airport can get funding soon enough and get facilities in place on the ground, it might just edge out bigger airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, as a pioneer with “vertiports” in place to serve electric vertical takeoff and landing craft.
“This would be the first,” Willingham said.
The Airport Authority Board of Directors voted on Thursday to amend their airport layout plan to include a takeoff/landing pad, area to park the vehicles and up to five stations for recharging.
Meghan Sheehan, technical manager and the Aviation East and US Advanced Air Mobility lead at AtkinsRéalis, presented the proposed change to the board. Advanced air mobility refers to systems and aircraft that enable air service for passengers and cargo to previously unserved or underserved places.
Highlands County would fit that profile, but it also has a prime location, Sheehan said, in that it is right within the typical 100-150 mile range of eVOTL craft. Some craft can travel up to 250 miles on a charge, which would allow Sebring Airport, once established as an eVOTL hub, to take in traffic from an even larger radius.
Sebring sits 58 nautical miles from Orlando International Airport, 48 nautical miles from Lakeland Linder International Airport and 71 nautical miles from Tampa International Airport.
Sarasota is 65 nautical miles and Palm Beach International is 91.
Willingham said board members need not be concerned about the prospective market.
“We know these vehicles are coming,” he said.
He said that the Florida Department of Transportation will have grant money available to help develop this system, and Sebring Airport could position itself well, being in the middle of the state between two coasts and at the center of a circle of metropolitan areas.
“This is a big step toward our master plan,” Willingham said.
Why would pilots, passengers and cargo carriers use eVOTL craft?
Sheehan said they run quieter than helicopters and airplanes, especially at cruising speed, can transition easily from horizontal to vertical flight and give off no emissions.
A typical craft can carry from two to eight people. Although all have human pilots now, some in the future will fly autonomously, she said.
FDOT has done research on these craft and is prepared to provide funding to develop this system, Sheehan said, especially for airports that have plans already in place: A main reason for asking the board to amend the layout plan on Thursday.
The prospective cost of the vertiport is unknown, yet. It will depend on several factors, including exactly how many charging terminals the airport will build and the cost for construction, which fluctuates regularly.
The addendum to the plan would place the takeoff/landing pad close to the existing terminal, with access to parking for people wanting to drive in and fly.
Carl Cool, board member and former Highlands County engineer and administrator, said he recalled the county benefited from having plans for new roads already on paper when FDOT made millions of dollars available for counties with plans ready to build.
Board members did raise questions about the amount of parking provided on the layout for the vertiport, but Willingham pointed out that that lot sits adjacent to the main parking lot for the terminal, which he said is never full. Some tweaks to the plan are to be expected, he said.
“There’s more than one way to skin this cat,” Willingham said.
Cool said he was glad to hear that the airport might be able to bring in extra business at a cost significantly less than a runway extension.
“That’s crazy money,” Cool said.
