Air-worthiness tests on Beta’s vehicles continue and weather has been an issue, said Col Nathan Diller, director of AFWERX, the Air Force organization nurturing air taxis and other new technologies with private partners.
“I was just at Springfield yesterday evening,” Diller said Wednesday. “You’re probably aware that Beta is not the only company that’s there; they’re the ones who work from the charging station, they’re putting together a platform (and) they’ll be delivering a simulator very soon.”
Vermont-based Beta Technologies, one of the pioneer companies in the field, is having its vehicle go through the Air Force’s “air-worthiness process” now, Diller said.
“The arrival of that Beta aircraft to our location in Springfield will be a function of that air worthiness, but by and large, they’re making fantastic progress on air worthiness, making fantastic progress on their flight testing,” he also said. “They’re looking forward to doing that soon.”
Weather has been a factor, he added.
“There seems to be a lot of snow here in Ohio, so we’ll see if it happens before the snow (melts),” he said.
There are conversations now with the Air Force Research Lab and other about “establishing airspace there,” he added.
“It’s in the civil airspace structure, so it’s something of interest to us,” he said.
Diller spoke in an online meeting Wednesday afternoon as part of the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.
The Springfield airport recently received a $226,000 grant from JobsOhio’s Ohio Site Inventory Program for the infrastructure supporting the flying vehicle effort.
A message with questions was sent to Beta Thursday.
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