Virginia has taken an important step toward the future of transportation in the commonwealth.
The federal government’s new Advanced Air Mobility pilot program in Charlottesville is more than a test of new aircraft. It is a step toward a future in which electric aircraft, drones and increasingly autonomous aviation systems become part of everyday life in Virginia.
Other states — including Florida, Texas, California, Ohio and North Carolina — have spent years investing in this emerging industry. Virginia is now building on its own strengths with a thoughtful, practical approach that can serve communities across the commonwealth, especially in rural regions.
This transformation will not happen overnight. It will happen one careful step at a time.
More than a decade ago, Wise County became the site of one of America’s pioneering demonstrations of drones flying safely beyond a pilot’s direct line of sight. That work helped show how unmanned aircraft could eventually support healthcare, emergency response, infrastructure inspection and business operations in rural America.
Today’s Advanced Air Mobility initiative is the next logical step from that work.
The Virginia Department of Aviation is coordinating partnerships among the Federal Aviation Administration, universities, local governments, airports and private industry. Together, they are laying the groundwork for technologies expected to mature through the remainder of this decade and become increasingly common during the 2030s.
For many Virginians, the greatest benefits may not come from urban air taxis. Instead, they may come from improving life in rural communities.
Imagine an electric aircraft carrying a trauma team to the scene of a serious highway accident in Southwest Virginia. Picture blood products or lifesaving medications arriving at a rural hospital in minutes rather than hours. Think about faster transportation for specialized medical care, business travel, engineering services or time-sensitive cargo.
Those possibilities become much more realistic when Virginia’s existing regional airports are integrated into a connected statewide transportation network.
Airports such as Virginia Highlands Airport in Abingdon, Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise, Mountain Empire Airport near Marion and Wytheville, New River Valley Airport in Dublin and Blue Ridge Regional Airport in Martinsville already serve their communities well. During the coming decade, they could evolve into gateways for electric aircraft connecting rural Virginia with larger transportation hubs near Roanoke, Charlottesville, Richmond, Washington Dulles and beyond.
Digital infrastructure will be just as important as the aircraft themselves.
Modern satellite communications systems, including Starlink, are helping eliminate connectivity gaps in rural Virginia. As these technologies become integrated into certified aviation systems where appropriate, they can enhance communications, weather information, aircraft tracking and operational logistics. Combined with FAA air traffic control and emerging low-altitude traffic management systems, they will help support the safe and efficient operation of growing numbers of drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The General Assembly has demonstrated foresight by creating an Advanced Air Mobility program within the Virginia Department of Aviation, providing $1 million to establish an Advanced Air Mobility test site in partnership with the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority, and later approving an additional $500,000 to continue its development.
Looking ahead, Virginians hope to see additional industry leaders — including BETA Technologies, Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation and Eve Air Mobility — demonstrate these aircraft throughout the commonwealth. Charlottesville is an excellent place to begin, and expanding demonstrations to regional airports across western and Southwest Virginia could help ensure that rural communities share fully in the benefits of this new era of flight.
Virginia’s progress reflects leadership at multiple levels. Chairman Randall Burdette and the members of the Virginia Aviation Board, together with Greg Campbell, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation, deserve recognition for helping position the commonwealth for the next generation of aviation. Their steady, incremental approach balances innovation with safety while encouraging partnerships that can strengthen healthcare, emergency response, economic development and transportation across Virginia.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this story is how it connects Virginia’s past with its future. Thomas Jefferson spent much of his life imagining how transportation, science and exploration could unite the growing commonwealth. Daniel Boone became one of the great pioneers who helped open the lands beyond the Blue Ridge and into Kentucky. It is fascinating to imagine Jefferson departing Charlottesville aboard a quiet electric aircraft and arriving in Wise County in less than an hour to see the mountains and frontier that once required days of arduous travel. The route that once depended on horseback, wagons and rough trails could someday be linked by clean, electric flight.
History reminds us that every transportation revolution changes more than travel. Better roads expanded commerce. Railroads transformed economies. Aviation connected continents. Advanced Air Mobility can do something similar on a regional scale by making healthcare more accessible, emergency response faster, businesses more competitive, and rural communities better connected.
Charlottesville is not the finish line. It is the beginning of Virginia’s next aviation chapter. If the commonwealth continues its thoughtful approach, the foundation being laid today could connect Virginians in ways Thomas Jefferson could scarcely have imagined while fulfilling the spirit of progress he championed.
Jack Kennedy is a former Virginia Aviation Board member and former officer of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. He serves on the National Space Society Board and is a Space Force Museum docent. Jack@JackKennedy.net
