Leighton — An empty parking lot in Layton has been transformed into the setting for Utah's first vertiport demonstration. It offers a vision of the future of urban air travel.
The Utah Department of Transportation says these vertiports will revolutionize the way we think about transportation and offer a glimpse into the possibilities of air taxis and drone deliveries.
“We all watched the Jetsons as kids and knew one day something like this would happen,” said Matthew Maass, UDOT's aviation division director.
The demonstration highlighted a future filled with air taxis and drone deliveries, with parking lots near homes and businesses acting as prototype vehicular ports to show what urban air travel might look like in Utah.
The Bell 505 helicopter demonstrated the takeoff and landing capabilities of future air taxis that will be necessary to make vertical takeoff and landing fields a reality, and Maas stressed the importance of such a demonstration.
reason for work
“The reason we are doing this is to address how to seamlessly and securely integrate Vertiport into neighborhoods and businesses,” he said.
A Vertiport is essentially a micro-airport, designed for aircraft that do not require a runway and are capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
Brent Chamberlain, associate professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at Utah State University, explained the planning involved: There are many potential locations, including vacant parking lots, and the state is also considering state-run parking lots. ”
UDOT believes vertiports will make transportation faster and cleaner, and this is a key focus of this year's Utah Aviation Conference.
“It's not a question of if it will happen, it's a question of when,” Maas said.
Looking to the future, UDOT expects vertiports to begin popping up around the valley within five to 10 years. Initially they will likely be used for deliveries, but there is no doubt that air taxis will soon follow suit, changing the way people move in and around cities.
