Polk County FL Plans to Host Test Site at SunTrax for EVTOL Taxi's

-

Florida’s latest bid to turn traffic jams into scenic detours comes with propellers, batteries and a cautiously enthusiastic governor. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue have announced a plan to host a test site for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft at the SunTrax facility in Polk County — essentially a real-life audition for flying cabs with frequent flyer miles that smell faintly of start-up optimism. 

DeSantis said he was “mildly excited” about the effort to reduce congestion along the I-4 corridor, and Perdue — who has been the industry’s cheerleader for years — called the push a way to get industry players their precious “speed to market.”

Let’s unpack that without getting airborne. 

The test bed will include two vertiports (yes, vertiports — landing pads that get to sound like airports wearing skinny jeans). 

If federal regulators give the thumbs-up, VTOLs would operate short hops of roughly 60 miles or less, ferrying folks between nearby urban centers like commuters who decided elevators were just too mainstream. 

“It’s not going to go from Miami to Jacksonville or Miami to Pensacola,” DeSantis clarified. “It’s really within that 60 miles. And in areas where there is traffic, where you want to get from maybe one urban center to the next, it makes a lot of sense.”

Perdue’s sales pitch is equal parts earnest infrastructure planning and sci-fi reference. 

“How can we support the private sector being successful? Speed to market,” he told listeners, adding in a wink to pop culture and the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee, “So, you can think about movies that you’ve seen that are science fiction. The Jetsons, yeah, is one of those … that’s a classic. This is actually becoming a reality.” 

If the Jetsons had a business model, it would probably include venture capital and a paper towel dispenser for the inevitable tech-jet spills.

Why Polk County? 

SunTrax sits in Central Florida and already plays host to testing lanes and automotive R&D — in short, a place where fast prototypes and slower roadways coexist peacefully. 

The idea is to make SunTrax the place where startups can demonstrate vertiport tech, battery swaps, and the art of politely asking a passenger not to scream during ascent. 

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is reportedly eyeing its own vertiport at Orlando International, which sounds like an optimistic plan for people who enjoy both airport coffee and the possibility of arriving 15 minutes earlier than their GPS promised.

There are practicalities (and punchlines) to consider... 

SB 1662 — the transportation package DeSantis signed after a tour of prototypes at the Paris Air Show — already requires the department to map out advanced air mobility plans. 

The FAA has been nudging the industry along, updating vertiport guidance and launching pilot programs for air taxis. 

But regulations, public acceptance, and the everyday logistics of putting take-off pads next to people’s morning commutes are not as simple as slapping a helipad sticker on a Walmart!

DeSantis promises this won’t be a billionaire-only toy: if the industry can scale and make it economical, he notes, “it would take some traffic off the roads.” 

Translation: investors — perhaps “Wall Street guys” with a soft spot for futuristic transit — will be invited to the county fair to test the rides, wallets optional but encouraged. 

If the economics work, short aerial commutes might morph from sci-fi gag to a commuter option — provided people are willing to pay a premium for a birds-eye view of the same traffic they used to stew in!

The satire writes itself: imagine rush-hour etiquette classes for boarding VTOLs, insurance policies that ask whether you screamed during takeoff, and new airport signage that reads: “Vertiport: No Suitcases, Please — This Is Not a Moving Walkway.” 

But beyond the jokes, there’s a serious civic question: can Florida balance innovation with safety, oversight, and real community benefit??

DeSantis and Perdue are betting they can, starting in Polk County — and if the test flights go well, your next commute might come with a complimentary view and a slightly absurd sense of arrival.


Flying Cars & Traffic Jams in 3D: Orlando FL Takes to the Skies

“No paywall. No puppets. Just local truth. Chip in $3 today” at https://buymeacoffee.com/doublejeopardynews

“Enjoy this content without corporate censorship? Help keep it that way.”

“Ad-Free. Algorithm-Free. 100% Independent. Support now.”

#FlyingCabs #VertiportPolk #SunTrax #DeSantis #JaredPerdue #VTOL #I4Corridor #PolkCounty #AdvancedAirMobility #JetsonsIRL #SB1662 #OrlandoVertiport #FAA #SupplyChainInnovation #AirTaxi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please Help Find These Forgotten Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year!

-
Image
  MY MOST IMPORTANT STORY  Dozens of Forgotten Little Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year! Welcome to the Sunshine State, where the palm trees sway, the alligators lurk, and the legislative process makes Kafka look like a life coach!  Florida House Bill HB21 . Not just a compensation bill but possibly a 20 million dollar "Stay out of Jail Free" card for some folks. This is a bill that does some good—but also trips over its own shoelaces, falls down a staircase, and lands on a historical oversight so big, it might as well have its own zip code! An oversight that overlooks what I consider to be its most vulnerable victims! The Setup: Justice with a Catch HB21 was enacted on July 1, 2024 to compensate victims of abuse from two male juvenile detention facilities located in Florida, Dozier and Okeechobee.  It says, “Hey, survivors of abuse between 1940 and 1975, here’s some compensation for the horrific things you endured!” Sounds good, right? Like a...
Read more

Here's A New HOA Rule Dictating What You Can Do Inside Your Home

-
Image
HOA Overreach: When Your Own Home Isn’t Really Your Own The joys of homeownership—the American dream!  That magical place where you can paint the walls any color you like, blast your music (within reason), and enjoy the simple pleasure of—wait, never mind..... Turns out, your HOA might have something to say about what you do inside your own four walls. Case in point: A longtime homeowner, who has peacefully lived in his residence for 25 years, was blindsided when his HOA suddenly banned smoking inside individual homes.  That’s right—after a quarter-century of no issues, he was informed that lighting up indoors was no longer an option.  The new rule, passed at the HOA’s annual meeting by a majority vote, now restricts smoking to a designated outdoor area. Now, while some might see this as a health-conscious decision, the homeowner—whose wife is a smoker—sees it as an unfair overreach.  In a letter to a local publication, he expressed frustration, writing, “I’ve live...
Read more

Postal Police Stuck Behind ‘Keep Out’ Signs While Mailmen Face Muggers: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!!

-
Image
As crime against letter carriers surges, one would think that America’s armed, uniformed Postal Police might be hitting the streets to protect our mail.  Instead, they’re still glued to their post office entrances like sentries guarding Fort Frownmore.  Why?  Because since 2020, the Postmaster General decreed they must “protect postal property” only—meaning, they currently serve as glorified lobby bouncers rather than actual roaming guardians of the mailstream. “ They’re robbing letter carriers, they’re sticking a gun in a letter carrier’s face and they’re demanding arrow keys, ” laments Frank Albergo , president of the National Postal Police Union and a Postal Police Officer himself.  An "arrow key" in the context of the Post Office is a specialized, universal key that postal workers use to access various locked mail receptacles, including collection boxes, apartment mailboxes, and cluster boxes. Albergo isn’t exaggerating—research shows over 100 physical assaul...
Read more