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PBS Reporter Gets a Glimpse of Flying in an Air Taxi Above San Francisco

PBS NewsHour correspondent Miles O’Brien had the opportunity to see what it would feel like to fly in an air taxi above San Francisco. The journalist took a trip in NASA’s vertical motion simulator trying to find out more on the concept of electric flying.
Miles O’Brien in the Vertical Motion Simulator 1 photo
Photo: NOVA PBS/YouTube
There’s a lot of fuss around the subject of vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOLs) with more and more aircraft manufacturers competing to come up with the most efficient solutions for urban air mobility. And while we’re still straining our necks looking up for flying taxis, NASA is assiduously working to develop a safe air traffic control system for advanced air mobility.

What will the future look like, you ask? Well, if they figure it all out, short-haul flights with just a few passengers could be a feasible plan in a couple of years.

O’Brien’s research into electric aircraft led him to NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley where he had the opportunity to test the legendary Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS). The simulator has the largest motion range in the world, being capable of traveling up to 60 feet vertically and 40 feet laterally, according to NASA.

But engineers have to consider the logistics of it all before letting the new air traffic control scheme take off. There are security and safety concerns to address, such as monitoring the flights and dealing with the poor, unreliable GPS and cellular signals at low altitudes in cities.

Then there’s also the question of securely transmitting flight-related info across shared cloud networks.

Last but not least, air taxis have to be able to operate safely alongside conventional aircraft.

The ultimate goal is for air taxis to become autonomous, in other words, to be able to safely fly without the need of a pilot. They have to take off, navigate, land, and deal with emergencies on their own while being digitally controlled from the ground.

O’Brien’s trip to the Ames Research Center was broadcasted on Nova’s TV special The Great Electric Airplane Race, airing Wednesday night on PBS.

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About the author: Cristina Mircea
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Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars.
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