Dallas is about 23 miles south of Allen. The Texas Department of Transportation has started Project Nexus, a three-year initiative examining how electric aircraft could eventually be used for passenger travel in North Texas.
The first phase began Sept. 10 at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, where BETA Technologies and Joby Aviation demonstrated aircraft. Joby’s vehicle uses electric propulsion and can take off vertically. No passengers were aboard the initial flights. The opening stage will use helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes to study possible routes and collect information for future advanced-air-mobility operations.
TxDOT’s proposal under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program also called for Joby to conduct seven days of piloted flights in North Texas. Planned missions included direct service to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a round trip to Arlington and travel between Alliance Airport and Toyota Motor North America’s headquarters in Plano.
One test involved Joby entering DFW’s controlled airspace and landing at DFW Corporate Aviation.
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration began studying electric air taxi integration in North Texas in 2018. Joby and NASA conducted a simulation in 2023 involving as many as 50 electric air taxi operations per hour in the DFW terminal area. The available report does not give the simulation’s results or a timeline for commercial passenger service.
