Chron columnist Chris Tomlinson got to pilot the latest thing in small electrict-powered aircraft. And soon you will be able to, too.
The HEXA-U flight experience is offered by LIFT Aircraft, an Austin-based company committed to “democratizing flight.” The HEXA-U meets the Federal Aviation Administration definition for an ultralight aircraft, which means people without a pilot’s license may fly it in uncontrolled, uncongested areas under certain speed and altitude limits.
Ultralight vehicles are only a segment of the massive electric vertical take-off and landing market. Companies are developing vehicles that range from flying motorcycles all the way to 18-passenger shuttles.
The FAA recently permitted the Texas Department of Transportation to oversee eVTOL research and experimental flights between San Antonio, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. LIFT Aircraft is having conversations with TXDoT but can already operate freely under existing regulations.
LIFT has reached an agreement with Austin’s Long Center to offer flights to the public for the next few months. Wannabe pilots can sign up for initial training and a five-minute flight through the company’s website for $199.
Matt Chasen, LIFT’s founder and CEO, said building an ultralight electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle allowed the company to get off the ground quicker.
“Unlike most companies that are doing this air taxi model, where you can fly, but you’re a passenger in the aircraft, our approach is that you get to pilot the aircraft,” Chasen told me. “It’s more fun, it’s actually more efficient, and it can be safer in certain ways.”
Training to fly the HEXA-U involved a 30-minute class with an instructor and then 30 minutes in a simulator. All the controls are on a single joystick, with automated routines for take-off and landing, the most dangerous portions of any flight.
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Chasen’s business plan is not limited to hobbyists. LIFT has two versions of the HEXA that have larger, heavier batteries and can fly farther carrying more weight, but those models require a pilot’s license. The company has tested variants for the U.S. Air Force and is seeking FAA certification for commercial uses.
“This is a recreation thing; however, we will start to open multiple locations,” he said. “Then we’ll open up a transportation utility to it.”
See here for more on the FAA permitting TxDOT oversight on these things. I’m not sure about some of these business models, but I agree with Tomlinson that we are in quite a time of innovation in aviation. Maybe not quite the flying cars we were once promised, but not a bad set of alternate options.