The Texas Department of Transportation has launched Project Nexus, a three-year initiative examining possible passenger uses for electric aircraft. Dallas lies about 18 miles south of Plano. The program's first phase began Sept. 10 at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, with demonstrations by BETA Technologies and Joby Aviation. No passengers were aboard those initial flights.
The opening work will use helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes to assess possible routes and collect data for future advanced-air-mobility operations. Under TxDOT's proposal for the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, Joby also planned seven days of piloted flights across North Texas.
Proposed missions included flights directly into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a round trip to Arlington and a connection between Alliance Airport and Toyota Motor North America's Plano headquarters. One test would have Joby's aircraft operate inside DFW's controlled airspace before landing at DFW Corporate Aviation.
Joby's aircraft uses electric propulsion and is capable of vertical takeoff. NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration began studying electric air taxi integration in North Texas in 2018. In 2023, Joby and NASA simulated whether the DFW terminal area could handle as many as 50 electric air taxi operations each hour.
The report does not state the simulation's results or when commercial passenger service could begin.
