The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) said Thursday that it and its partners officially launched LIFTOff Louisiana—one of eight projects comprising demonstrations of electric, autonomous, and other novel, precertified aircraft being overseen by the FAA.
LIFTOff is the latest component of the agency’s eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) to get underway. It will span at least three years and aim to provide the FAA with data that could be used to safely integrate electric air taxis, cargo drones, and other emerging technologies into the National Airspace System (NAS). These novel models are expected to share airspace with crewed helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
