The California Advanced Air Mobility Corridors Initiative (CAAMCI) is building California’s first Federal Aviation Administration-compliant, multi-airport flight network for advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft as part of a USD7.45 million Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) programme. The initiative connects four rural public airports on California’s Central Coast into a coordinated system where eVTOL and other next-generation aircraft can test, gather operational data, and move toward commercial certification. Lavera Alexander is Chief Growth Officer at MBEP and the director of CAAMCI and is speaking here with Philip Butterworth-Hayes
What are the CAAMCI programme’s objectives?
Lavera Alexander We are leading the state’s first and only FAA-compliant funded project focused on AAM, to create a coordinated system of flight. Which means infrastructure and the community. CAAMCI sits in the middle of an ecosystem that has been evolving for many years, starting on the Central Coast area with four pilot airports, Watsonville, Marina, Salinas, and Hollister. Each of these public-use airports already has at least one OEM using their facilities but they are all in different stages of development and they all need additional facilities to fully participate in the emerging technology around AAM. We’re focused on bringing them up to where they need to be, investing in critical areas, and making sure that the community understands how they can benefit from AAM.
What does developing this network involve?
Lavera Alexander CAAMCI’s role has been to start building out the infrastructure that will take these separate activities and bring them together so testing is enhanced and we can see from the use cases what’s in it for the community. We are helping these airports get through the certification process and support commercialization. Once they are there, they can start addressing the problems that the community had already identified in our planning documents. We want to learn from each other and create a system that could scale across California, maybe not immediately, but in time, connecting all our public-use airports. I think in California, we have something like 200 to 300 plus, public-use general aviation airports.
Lavera Alexander
One of the issues is that Joby and Archer use completely different charging systems.
Lavera Alexander The charging stations are probably one of the easiest challenges we have. Worst case scenario, you simply would have two charging stations at each airport, which some of them already have. The first phase of CAAMCI, which meets the requirements of the state, will be completed in January 2028. So we will have this built and ready to scale to other spaces across the state so other airports can join the network quickly.
We have asked the OEMs to think about creating a universal charger, so they can figure out how to work together and make space for other OEMs that may want to come into the region. Infrastructure is always going to follow behind technology so we know we are going to play catch-up in many ways. Public-use general aviation airports have been supporting characters but now they’re showing up as the star of this show because so many OEMs are using them for flight testing.
When it comes to infrastructure we’ve been taking an inventory of what’s already there and the gaps – the sensors that would work in that space, radars, the communication systems so different aircraft can enter the airspace and all fly and play together. We’re also making sure that the community, as we build this out, are weighing in and having a voice in this space.
What are the major equipment gaps you have found?
Lavera Alexander We need to ensure we are connecting these airports. There are lots of vendors offering different systems but we’re being very careful about which ones we’re selecting. NASA Ames is active in Hollister – and we know that the sensors, vertiports and charging stations are important but communications is going to be key, between airports and aircraft. So we’re looking at all those pieces.
So the outcome of all this work is going to be a set of standards, a common approach among all the airports that you’re working with.
Lavera Alexander Exactly. We are developing a toolkit which we can hand off to others who are interested in participating in this space, knowing that every airport is different. There are some airports that will be focused solely on agriculture and others on air taxis. All our airports are catering to different OEMs and we want to make sure that whatever we’re able to do on the Central Coast we can share with others.
Have you researched the costs of developing operational vertiports?
Lavera Alexander We are thinking through that space with airports now – what we can cover and what other funding sources may be available. We know that through the federal programme there are other pots of funding that are going to probably be available to those who are engaging in advanced air mobility. Public-use airports in the USA are not as upgraded as some may think – there are hangars that have to be repaired and more facilities added. Each airport will be different. And sometimes they’re spending money that they shouldn’t spend, in spaces they shouldn’t spend it on.
We do have a list of the things that are available that we know are being used in different places and have been used on the Central Coast – but that list is only going to work if it’s paired correctly with the needs of a particular facility. I think that’s one of the reasons the Central Coast has been successful in building out the ecosystem is that everything is attached to in-depth strategic planning. The state was not going to give any of us money unless we did that planning.
How have you ensured the community engagement work you have developed reflects the real hopes and fears of communities?
Lavera Alexander That’s something that MBEP has a long history of doing. We’ve been around for 10 years; that’s the easy part, bringing people together, having those conversations. There are a lot of myths around this space that people get excited about. I always say: “Don’t focus on the aircraft, focus on what it’s supposed to do for you.” What is the use case attached to that aircraft? And make sure that as it continues to move through certification. We don’t just do economic development, we do “inclusive economic development”, and that means that we are bringing the community to the table from the beginning to advocate for what it wants and what it needs.
Can you give me some examples of where the potential operators have had to rethink their planning following community engagement?
Lavera Alexander A lot of the early pieces of work at our airports were connected to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The community was worried about the cost to use some of these air taxis, if that was going to be exorbitant. Archer responded and now we understand fares could be similar to what you’re seeing with Uber Black and other car services that have the VIP services. That was important for the community.
Will these airports make money out AAM?
Lavera Alexander They’re already making money out of AAM. They have partnership agreements with some of these OEMs who are paying to be at these airports. So it’s not so much about will the OEMs provide revenue but more about broadening the space so the revenue stream is diverse. Can we exploit the infrastructure that we’re building to think about other avenues of revenue generation. Our next phase, probably starting mid-next year, is really going to focus on the CAAMCI marketplace, and building that out so that airports can start thinking about using the system to make more money. We will be looking at areas around the airport that could be monetized and connected to the airport and not just focused on aviation
(Main image: Hawthorne Airport – Archer Aviation)
