Port San Antonio’s Vertiport

[TCABM]

Brief background. Port San Antonio is the .civ side of Kelly Field, along with a rail head and industrial complex. Our local paper ran an article recently on a major announcement from the port; they’re planning to be the first operational vertiport in the world.

A small excerpt from the article:

“We’ve got a really immediate need for these aircraft as we keep adding people to our campus,” said Perschbach, who is on the Texas Transportation Commission’s Advanced Air Mobility Advisory Committee and was on the state’s Urban Air Mobility Advisory Committee. “We’re running into traditional parking and transportation problems, and if we can keep 1,000 people from having to drive and park on the campus, that saves us from building a parking garage, which is $30 (million), potentially $40 million.”

That’s a grand vision for the next five years (2029 operational timeline). The article goes into some broader urban air mobility topics, even bringing up Wisk Aero and their e-VTOL product.

The pitch is these 4-seat aircraft are going to be shuttling people back and forth from park & rides, which are already minimally used. Somehow, this reminds me of the plotline of Singles. I’m just waiting for the Tom Skerritt foiler line when this doesn’t come to fruition since mass transit & vanpools already are unpopular here.

If you’re an apple news subscriber, the link is below.

Port San Antonio jockeying to be ‘flying car’ hub — San Antonio Express-News

Jim Perschbach’s vision to make Port San Antonio a hub for futuristic aircraft is another step closer to reality. Perschbach, the Port’s president and CEO, has long said that electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft flying around the city could become common in a few years. The idea is...

apple.news

 

[Salty]

30 - 40 million is just about the right amount of cash to fund another vaporware air taxi. Might even be enough get a prototype that'll fly long enough to make a cool video.

 

[Bell206]

they’re planning to be the first operational vertiport in the world.

Interesting. But I don't think they'll be the 1st with a 2029 completion date as some existing heliports have already achieved "vertiport" certifications. However, I believe the 1st true vertiport (outside of China) was built for the Paris Olympics and goes into service this summer.

Might even be enough get a prototype that'll fly long enough to make a cool video.

No need to wait for the video. Volocopter plans to fly limited eVTOL flights at the 2024 Paris Olympics between the airport and the games venue. Supposedly the flights will be streamed live.

 

[ateamer]

Sounds like another Lyle Lanley project.

 

[Dana]

30 - 40 million is just about the right amount of cash to fund another vaporware air taxi. Might even be enough get a prototype that'll fly long enough to make a cool video.

Who needs a prototype when you can just use CGI?