Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on August 10 that the state's SunTrax facility in Auburndale has expanded beyond its original mission of testing connected and autonomous vehicles to include electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, commonly called eVTOLs. The 775-acre campus along the Interstate 4 corridor now includes what officials describe as the nation's first dedicated Advanced Air Mobility aerial test track, and the state expects to host eVTOL test flights throughout the Central Florida aerospace region before the end of the year.
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue said the addition builds on the state's existing transportation research portfolio as demand for new mobility options grows. FDOT is also partnering with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Polk State College to develop training programs for pilots, maintenance technicians, and engineers who will work in the advanced air mobility sector, according to a release from the governor's office. Embry-Riddle is separately conducting research to support Florida's role in a federal advanced air mobility initiative.
Florida's SunTrax expansion connects to a broader federal effort. The Federal Aviation Administration, together with the U.S. Department of Transportation, selected eight pilot projects in March 2026 for its new Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, drawing from more than 30 proposals and spanning 26 states. The program, created under a 2025 executive order on drone and aviation policy, is intended to generate real-world operational data the FAA will use to develop regulations for integrating eVTOL and other advanced aircraft into the national airspace at scale, according to the Department of Transportation's announcement. The eight selected projects cover a range of applications, including urban air taxi service, regional passenger routes, cargo and logistics networks, emergency medical response, autonomous flight testing, and offshore energy-sector transportation, with early operations expected by summer 2026.
SunTrax's air mobility track is also linked to Florida's role in that national program, which brings together state transportation agencies with aircraft manufacturers and operators including companies developing eVTOL platforms for passenger and cargo use. Beyond aerial testing, SunTrax continues to support ground-based autonomous vehicle research, including the kind of mixed-use infrastructure testing that has become a focus as robotaxi services expand into more complex urban environments. Waymo has already logged hundreds of thousands of autonomous rides in Florida, including service in Miami and Orlando, and the company is preparing to launch commercial operations in Tampa this fall.
Officials have not released a timeline for when commercial eVTOL passenger service might begin in Florida or what routes or pricing might look like. DeSantis pointed to congestion along the I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando as one example of where future air taxi routes could offer an alternative to highway travel, though any commercial deployment would depend on separate FAA aircraft certification progress.
