Dallas lies about 35 miles southeast of Denton. Texas has launched Project Nexus, a three-year initiative from the Texas Department of Transportation to study possible uses for electric aircraft in passenger travel.
The program began its opening phase Sept. 10 at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, with demonstrations by BETA Technologies and Joby Aviation. Joby’s aircraft is electrically powered and capable of vertical takeoff. The initial flights carried no passengers. Helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes will be used to assess potential routes and collect information for future advanced-air-mobility operations.
Through TxDOT’s proposal under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, Joby also planned seven days of piloted North Texas flights. The proposed missions included service directly to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a return flight involving Arlington, and trips between Alliance Airport and Toyota Motor North America’s headquarters in Plano.
One test would send a Joby aircraft through DFW’s controlled airspace to DFW Corporate Aviation, where it would operate alongside a major commercial airport. NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration have studied electric air taxi integration in North Texas since 2018. A 2023 Joby-NASA simulation examined whether the DFW terminal area could handle as many as 50 such operations per hour.
The report gives neither the simulation’s results nor a schedule for commercial passenger service.
