AUBURNDALE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis strode toward a lectern, accompanied by the theme from “The Jetsons,” the 1960s cartoon about a futuristic family.
As DeSantis addressed a sweltering audience at the state-owned SunTrax facility, he stood beside a pair of advanced air mobility vehicles, or AAMs, more commonly known as air taxis. DeSantis announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has selected Florida as partner in an AAM pilot program for testing to be done at the Auburndale facility.
“We’re at the age of flying cars,” Florida Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation Jared Perdue said at the media event. “Think about a future where you have another option on (Interstate 4) to get from Orlando to Tampa. This is potentially going to bring that option, and we want to facilitate, speed the market, with public infrastructure, and that’s exactly what we’re researching here.”
DeSantis had said during an October 2025 news conference in Bartow that SunTrax would become the nation’s first site for private companies to test AAM technology. The Aug. 10 event took place at one of two of the facility’s “vertiports.”
“I’m proud to announce that by the end of the year, Florida will be actively testing eVTOL aircraft throughout the Central Florida aerospace region,” DeSantis said. “That means these things are going to be lifting off – they don’t need a runway. They’re going to lift off, and they’re going to fly, and they’re going to land, and they’re going to be able to bring people to different places and then come back.”
The designation “eVTOL” stands for “electric vehicle takeoff and landing.”
Eve Air Mobility, a private company, announced in July that it would partner with FDOT for an advanced air mobility initiative at SunTrax.
SunTrax is a 775-acre facility with a 2.25-mile oval track, the only highway-speed testing site for autonomous vehicles in the southeastern United States. The newly constructed SunTrax Air section, covering 212 acres, includes vertiports and high-speed charging pads for AAM craft.
Aside from private transportation, DeSantis said the small aircraft could be used for cargo, medical transport and emergency response missions.
DeSantis also said that Florida is supporting the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles across the state. Parked behind him were a white Jaguar, a self-driving vehicle used by Waymo for ride services, and a gold Tesla Cybercab.
“Now, Waymo is already offering fully autonomous rides in select markets in Florida,” DeSantis said. “I think they’ve done more than 220 million fully autonomous miles throughout the country, but we have Miami and Orlando (that) can already use it. I know Tampa is on deck, if that hasn’t already started as well.”
DeSantis announced that the Florida Department of Transportation is collaborating with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Polk State College “to develop the workforce for this next generation of transportation.”
The two AAM vehicles on display, one orange and other silver, were small and sleek two-seaters. The craft have two fixed wings and four lift rotors. While those two are electric-powered, other AAM craft use hybrid power to extend their range, DeSantis said.
DeSantis described the ending of the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.” Marty McFly tells Doc Brown that there isn’t enough roadway to reach the speed needed for propulsion into the future in his Delorean vehicle.
“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads,” Brown said, as quoted by DeSantis.
Florida is turning that idea into a reality, DeSantis said.
“And I can’t promise we’ll ever be able to take you to the future, to the past, but I think we’re going to be able to get you up in the air at some point in the not-too-distant future,” he said.
Neither DeSantis nor Perdue offered any projections on when air-taxi rides would be available or what they would cost. DeSantis did not take questions from the media.
An email asking about projected costs, sent to DeSantis’ communications team the afternoon of Aug. 10, was routed to FDOT, which had not responded by 5 p.m.
Polk State President Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas expressed enthusiasm about the college’s connection to AAM development. He said that soon after starting work in early July 6, he called Ann Barnhart, chair of the Polk State District Board of Trustees.
“And I said, ‘I want to talk to you about this idea, flying cars. What are your thoughts?’” Kamoutsas said. “She said, ‘Have at it. Explore it.’”
DeSantis encouraged his son, Mason, to sit in the cockpit of an AAM craft, but neither of the vehicles took flight at the Aug. 10 event.
The afternoon gathering took place outside in 92-degree heat. Invited guests took shelter under blue tents cooled by high-powered misters as they awaited DeSantis’ arrival. Taking their seats in the sun, some waved fans or held them over their heads.
Local officials in attendance included Polk County commissioners, Auburndale leaders and members of Polk State’s Board of Trustees.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
In Polk, DeSantis touts Florida as leader in 'flying-car' development – Lakeland Ledger
