Electra.aero has partnered with the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace Program to design and test a low-cost instrument flight rules network for ultra-short and other advanced air mobility aircraft, including FAA-certified access points.

Most commercial aviation operates under IFR in poor weather, but existing procedures were not developed for AAM aircraft. The programme will develop dedicated IFR routing and procedures to separate AAM traffic from conventional flights, introduce GPS-based routings and create new access points designed to support scalable deployment.

Electra will act as technical lead alongside NAVOS Air. The initiative is led by Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership with support from the Virginia Small Aircraft Transportation Systems Lab and the Virginia Department of Aviation.

Tombo Jones, director of MAAP, says: “The Virginia AAM Smart Airspace Program is establishing the regulatory, procedural and operational foundation for real-world AAM deploymen, not in the future, but now. With FAA engagement, proven technical methods and scalable infrastructure, Virginia is helping to define the national blueprint for how advanced air mobility will operate in everyday airspace.”

Engineers will design and test instrument procedures for ultra-short aircraft, including approaches from cloud to landing in instrument meteorological conditions. Initial implementation will connect four Virginia sites: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, Allen C. Perkinson Airport in Blackstone and Shannon Airport in northern Virginia.