Next-Gen Industries Invited to Bed Down in the Uintahs

Utah publicized a bevy of AAM plans centered around their new Air Logistics Transportation Alliance project, or Project Alta.

They describe it as a "collaborative partnership with a mission to establish an advanced air mobility system for Utah," but it seems to be closer to a public-private middleman designed to ease integration into existing infrastructure. New tech brings a lot of new headaches, with all kinds of demands for each little system and design. Having a public bridge to help ease installation, or agree on standards ahead of time, should help Utahns roll out AAM with minimal waste and orphaned infrastructure in the far future.

“Project Alta represents a collaborative, public-private partnership of industry and government stakeholders that seek to put Utah on the map globally as an innovative, future-focused state,” said Aaron Starks, 47G president and CEO. That self-described "ecosystem for aerospace, defense, and cyber companies in Utah" seems to be taking point on the whole project, working on Alta with the UT Governor's Office. “By leveraging our entrepreneurial spirit and cutting-edge technologies, we will attract investment, accelerate the development of critical infrastructure and enable the deployment of aircraft that make our transportation system truly multimodal.”

So far, the project cites a few high profile AAM projects nearby, like Intergalactic's Eve battery manufacture, Hexcel's CF manufacture for Archer Aviation, and Zipline's IHC partnership to drone-deliver prescriptions direct to patient homes. 

“I am honored to be selected to lead 47G’s Project Alta. Safety and security are our top priorities. We will take a ‘crawl-walk-run’ approach to air mobility that ensures we adhere to all federal standards and regulatory requirements established by the FAA and the Utah Legislature,” said Chris Metts, project alta executive director and former FAA assistant deputy administrator. “Through this phased approach, we will work closely with Utahns to create an air transportation system that works best for each local community and the state.”

FMI: www.47g.org