en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on June 25 at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City for the Vertical Takeoff and Landing Procedures and Analysis Field (V‑PAR). The facility is designed to support testing, training, and operational analysis for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The project, with a total investment of approximately $8.3 million, will provide the FAA and industry partners with a dedicated research environment focused on vertical takeoff and landing operations. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Steven Bradbury stated that the facility is a critical step in helping the FAA understand how to safely integrate advanced air mobility aircraft into the National Airspace System, enhancing research, personnel training, and the ability to support the future of aviation. FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau added that as advanced air mobility technology continues to evolve, the FAA must ensure these technologies meet the safety standards of the National Airspace System, and V‑PAR will help collect the necessary data and operational insights to support safe integration.
Initial construction includes a touchdown and liftoff area, taxiways, a vertical flight aircraft parking apron with two parking positions, a covered vertical flight aircraft shelter, observation and operations facilities, electric aircraft charging capability, and supporting infrastructure such as lighting and utilities. Research activities will focus on wake turbulence and spacing, downwash and outwash effects, radio frequency interference, vertiport operations, arrival and departure routes, airspace procedures, human factors, emergency planning, and flow simulation.
Project planning began with an initial concept study in the fall of 2021. Congress allocated $6 million in the spring of 2024, and the design was completed by C.H. Guernsey in collaboration with Heliplaners in October 2025. The construction contract was awarded to Maguire O'Hara Construction in March 2026, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2027. Future expansion may add more landing spots, expanded charging infrastructure, auxiliary vertipads, and short takeoff and landing runways. As the eVTOL industry advances toward commercial operations, V‑PAR will provide the necessary data for developing standards, procedures, and workforce training.
