Trump Signs Orders On Deregulating Flying Cars, Supersonic Flight

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on June 6 to deregulate and open research and development into flying cars and supersonic aviation technology.

A British Airways Concorde jet, the only commercial supersonic plane. Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, via Wikimedia Commons

Trump signed the two orders alongside others on Friday that target American drone capabilities, technology, and regulations.

One order instructs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin testing flying cars, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), according to a senior White House official.

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the order will establish a pilot program working in conjunction with both public and private stakeholders.

“Flying cars are not just for the Jetsons, they are also for the American people in the near term,” he said during a White House press call.

Kratsios said, “eVTOL promises to revolutionize transportation as well as cargo delivery and logistics … blazing a trail to new frontiers as part of the golden age of American innovation.”

Regarding supersonic flight, Trump’s order repeals regulations that hindered the technology’s development while instructing the FAA to create a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification, a senior White House official said.

The order also advances research coordination between the FAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to “align global supersonic regulations and bilateral agreements for international operations.”

“Together, these executive orders will accelerate American innovation in drones, flying cars, and supersonic aircraft, and chart the future of America’s skies for years to come,” Kratsios said.

He said Trump is looking to revolutionize supersonic aviation in the United States after years of regulations that have prevented airlines from using the technology for commercial air travel.

“The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,” Kratsios said, adding that recent advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction have made domestic supersonic flight safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.

“But for the last 50 years, outdated and overly restricted regulations grounded supersonic passenger flight and weakened our global competitiveness in aviation,” he added.

“The market is here and the technology is here.”

The government has already begun issuing contracts and agreements with major commercial airlines, which have agreed to purchase supersonic jets, to push the industry forward.

“Our message is simple: American innovation belongs in American aerospace,” Kratsios said.

Sebastian Gorka, who serves as both deputy assistant to the president and senior director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council, said Trump’s June 6 executive orders are about “restoring sovereign control of our airspace.”