The Blog

Miami-Dade County contracted Woolpert to provide a planning guide detailing the strategies, goals, and facility requirements for AAM integration at county airports. The county has already been targeted by AAM operators and manufacturers for the opportunities to test and initiate operations in a growing urban market. The AAM planning document currently being developed by Woolpert will assess the airports in the Miami-Dade County system and provide interim guidance for AAM infrastructure, requirements, and operations.

Current FAA guidance in Engineering Brief (EB) 105 is limited because electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft performance and operational information is not readily available. Woolpert analyzed AAM use cases and incorporated stakeholder feedback to inform strategy, goal, and milestone recommendations made to MDAD. Four strategy recommendations were made to MDAD:

• Establish an internal AAM working group
• Minimize impacts to Miami International Airport (MIA)
• Prioritize regional connectivity via general aviation airports
• Explore opportunities for AAM operations, maintenance, storage, and training at general aviation airports

MIA, MDAD’s only commercial airport, is land constrained and approaching capacity; therefore, the team established goals that leveraged MDAD general aviation airports. Five general aviation airports were assessed to determine their ability to support eVTOL operations and the improvements necessary to accommodate future growth. Finally, team established planning, design/construction, and operational milestones MDAD could use to quantify and monitor an airport’s progression toward AAM integration.   

Client
Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD)

Location
Miami-Dade County, FL