NAAMCE's Ted Angel Previews Ohio Advanced Air Mobility Forum as Sector Shifts Toward Production

The advanced air mobility sector is reaching a pivotal moment, moving beyond one-off technology demonstrations toward the harder work of serial production and day-to-day operations. That transition sits at the heart of the upcoming National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum (NAAMIF), scheduled for October 15th in Springfield, Ohio, and the event’s focus reflects how much the industry’s priorities have shifted in recent years.

Ted Angel, who leads the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE), discussed the forum’s evolving agenda in a recent podcast conversation. According to Angel, the gathering has been reworked to confront the practical hurdles that come with scaling up: how companies move from proving an aircraft can fly to actually manufacturing and operating fleets reliably. Rather than broad concept discussions, the program now leans on interactive workshops that dig into infrastructure readiness, digital systems, and the question of how communities integrate these new aircraft into their airspace and daily life.

The forum also touches on several threads that have become central to the sector’s next phase. Among them are the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, the growing interest in defense applications for advanced air mobility platforms, and the persistent challenge of workforce development. Angel additionally shared updates on NAAMCE’s own work, including plans for Electra to establish a manufacturing presence, and highlighted how the facility is designed to let companies build, test, and fly in a single location — a setup intended to shorten development timelines.

Beyond the formal sessions, the event pairs with a STEM Day and the Great American Electric Air Race, two additions that underscore a message Angel and others in the field keep returning to: the future of this industry depends on attracting new talent and earning public confidence. Building that trust, supporters argue, is as important to advanced air mobility’s trajectory in Ohio and elsewhere as any technical milestone.

The full conversation is available on the eVTOL Insights Podcast and on major podcast platforms.