Flying cars have been a staple of science fiction visions of the future for ages. Perhaps most famously in “Back to the Future II.” The film may have overshot the mark a bit with Doc and Marty McFly navigating full-on air highways in 2015. But Utah is pushing for the technology to take off by 2034, when the state hosts the Olympic and paralympic winter games.

We're not exactly talking about flying Delorians or vehicles you'd recognize as a car, but rather small, lightweight aircraft for traveling shorter distances.

At a recent demonstration in a hangar near the Salt Lake City airport, Jake Goldman showcased the ALIA aircraft.

“The passenger version of this will have five seats and a pilot. You're putting skis in the back, you're putting your luggage in the back, you're hopping in here,” he said.

Goldman is with Vermont-based BETA Technologies, which designs and makes the small white plane. It has rounded edges, a 50-foot wingspan, and is fully electric. 

“There are five battery packs under the belly of the aircraft. Each battery pack is essentially what powers a Tesla today,” he said.

The first ALIA model is already in the skies, and a second with vertical take-off is in testing.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved air taxis as a new type of aircraft in October. And BETA Technologies has an agreement with Utah and aerospace and defense trade group 47G to get to full commercial operations by 2034.

A lot needs to happen first, according to Georgia Tech aviation professor Laurie Garrow.

“You need places for the vehicles to take off and land. But you also need to make sure that you have charging stations,” she said.

But even with the right federal certification and infrastructure, will consumers use air taxis? Garrow said it all depends on how much a ride will cost.

“Can you compete with the reliability that a ground transportation vehicle can provide? A, you know, Uber Black service or something like that,” she said.

Luxury travel is one thing, but Goldman said his company’s aircraft can be used for way more.

Regional airports have struggled since the pandemic. Goldman said the ALIA is simple and cheap to make and operate, which could make it easier to serve those small airports.

“So there are all these underutilized airports across the country that there's just no economic case for airliners or cargo operators to go into them these days. This changes that,” he said.

Utah is betting big on air taxis, and they are just one part of the future it wants. This year, the state legislature set aside $1 million to explore creating a spaceport.

So between Ubers-in-the-sky and rocket launches for private space exploration, Utah’s future is literally looking up.