By Marianne Lincoln

eVTOL is electric Vertical Take Off & Landing. You know those flying cars we always dreamed about? This is it. More new language, Vertiport – a landing pad for the VTOL Yes, the Vertiports are part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) latest proposals and city planning horizon.

Local Spanaway native, engineer, and inventor, Stephen Tibbitts, is working on it. Currently a resident of Spanaway Lake, Tibbitts is ready to test fly the latest model. Yes, he is the same Tibbits whose father had a veterinarian office on Pacific Avenue and his grandparents started the Elk Plain Cafe.

Steve’s first model was Zeva Aero Zero. It later became Alpine Vertical and their new model, the Argon. The development has been ongoing for several years. Here is an article in the Tacoma Weekly from 2021.

Here is the latest email from Steve calling for investors to take the next step in development of the Argon:

Call to Action (Investor / Supporter Forward-Looking)

Alpine Vertical has been selected for the fast-track cohort — and we’re moving into due diligence with Serval Ventures.
Now we have a narrow window to accelerate our prototype build and get the Argon into flight test.

To meet the fast-track schedule, we need to immediately secure approximately $300,000 in parts and labor to complete key build milestones and begin flight testing as soon as possible.

This is the pivotal moment. Successful flight tests unlock follow-on funding and propel Alpine Vertical into the next stage of commercialization.

 If you want to be part of bringing a breakthrough aircraft to flight, now is the time.
Please reach out today to discuss how you can help fund the flight test push — via investment, bridge support, or strategic sponsorship. 

Email him at this link.

Let’s get Argon in the air.

In late January, 2026, there was a conference of the Vertical Flight Society. In 2025, the FAA held the first of its Zoom conferences on eVTOL aircraft and planning kickoff for planning future Vertiport locations across America. Here is a recent FAA request for proposals for an eVTOL pilot program.

I have known Stephen Tibbitts most of his life. In full disclosure, my brother, Jim Scott, is also a participant in this project. They are both is this Zeva photo.

[Full disclosure: My brother and sister, my father and my daughter are all pilots. I held the flashcards to train my children’s father to be a journeyman Air Traffic Controller. My family grew up on Shady Acres Airport, off 208th Street. So, I was an airport kid, mingling with the likes of Slim (and Jeannie) Lawson (Spanaway Airport), John (and Babe) Thun (Thun Field), Jack (and Darlene) Brown, Harold (and Nancy) LeMay, and a broader group of flying families known as the Western Travelairs that had a clubhouse at Thun Field. Our backyard was an airport, so don’t be surprised if I slip into a bit of airport lingo. I had a VHF radio and even listened to the transmissions during hijacking by DB Cooper.]

Those of you who crave a little Star Trek, Star Wars, Kitty Hawk, or even just like going to airshows and seeing planes from different eras, you may want to get on board this latest iteration of flight. It might be coming to your own back yard.