
DAYTON, Ohio — At the Air Force Research Lab on Wright-Patterson AFB here the service has begun preliminary research into how it can harness commercial efforts on futuristic urban air taxis to increase capability and lower costs. More than a billion dollars have been invested by companies like Boeing [BA], Airbus and Bell Flight [TXT] — as well as smaller startups like Joby Aviation, ElRoy Air and Volocopter — into developing a new category of electric and hybrid aircraft that…