Electric air taxis have seen rapid technological advances in recent years, but the industry has had a regulatory question mark hanging over its head. Now, the US Federal Aviation Authority has published rules governing the operation of this new class of aircraft.
Startups developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have attracted billions of dollars of investment over the past decade. But an outstanding challenge for these vehicles is they’re hard to classify, often representing a strange hybrid between a drone, light aircraft, and helicopter.For this reason they’ve fallen into a regulatory gray area in most countries. The murkiness has led to considerable uncertainty about where and how they’ll be permitted to operate in the future, which could have serious implications for the business model of many of these firms.
But now, the FAA has provided some much-needed clarity by publishing the rules governing what the agency calls “powered-lift” aircraft. This is the first time regulators have recognized a new category of aircraft since the 1940s when helicopters first entered the market.
“This final rule provides the necessary framework to allow powered-lift aircraft to safely operate in our airspace,” FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. “Powered-lift aircraft are the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years and this historic rule will pave the way for accommodating wide-scale advanced air mobility operations in the future.” More of this article (singularity hub) - link - more like this (air taxis) - link - more like this (FAA) - link
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