Aerospace America reports that among the proposed rules “in the United States for the coming class of electric air taxis is one that is striking a particularly sour note for backers of these vertical lift aircraft.” The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed Special Federal Aviation Regulation, or SFAR, “would require the operators of electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to maintain 30 minutes of reserve power beyond their planned flight times during the day and 45 minutes of reserve power during the night.” The FAA’s caution is “rooted in the long-standing practice that conventionally fueled fixed-wing passenger aircraft must be loaded with enough fuel to fly to the nearest airport in the event of a technical problem en route to a destination.” The reserve rule for eVTOLs and other rules in the SFAR “remain in a legally required comment period that runs through Aug. 14.” Vertical Flight Society Director of Strategy Mike Hirschberg said, “If you have a 45-minute reserve requirement, then your total flight time is zero. That is an industry killer. If that becomes a requirement, there will be no advanced air mobility.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
Tag: Advanced Air Mobility
Experts Discuss Challenges, Opportunities Around AAM
Aviation Today reported that a panel of experts hosted by AUVSI and the FAA “discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with cooperating internationally on advanced air mobility, or AAM.” Panel moderator Jessica Orquina, Manager of the Implementation Branch for the FAA’s Safety & Integration Division in the UAS Integration Office, “noted that many of the FAA’s current regulations allow AAM aircraft to meet strict safety standards through innovative means.” Further, she “added that the FAA is working with international partners to adopt common certification and integration standards from other countries as AAM is being defined.” Meanwhile, Pulkit Agrawal, Principal Certification Engineer (UAS/UAM) at Honeywell, “spoke about some of the opportunities in the AAM industry” and how the company “believes in the vision of efficient air transportation – electric air taxis that can complete a 100-mile trip in 45 minutes – as well as same-day package delivery via drone.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)
AIAA Statement on White House Summit on Advanced Air Mobility
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we applaud the Biden Administration for holding the White House Advanced Air Mobility Summit (#WHAAMSummit) today. We were pleased to be part of this important event, joining other key stakeholders from the advanced air mobility (AAM) community.
AAM could embody the single greatest transformation for aviation business, science, and policy – and public perceptions – since the emergence of mainstream commercial aviation in the mid-20th century. With clear operational guidelines, regulations, and standards for accommodating and incorporating autonomy, we see a thriving integrated urban and regional airspace in the next decade. The benefits of autonomy will enhance safety for everyone and enable capabilities we are only just imagining.
The Institute is committed to bringing the aerospace technical community together – including industry executives, researchers, academicians, and government officials – to facilitate the needed technology development and to objectively address business and policy issues in AAM. It’s one of our priority Domain topics and our new AAM Task Force is already working on such matters.
AIAA encourages the executive branch to continue its leadership on AAM, working closely with our elected officials, so we all can realize the potential of this emerging industry sector.”
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.