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: Federal Aviation Administration
Space Tourism is a Growth Industry
The New York Times reported
on space tourism industries such as the passenger flights offered by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Currently, “the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights.” However, the Federal Aviation Administration “has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription publication)