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The Federal Aviation Administration is constantly conducting rulemaking, but rarely does it roll out final rules with a formal signing ceremony. Yet that is what it did on Oct. 22, when Administrator Michael Whitaker announced the completion of the Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for powered-lift pilot training and operations at the opening of the National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Few who were present at the Tuesday morning ceremony had had time to digest the 880-page document that was released just minutes earlier, but the gist was conveyed by the presence of many smiling advanced air mobility executives shaking hands with Whitaker, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and ranking member Rick Larsen. Unlike the draft version of the SFAR released last year — which was roundly criticized for imposing unrealistic requirements on power-limited electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft — the final rule was welcomed by industry and lawmakers as a key unlock for commercial eVTOL operations.
“We had a lot of comments from all of you, and we’ve taken those comments into effect as we put this new rule together,” Whitaker said at the press conference. Larsen, a Washington state Democrat, said the SFAR “creates the necessary regulatory framework for powered-lift operations and pilot certification that will realize the potential safety, environmental and economic benefits of advanced air mobility.”
Related: Congress puts its thumb on the scale for eVTOL operating rules
Compared to the draft rule, the final SFAR provides obvious relief to industry on some key sticking points, notably with respect to a previous requirement for dual flight controls in aircraft used for pilot training. Now, manufacturers of winged eVTOLs with a single pilot station — including Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation and others — will be able to train pilots using a combination of full flight simulator (FFS) sessions and solo flights. This is in notable contrast to the more conservative position held by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which was the first to issue operating rules for eVTOL aircraft last year but which (contrary to what many people assume) is still requiring shared or dual flight controls for training — a stance that it confirmed to The Air Current this week.
The SFAR also provides some relief on requirements related to cross-country flight training, fuel reserves, minimum altitudes and more. While the overall rule is clearly a win for the industry, there are nevertheless nuances to the SFAR that will require eVTOL developers to engage further with the FAA as they proceed through the aircraft certification process. In this report, TAC breaks down some of the key provisions of the SFAR and their broader industry context.
