Author

Orfeh Vahabzadeh

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The FAA recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) marking the first of multiple anticipated rulemakings to align regulations with the FAA’s decision earlier this year to change course on the certification of electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft. Notably, the NPRM incorporates the concept of “powered-lift” aircraft into the regulatory framework. The key proposals under the NPRM include the incorporation of the powered-lift category of aircraft in operations definitions and related requirements, air carrier management personnel qualifications, recordkeeping requirements in operations specifications, and the FAA’s plan to publish a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (“SFAR”) with temporary operating and airman certification regulations. While the NPRM is a necessary step to accommodate the FAA’s new approach to certification and future rules for operations and pilots, eVTOL manufacturers and operators will await the release of the SFAR to learn of more substantive requirements impacting certification and future operations. Public comments…

The FAA recently announced the release of its new vertiport design guidelines, Engineering Brief No. 105 for Vertiport Design (“Guidance”). The Guidance marks a significant milestone in the FAA’s efforts to support the development of infrastructure required for Advanced Air Mobility. The Guidance provides interim safety standards for eVTOL take-off and landing facilities, which are commonly referred to as “vertiports” or “vertistops.” Incorporating FAA research, collaboration with industry, and public feedback, the new Guidance provides key resources to infrastructure facilities and developers as they plan for the integration of eVTOL aircraft into mainstream use. Ultimately, the FAA expects the guidance to evolve into a performance-based design standard in the form of an Advisory Circular, which may be influenced by design standards developed by other stakeholders, including standards development organizations and other jurisdictions’ aviation authorities. The Guidance provides interim guidelines for civil vertiport designers to establish an acceptable level of safety,…

The FAA has selected the New York UAS Test Site at the Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York for a project supporting safe drone integration and the development of a new traffic management system for unmanned aircraft systems.  The project is designed to test and evaluate new applications for use in future UAS traffic management (“UTM”) systems.  The selected test site is part of New York’s 50-Mile Drone Corridor, which facilitates beyond visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) testing and advanced uncrewed aircraft operations.  The project will be managed by the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (“NUAIR”), a nonprofit organization that manages the New York UAS Test Site, and will also involve the participation of several other partners, including NRA Technologies, OneSky, AX Enterprize, Cal Analytics, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, and Oneida Indian Nation. This project represents the FAA’s continued recognition of the need to support and integrate…