For the past two years, U.S. developers and prospective operators of eVTOL aircraft have been on the edge of their seats, waiting to be told what will be expected of them to launch commercial air services. The waiting ended on October 22 when the FAA published its Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for the “Integration of Powered Lift: Pilot Certification and Operation”—an 880-page tome the industry is still trying to digest in detail.
That publication was staged on the opening day of this year’s NBAA-BACE trade show in America’s gambling capital, Las Vegas, seeming highly symbolic. The business aviation industry has increasingly emerged as an early adopter of the first new category of aircraft in decades, and the somewhat precocious advanced air mobility sector seems to many to be one big roll of the dice.
Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.
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