The FAA is working on type certification with seven eVTOL aircraft developers, with these projects representing almost one-fifth of the 37 certification projects in which the U.S. agency is currently engaged. Speaking at a March 3 town hall meeting on advanced air mobility organized by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), FAA administrator Steve Dickson did not confirm which eVTOL manufacturers have type certification applications in the works or when these might be completed. Late last year, the agency acknowledged that it was processing six applications.
The meeting was held on the day after U.S. senators Jerry Moran (Republican-Kansas) and Kyrsten Sinema (Democrat-Arizona) introduced the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act in the Senate. This mirrors a bill introduced a week ago to the House of Representatives by Sharice Davids (Democrat-Kansas) and Garret Graves (Republican-Louisiana) that would require Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to establish an interagency group to coordinate efforts to develop an AAM ecosystem to support widespread eVTOL aircraft operations. The NBAA and multiple other aviation industry groups support the legislation.
