FutureFlight
New Electric Aircraft Operators Face Part 135 Certification Challenges
While some companies opt to "buy" their operating certificates through acquisitions of other operators, others, such as eVTOL developer Joby, have taken on the task directly.
Joby's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.
Joby Aviation appears to be one of the new eVTOL aircraft developers that has made the most progress in the complex task of being approved as a commercial aircraft operator under the FAA's Part 135 rules. (Image: Joby)

Several of the leading players in the burgeoning advanced air mobility (AAM) field aspire not only to design and build eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft but abandon the model followed by traditional aircraft manufacturers and operate the equipment themselves. In the process, though, the AAM upstarts must assume a significant regulatory challenge and establish operating credentials under FAA Part 135 rules or equivalent legal structures in other countries.

Some have found the process so onerous that they’ve opted to effectively buy approval with the acquisition of a company with an existing certificate. Others, such as eVTOL developer Joby Aviation, have taken the direct route, filing an initial Part 135 application in June 2021 and recently announcing it had begun the fourth stage of a five-stage process.