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.

Managing Editor

Assessments of the task facing companies seeking type certification for eVTOL aircraft seem to sit at both ends of a wide spectrum. They either make it appear like a steep mountain to climb with near-insurmountable obstacles on the ascent&nbsp;or a proverbial walk&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;park on a fast track towards achieving revenue flights in record time.
The truth is almost certainly somewhere between these two points, but the technological leap being made towards radically new propulsion systems, airframe architectures, and approaching autonomous flight operations makes the mission hard&nbsp;to gauge and comprehend. So, too, does the lingering uncertainty over the regulatory framework for these new designs.
Many eVTOL start-ups have been reluctant to let prying eyes get too close to their efforts to secure type certification and to navigate the other key milestones on the road to service entry. But lately, the shutters do appear to be lifting at some companies, perhaps as they realize that they will need to build credibility to get a complex array of stakeholders on board for advanced air mobility in all its forms to win public acceptance.
Hats off, then, to Lilium for a blog published today by chief program officer Yves Yemsi and head of airworthiness Bhavesh Mandalia. Entitled The path to certification of the 7-seater Lilium jet, it offers detailed and systematic insights into the process the German company is following, with a useful breakdown of the requirements that apply to other new market entrants. 
One of the blog’s key takeaways is that the certification of eVTOL aircraft isn’t happening in some sort of mysterious silo, completely divorced from mainstream aviation standards and established protocols. On the contrary, the authors explain, makers of these new models&nbsp;fully accept the need to demonstrate that their aircraft will meet all “airliner-grade” safety standards so that passengers can feel as comfortable boarding for a taxi hop across town&nbsp;as they are today in whatever generic Airbus or Boeing tube-with-wings pulls up to the airport gate.
The report offers&nbsp;a helpful point of reference for those following this fascinating but often baffling new wave of aviation.
Mandalia started his career with Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities, which subsequently became EASA, before working with an aircraft design organization in Australia and then leading Boeing's certification and design organization work in the UK and Ireland. Yemsi is an Airbus veteran, having most recently served as head of quality for the A350XWB widebody airliner.
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Charles Alcock

Blog Takes Readers Behind the Curtain to See the eVTOL Aircraft Certification Process for What It is

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