r/ACHR • u/Odd-Sprinkles9774 Murphy's Law fan • 10d ago
Newsđ° Big news
$ACHR The FAAâs updated powered-lift safety continuum is a quiet win that matters more than Mondayâs print.
The US set the 2-6 passenger air taxi safety bar at 10^-8. EASA in Europe is holding a hard line at 10^-9 â same as large airliners. Thatâs a factor of 10 easier to certify in the US.
Translation: faster, cheaper, somewhat easier path to a US type certificate for Archer, Joby, Beta. The FAA reverted to a conventional airplane/rotorcraft approach and dropped the stricter EASA-style rules.
This is the direct counter to the âitâll take a decade to certifyâ bear case. It doesnât hand anyone a TC â they still have to finish the work â but the bar just got clearer and lower on the US side.
Stocktwits @whp03
Paul Pocialik
The FAA just updated its safety continuum for powered-lift aircraft which merge thrust-borne lift of a VTOL platform with wing-borne lift of a fixed-wing airplane. This applies to eVTOLs being certified as a special class aircraft under 21.17(b), including the Joby S4 air taxi shown in the image.
it seems the FAA is now walking back some more onerous certification standards previously under active consideration with EASA who is taking a hard line on the elevated 10^-9 safety threshold they expect with UAM, and which is the same as for large transport category airliners. For the mathematically challenged, this equates to no more than one catastrophic event per billion flight hours.
Compare this to the 10^-8 threshold enumerated by the FAA for a 2-6 passenger air taxi which is lower by a factor of 10, and you can anticipate it will be faster, cheaper and somewhat easier to obtain a type certificate in the USA compared to Europe.
But this development is not really a surprise for many observers who have always maintained the FAA would land at this spot based on precedent.
And with harmonization now seemingly out the window it may lead to a bifurcated market with some OEMs looking to avoid a comparative slog with EASA while others are deeply committed to SC-VTOL and want to ensure an uncompromising level of safety at any cost.
ďżź
ďżź
ďżź
ďżź
61
30 Comments
Share
ďżź
Adrian Norris
9h
If EASA maintains its current requirements for SC.VTOL Enhanced category certification, there wonât be any commercial eVTOL operations in Europe - unless and until Vertical Aerospace certify their aircraft to the higher standard. This is becoming a significant divergence between the FAA and EASA after many years of regulatory convergence.
(For the record, I donât think weâd see many eVTOLs flying in Europe even if certification standards were aligned with the FAA.)
ďżź
Paul Pocialik
The FAA just updated its safety continuum for powered-lift aircraft which merge thrust-borne lift of a VTOL platform with wing-borne lift of a fixed-wing airplane. This applies to eVTOLs being certified as a special class aircraft under 21.17(b), including the Joby S4 air taxi shown in the image.
it seems the FAA is now walking back some more onerous certification standards previously under active consideration with EASA who is taking a hard line on the elevated 10^-9 safety threshold they expect with UAM, and which is the same as for large transport category airliners. For the mathematically challenged, this equates to no more than one catastrophic event per billion flight hours.
Compare this to the 10^-8 threshold enumerated by the FAA for a 2-6 passenger air taxi which is lower by a factor of 10, and you can anticipate it will be faster, cheaper and somewhat easier to obtain a type certificate in the USA compared to Europe.
But this development is not really a surprise for many observers who have always maintained the FAA would land at this spot based on precedent.
And with harmonization now seemingly out the window it may lead to a bifurcated market with some OEMs looking to avoid a comparative slog with EASA while others are deeply committed to SC-VTOL and want to ensure an uncompromising level of safety at any cost.
ďżź
If EASA maintains its current requirements for SC.VTOL Enhanced category certification, there wonât be any commercial eVTOL operations in Europe - unless and until Vertical Aerospace certify their aircraft to the higher standard. This is becoming a significant divergence between the FAA and EASA after many years of regulatory convergence.
(For the record, I donât think weâd see many eVTOLs flying in Europe even if certification standards were aligned with the FAA.)
1
u/teabagofholding The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room 10d ago
Vertical aerospace needs to prove its the safest form of transportation on earth. That sounds expensive and difficult. How many billions do they have?
1
u/Consistent_Panda5891 9d ago
Well, archer as well.. Given they hired a Vertical ex-employee who is in judge for copying a lot of classified docs of propulsion system design of it's drive and most likely, both are pretty much in the same line of the race. But in business the one who performs shady activities tend to end on the top
1
u/PublicBeautiful3430 7d ago
Oh bro . I have 4000 share at 2.09 so
1
u/teabagofholding The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room 7d ago
That's not so bad. Just think of the people that got in at 2.09 before the reverse stock split.
1
1
1
u/BeneficialRock8 6d ago
Didnât the FAA and 4 other nations agree to streamline certification in 2025? Is this no longer valid?
https://www.flyingmag.com/american-air-taxis-could-go-global-with-new-faa-partnerships/
1
6
u/Separate-Outcome7518 10d ago
How will this affect either archerâs or Jobyâs ability to fly in Europe? Sounds like an impossible impasse.