Federal Aviation Administration
22 October 2024

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ready for powered lift, which will be the first completely new category of civil aircraft since helicopters were introduced in the 1940s. Powered lift operations include air taxis, cargo delivery and a variety of operations within urban and rural areas. 

The agency today issued a final rule for the qualifications and training that instructors and pilots must have to fly aircraft in this “powered-lift” category, which have characteristics of both airplanes and helicopters. The rule also addresses their operational requirements, including minimum safe altitudes and required visibility. The rule is the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term. The opportunities for the use of powered lift operations are far reaching, from transporting passengers in urban areas and short-haul operations such as air ambulance services and cargo operations to potentially serving smaller communities over time. 

The rule: 

  • Makes changes to numerous existing regulations and establishes a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) with new requirements to facilitate instructor and pilot certification and training.  
  • Applies helicopter operating requirements to some phases of flight and adopts a performance-based approach to certain operating rules.  
  • Allows pilots to train in powered-lift with a single set of flight controls; legacy rules require two flight controls – one for the student and one for the instructor.  

Read on: With New Rule, FAA is Ready for Air Travel of the Future | Federal Aviation Administration

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