Story ID: 
FAA Nearing Release of Powered-lift SFAR
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: DOT senior official said SFAR is responsive to concerns
Word Count: 946
In the next month, the FAA is expected to release the much-anticipated Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for "Integration of Powered Lift: Pilot Certification and Operations," according to Christopher Coes, acting undersecretary of transportation for policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Speaking this morning during Honeywell’s third-annual Advanced Air Mobility Summit in Washington, D.C., Coes added, “I think you'll see it is quite responsive to the comments.”
Stressing a drive to ensure the government paves the way for operations as the initial advanced air mobility vehicles ready to enter service, he added that the SFAR will be “well ahead of certifications that FAA is working very hard with our manufacturers in the fleet [for] 2025.”
The proposed rules are intended to form a foundation for the introduction of eVTOL aircraft in the U.S. in 2025 but have drawn substantial concerns surrounding what was viewed as a misalignment with international standards and requirements for airman qualification.
Industry is hopeful that the final SFAR will provide a “practical pathway” to enable AAM to fit seamlessly into the National Airspace System and add to transportation opportunities with multiple applications, Kristie Greco Johnson, NBAA's senior v-p of government affairs, told attendees at the Honeywell forum.
Greco Johnson added that if the FAA delivers the SFAR in a few weeks, “it'll be a major accomplishment for the agency. There's been a lot on their plate right now and it would be on time, which is a big deal.”
Amanda Joyner, managing director of government affairs for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, agreed and stressed the need for “some sort of a transitionary measure" where industry recommendations may not be adopted. "The importance of this industry to be able to get the product to market and operate it in the near term is critical.”
House aviation subcommittee vice chairman Rudy Yakym (R-Indiana) told the audience that with the FAA reauthorization bill recently completed, the work on that for Congress is just beginning because of its oversight function. “We do not expect the FAA to be a simple rubber stamp for absolutely everything,” Yakym said. “We also don't expect, on the other hand, for them to destroy innovation. There's a happy medium somewhere in there where we can allow innovation to be fostered in an environment that keeps safety at the forefront.”
Coes, meanwhile, also said that—in line with Congressional intent— his office is finishing up a national strategy to establish “a collaborative and bold plan for the aviation ecosystem, able to accommodate wide-scale advanced air mobility operations, fully integrated with drone operations, traditional aircraft, and even smarter surface transition options.”
Noting that the department set up an Advanced Air Mobility Interagency Working Group in 2023, he said that group has expanded to about two dozen federal agencies and offices, which meet with stakeholders. “They have shown a genuine interest in coming together and uncovering the key issues to a long-term vision for the future of advanced air mobility,” he said.
The national strategy represents more than a year’s work of that interagency group, and Coes added that it “really leaned in…this plan is going to be comprehensive.” He conceded that the plan still has a number of steps before release, including agency reviews and a congressional briefing.
“But I am confident that this would be a set of documents that can be championed by the industry, by academia, by labor, our state and local partners, as well as Congress,” Coes said. “It is what we need to get advanced air mobility and the future of aviation at the DOT. We recognize it won't be enough for FAA to certify aircraft.”
Carol (Annie) Petsonk, assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs for DOT, described the process of the interagency working group to the attendees at the Honeywell forum: “When Congress directed us to pair the advanced air mobility strategy for the nation, it directed us to go talk to six agencies to form an interagency working group. We put out the word and were hoping that all six agencies would join us; 22 agencies did so. And we were very glad to have that participation.”
She said the working group had the expected agencies join such as NASA and the Department of Defense, but also agencies such as the Department of Education, which recognized early on that the sector could be a job creator and necessitate training.
Peter Irvine, deputy director of the DOT office of aviation analysis and executive lead for advanced air mobility, added, “We've taken a very substantive approach to this.” The group has developed some 36 recommendations in areas including airspace, infrastructure, security, research, testing and technology, community engagement, and workforce.
Additionally, Coes issued a call to action for industry to reach out and work with local and regional leaders on an implementation plan.  He said the biggest barrier to AAM will be community acceptance—as evidenced by the Paris Olympics—and a key step is to get local leaders on board.
When asked how soon a proposal might be released on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), Coes stated, “We’re working on it. It’s a priority.”
Through the FAA reauthorization bill passed earlier this year, the FAA had until this month to release a notice of proposed rulemaking on BVLOS. Jeffrey Vincent, executive director of FAA's UAS office, however, said the goal is to get it out later this year with a final rule next year.