FAA plans to lay out its plans for air taxi operations by May 2023
At the Aero Club Luncheon earlier this month, acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen revealed an implementation plan for air taxi operations by May 2023, saying drones, electric air taxis and other kinds of innovations promise a future where science fiction is more like science fact.
He remarked: “The Jet Age shrunk the world, but it is a loud and polluting one, and one that brought massive opportunity to many, but not to all, and not equally. Change is always uncomfortable, but in aviation, nothing ever moves forward without someone challenging the status quo.
“But making this happen requires us to think about not just what’s on the horizon but beyond, or to use a term that has become familiar in recent years: what is beyond our visual line of sight?”
Over the past 25 years, the aviation industry has established a preventive-based approach and safety Management Systems have been a big part of that, but there are new hazards and new challenges beyond the horizon.
Nolen identified the need to evolve to a predictive approach to safety, and whether the tools, talent, and training are there to do that today. The FAA is deploying artificial intelligence to yield quality, consistent streams of safety data.
For example, it has a new program that gives a more comprehensive risk picture, which includes a predictive analytics engine that detects possible safety events, combines them with models, and estimates the likelihood that a string of events could lead to an accident.
He added: “We know that when the Los Angeles Olympics get underway in 2028, air taxis will be in high demand. We may see some of them in the years leading up, but nowhere near the scale in 2028.
“Our job at the FAA is to make that possible. Next May, we will have an implementation plan that will allow us to match the industry’s tempo. 2028 is roughly when the agency’s next Congressional reauthorization will run through.
“The legislation will be consequential. I know you’ll need to look out for your interests, but the legislation should not be used to entrench the past. It should accelerate the next era of aviation and take big leaps.”
Nolen hinted that the aviation sector can no longer think of aviation as a no-fly zone for outsiders, and must engage other industries like the 5G network providers, or the electric utility industry needed to charge eVTOL aircraft.
He argued that the FAA is managing essentially three National Airspace Systems — the classic, the modern created with NextGen, and the future for space vehicles, drones and air taxis.
Nolen continued: “I fell in love with aviation when I heard the sound of a rotor in the distance. I became a helicopter pilot in the Army. Then I became an airline pilot and went on to become an airline safety executive.
“I want to thank Aero Club for supporting young people with scholarships and through the Runway program. We want the best, brightest, most diverse group of people to be in the room.
“The FAA went after gamers to recruit them as air traffic controllers and to Tiktok influencers to get the word out. We hoped to receive 10,000 applications. We ended up receiving 58,000! Not only was the number the biggest in FAA history, it was the most diverse. We had record-high percentages of Black, Hispanic, Asian and women applicants.”
He described the climate crisis as the world’s greatest existential threat being attacked on many fronts – from scaling the development of sustainable aviation fuels, and the development of more fuel efficient aircraft, but fundamentally, the improvements are incremental.
He said: “Eventually, we will no longer be able to squeeze efficiency from the swept-wing frame. We need transformational change and we need to think beyond the jet engine.
“We must seek major improvements to hit our 2050 net-zero goal as we did 25 years ago when we set out to drive down the risk of fatal accidents within 10 years, and we did it.”
