The vehicles, which combine characteristics of helicopters and planes, were legally added to the list of regulated aircraft on Monday under guidelines published by US air regulators.Information Guide Nigeria
Before businesses may provide flights to customers, an upgrade is required.
The decision was made at a time when businesses were increasing their investments in cutting-edge technology, which was advertised as the future of transportation.
As large airlines put orders and investors stake their money in a crop of start-ups, money has been flooding into the sector.
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The new aircraft, often referred to as eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, can fly and land without a runway and cover great distances like an airplane. In addition, they use electric motors, which lessens noise and pollution compared to conventional aircraft.
According to some, they could ease traffic in busy places without costing too much to consumers. They have additionally been considered as a substitute for shipping cargo.
The industry in Europe is working to launch flying taxis in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has faced industry pressure to clarify the rules for their flight, said on Monday it was proposing to expand its definition of the machines it considered air carriers from airplanes and helicopters, adding “powered lift” to the list.
The agency called its move “an important step toward making commercial air taxi operations a reality”. The rules now face a period of public comment before they can go into effect.
“This powered-lift definitions rule lays the foundation that will allow operators to use powered-lift aircraft,” it said. “This is important because our regulations have to cover powered-lift aircraft for them to be able to operate, including commercially.”
The agency added that it anticipated publishing draft regulations for using such aircraft in the summer of 2023. The requirements that businesses must satisfy in order to license pilots and begin operations will be more specifically laid out in those regulations.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s vice president of engineering and maintenance, Walter Desrosier, called Monday’s action a “extremely crucial first step” that shows the FAA is dedicated to moving forward with the issue.JAMB portal
“This is very very positive progress, but the details are still to come,” he said.
The majority of US analysts predict that flying taxis won’t start operating until 2024 or 2025 at the earliest, in part because of the ongoing discussion over how to control the new vehicles, which will encounter both local and national regulatory challenges.
Despite the hazy date, large corporations like United Airlines and Delta have recently invested millions of dollars in the concept. Hundreds of businesses are vying for a piece of the action on a global scale.
Many of those businesses, according to Robin Riedel, a partner at McKinsey and co-leader of the company’s Center for Future Mobility, are likely to fail due to the technical challenges they face, as well as the challenge of gaining public trust and lowering costs sufficiently to make flying taxis more widely accessible.NYSC portal
He anticipates that until beyond 2030, such travel will only be available on a few specific locations and itineraries, and will mostly be used by ultra-rich or business travelers.
“Nobody wants to build another toy for the rich – there’s a very limited market for that,” he said. But, he added, “as a society and as an industry we have to be realistic.”
But he said the fact that the FAA is working to include the new aircraft in their regulatory framework may be a sign of a rich future ahead. Regulation of drones, by contrast, has typically happened as companies secure one-off exemptions to existing rules, he said.JAMB Result
“The fact that the FAA is going through the trouble of making this regulation is a very encouraging sign that not only is this industry coming but it’s big enough and stable enough to justify this kind of rule-making,” he said.
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