Exactly. The required knowledge of rules in the air, education, licensing, and regulation would be absolutely staggering.
“Exactly. The required knowledge of rules in the air, education, licensing, and regulation would be absolutely staggering.”
The only way the FAA is going to allow the general public to fly in EVTOL is either a commercial rated pilot as PIC onboard. Maybe if 5G and Starlink can be proven to be 99.99% per year reliable then remote pilot’s and onboard AI to fly in drone mode where it’s autonomous flight from point A to point B with the AI flying and a remote licenced human ready to take remote full flight control authority remotely like the FAA let’s predator drones fly today in the national airspace. NEXGEN with electronic filed flight plans,Mode-S, ADS-B out & in plus TCAS already has the ability to automatically keep requires clearance distances from all aircraft in flight if every aircraft has ADB-B in, Mode S and TCAS then the FMS with AI certainly can keep the required aircraft separations even in IMC conditions and at night it’s a giant comparative network. Pretty much every general aviation aircraft must have mode S, ADS-B out already adding in ADS-B IN + TCAS solves the problem once and for all oh and UAT for all aircraft including EVTOL for live traffic ,weather and NOTAMS the AI can easily read a NOTAM they already are a standardised format.
Joe six pack will never be cleared to fly one of these but AI FMS(flight management system) plus human remote via 5
G and global 6000+ satellite Starlink Gigabit data streams would work to appease the FAA.
At the bare minimum whomever gets inside one of these EVTOL has to be able to read, understand, and obey the VFR regs to even leave the ground and enter class G airspace let alone B,C,D,or E.
This is DFW’s VFR sectional for the helo routes which every one of these EVTOL would be legally required to follow and any violation is a federal offence and also due to the proximity to DFW and Love Field you are putting hundreds of lives at risk on every aircraft you get near.
https://aeronav.faa.gov/visual/06-12-2025/PDFs/Dallas-Ft_Worth_Heli.pdf
Notice how much of DFW is covered by SFC class B around DFW and Love. You cannot leave the ground without ATC prior approval and they will require a VFR flight plan for sure. You will have to fly out to a designated helo airway marked in blue and maintain tight altitude, speed and spatial control inside your assigned corridor until you are well outside DFW area , you will need Mode S within 30 nm of DFW and Love it’s the dark blue outer rings that also means ADB-B out as well. This is to just leave the ground. A lot of North Texas cities already have outlawed help landing and takeoffs from anywhere but a properly licenced FAA AND city approved heloport or helipad this means only hospitals, city buildings. You can never takeoff or land anywhere else inside those city limits, EVTOL will be added bank on that. AAllen , Fairview, McKinney, Frisco all have wealthy people and they banned helicopter pick ups year’s ago over the noise and rotor wash. Every one of them will add a single line to their existing ordinances no powered lift inside city limits to include electric VTOL, personal VTOL or uberair ect ect ect.
It’s nearly impossible to get approved for a helopad even if you have the 8:1 slope obstacle/building clearances for your approach and departure slopes and 2:1 for side slopes a big ask inside and suburban area even rural and exurban struggle to meet 8:1 for a FAA approved LZ. You land more than once a year and they FAA could rule you have a in regular use helicopter landing zone and demand you certify it the city even if they don’t outright ban helos and VTOLs will get on that as soon as your neighbors start calling them when you land repeatedly 100+ decibel aircraft over their homes and in their yards blowing 100+ mph down wash all over tipping chairs , tossing lawn items and blowing leaves, acorns and loose branches all over and down into their yards...yeah the council and HOA will pass ordinances so fast you will be lucky to get a couple months of flights in or out of a suburb ha even on ten acres the county could step in if my neighbors complained and again the FAA has and will rule anything more than once a year is “ in regular use” they HATE not having control of THEIR airspace.