The advanced air mobility (AAM) sector faced pushback from some Republican lawmakers during a 3 December congressional hearing, as some players appealed for more federal funding and for changes to the Federal Aviation Administration’s electric-aircraft certification approach.
“Our taxpayers, I don’t think, want to pay for electric charging stations for these vehicles until they are operational,” Republican congressman Scott Perry said during a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. “If this is really great, investors who can make money will pay into this. I don’t want to prioritise concepts over concrete.”
The hearing comes as US developers of AAM aircraft – which including all- and hybrid-electric air taxis and regional fixed-wing aircraft – struggle to achieve FAA certifications.
The process has taking longer than anticipated despite the FAA having introduced new AAM-specific rules and the federal government having rolled out programmes intended to aid development of AAM technologies.
National Association of State Aviation Officials chief executive Gregory Pecoraro urges lawmakers for more federal aid, saying states and the industry can benefit from national standards, including those related to aircraft charging and to communication and sensor systems.
“Additional funding at the federal level… will be needed to support planning and infrastructure development required for AAM,” Pecoraro says. “Providing electricity to general aviation airports to support electric and hybrid-electric aircraft will be costly, involving not only transmission and distribution upgrades but also new equipment.”
But Perry says the FAA faces more-pressing concerns, like addressing air traffic controller fatigue and preventing aircraft near misses.
He and other Republicans, including congressman Pete Stauber, also raised concern that electric aircraft developers rely heavily on battery materials sourced from overseas, including from China or from China-financed operations.
During the hearing, all-electric aircraft developer Beta Technologies chief executive Kyle Clark expressed frustration at the FAA’s slow pace in certificating electric aircraft.
“Certifying new technologies – including high-energy-density batteries, high-torque-density electric motors, distributed electric propulsion systems and fly-by-wire flight controls – requires specialised expertise that is not yet widespread within the FAA,” he says.
The FAA’s “existing delegation system… is not being fully applied to new technologies”, Clark adds.
The FAA delegates some certification and compliance work to manufacturers under its Organization Designation Authorization programme.
