We might soon be riding around in flying vehicles called electric air taxis, a la “The Jetsons,” after the Federal Aviation Administration released what its say is the “final piece of the puzzle.” The FAA issued its new rules Tuesday, Oct. 22, regarding the planes — 880 pages of special regulations including training protocols for pilots and operational requirements for the half-airplane, half-helicopter air taxis.
The planes act like a helicopter during takeoff then change modes to be more like an airplane during flight, before switching back for the landing.
“For the last 80 years, we’ve had two types – rotor and fixed wing,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas . “We now have a third type.”
The FAA calls it the introduction to “a new category of aircraft.” The first electric air taxi could be operational by sometime next year.
