Noise standards proposed for VTOL aircrafts

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Brian Jenkins, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The AIN News website reports that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has proposed noise certification standards for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The proposed regulations fill in regulatory gaps in International Civil Aviation Organization regulations. Comments may be received until Nov. 15 at EASA’s public comment site.

Current regulations govern helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft but cannot be applied to new electric VTOL aircraft. These aircraft are planned for use in urban air taxi service as soon as 2026, during the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles. EASA states that VTOL-capable aircraft should be designed to minimize noise.

The proposed regulations won’t go into effect until 2027. Of course, European regulations won’t apply to the United States, and our regulatory environment is in chaos because of a federal anti-regulatory stance. Those of us who live in the Los Angeles area may be the first in the country to learn what eVTOL aircraft sound like in real life.

I’ll let you know.