I too am struggling to find some credibility in claims about the prospects of urban travel by electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (‘eVTOL’s Overpromise on Green’, April 2023). Flying at night, or in poor visibility, into a major city or airport would require some of the most demanding piloting imaginable. The act of safely piloting an eVTOL under these conditions, whilst relying upon an already very busy air-traffic control system to separate you from all the other eVTOLS and conventional aircraft, would require a very talented pilot and ATC officer.
I fail to see how any aviation authority could expect to achieve a safe standard of operation by “shortening and simplifying” the certification to that required for a “powered lift”. I would be very surprised to see the UK Civil Aviation Authority going for it, having just gone to great lengths to amend the Air Navigation Order to keep privately...