The agency is now working on type certification with the developers of 30 electric and hybrid-electric aircraft and also with seven manufacturers of new propulsion systems.
Jay Merkle, executive director of the FAA's UAS Integration Office, told the Vertical Flight Society's Electric VTOL Symposium that the first of the new-generation advanced air mobility aircraft could be certified in 2021. It seems likely that this will be a fixed-wing, conventional or short takeoff and landing design.