Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases Draft Guidance on AAM Vertiport Design
February 28, 2022
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released draft Engineering Brief (EB) No. 105, “Vertiport Design,“ that provides interim guidance to airport operators for the design of vertiports to support electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) operations. Currently, the closest type of aviation infrastructure, being used by many for comparison purposes, is heliports and helistops based on Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5390-2C, Heliport Design. The airport and AAM communities have been anxiously awaiting guidance from FAA in this area as some airports have taken some initial steps to integrate electric VTOL operations into their environment. 
FAA will be hosting an industry day on the guidance document on Tuesday, March 29 and has requested feedback on the 48-page draft document no later than Monday, April 18. AAAE will be working with our members to review the draft EB and develop responsive comments before the deadline. 
Background. The EB specifies interim design guidance for vertiports and vertistops, including modification of existing helicopter and airplane landing facilities and the establishment of new sites. FAA indicated in the document that they will develop a performance-based AC on vertiport design in the future that will detail categories of vertiport facilities requiring different design criteria depending on the characteristics of the aircraft they plan to support and activity levels at the facility. However, FAA suggests that the interim guidance is needed to support initial infrastructure development for VTOL operations. The interim guidelines will be mandatory for federally obligated airports conducting a vertiport project. Future updates to the EB will be published as additional performance data is obtained from these emerging VTOL aircraft.  
Highlights from Initial Review. Upon initial review of the draft guidance, there are a few observations that are worth highlighting: 
• Composite Aircraft Characteristics. The vertiport design criteria outlined in the draft EB is intended to support a “composite“ VTOL aircraft, which encompasses the performance characteristics of nine VTOL aircraft currently in development, flying in visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with the pilot on board. These performance characteristics include a maximum takeoff weight of 7,000 pounds and two or more electric battery propulsion units. 
• Charging and Electric Infrastructure. In the draft interim guidance, FAA indicated that consensus has not been identified nor specified regarding classes of charging or connection standards and could vary based on the aircraft duty cycle, charging speed, battery chemistry, charging system, and battery cooling system. The agency further noted that additional guidance on charging infrastructure design is currently being developed as the industry continues to evolve, and future guidance will be provided on other emerging energy concepts (e.g., hydrogen). 
• On-Airport Vertiports. In the draft interim guidance, FAA noted that any new vertiport infrastructure or fixed equipment at an existing airport must be depicted on the Airport Layout Plan and submitted for FAA review prior to development and operation. In addition, a Form 7460-1 will have to be submitted for an airspace determination prior to development. For projects subject to FAA approval, an appropriate level of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is required. 
• Fire Fighting Considerations. FAA indicated in the draft EB that the firefighting techniques for VTOL aircraft are still unknown and may differ from model to model. However, previous FAA research with small lithium battery cells found that water and other aqueous-based fire extinguishing agents were more effective for suppressing lithium battery fires and preventing thermal runaway than gas or dry powder extinguishing agents during experiments within a test chamber. Although this method was found to be effective for small battery packs, it is yet to be determined if similar results would be achieved with large battery packs. 
• Security. For vertiports located in secured airport environments, unless screening was carried out at the VTOL passengers' departure location, FAA advised that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations may require that a screening area and/or screening be provided before passengers enter the airport's secured areas. For on-airport vertiports, FAA encourages proponents to work with their local TSA security representative to provide control access to airport airside areas with adequate security measures as required or recommended. 
Vertiport Design Industry Day. FAA also announced that the agency will host an “Industry Day“ on the draft EB on vertiport design. The event will allow FAA to provide an overview of the interim guidance, discuss some critical aspects of the draft currently under consideration, and provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. The industry day will be held on Tuesday, March 29, at 11-6 p.m. ET. You can register and find additional details here. 
What's Next? In the coming weeks, AAAE will be reviewing the document and developing a survey to collect feedback from our members. AAAE will prepare responsive comments for the agency based on the input received before the deadline of Monday, April 18. If you or your airport are interested in submitting your own comments, you can use FAA's comment matrix, which is available here, and submit feedback directly to vertiports@faa.gov.  
The AAAE Advanced Air Mobility Working Group will be hosting its next meeting on Wednesday, March 9 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the engineering brief in greater detail. We will be recording the meeting and making it available upon request. Please feel free to contact Jeremy Valcich if you would like to participate or if you have any questions.  
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released draft Engineering Brief (EB) No. 105, “Vertiport Design,“ that provides interim guidance to airport operators for the design of vertiports to support electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) operations. Currently, the closest type of aviation infrastructure, being used by many for comparison purposes, is heliports and helistops based on Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5390-2C, Heliport Design. The airport and AAM communities have been anxiously awaiting guidance from FAA in this area as some airports have taken some initial steps to integrate electric VTOL operations into their environment. 
FAA will be hosting an industry day on the guidance document on Tuesday, March 29 and has requested feedback on the 48-page draft document no later than Monday, April 18. AAAE will be working with our members to review the draft EB and develop responsive comments before the deadline. 
Background. The EB specifies interim design guidance for vertiports and vertistops, including modification of existing helicopter and airplane landing facilities and the establishment of new sites. FAA indicated in the document that they will develop a performance-based AC on vertiport design in the future that will detail categories of vertiport facilities requiring different design criteria depending on the characteristics of the aircraft they plan to support and activity levels at the facility. However, FAA suggests that the interim guidance is needed to support initial infrastructure development for VTOL operations. The interim guidelines will be mandatory for federally obligated airports conducting a vertiport project. Future updates to the EB will be published as additional performance data is obtained from these emerging VTOL aircraft.  
Highlights from Initial Review. Upon initial review of the draft guidance, there are a few observations that are worth highlighting: 
• Composite Aircraft Characteristics. The vertiport design criteria outlined in the draft EB is intended to support a “composite“ VTOL aircraft, which encompasses the performance characteristics of nine VTOL aircraft currently in development, flying in visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with the pilot on board. These performance characteristics include a maximum takeoff weight of 7,000 pounds and two or more electric battery propulsion units. 
• Charging and Electric Infrastructure. In the draft interim guidance, FAA indicated that consensus has not been identified nor specified regarding classes of charging or connection standards and could vary based on the aircraft duty cycle, charging speed, battery chemistry, charging system, and battery cooling system. The agency further noted that additional guidance on charging infrastructure design is currently being developed as the industry continues to evolve, and future guidance will be provided on other emerging energy concepts (e.g., hydrogen). 
• On-Airport Vertiports. In the draft interim guidance, FAA noted that any new vertiport infrastructure or fixed equipment at an existing airport must be depicted on the Airport Layout Plan and submitted for FAA review prior to development and operation. In addition, a Form 7460-1 will have to be submitted for an airspace determination prior to development. For projects subject to FAA approval, an appropriate level of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is required. 
• Fire Fighting Considerations. FAA indicated in the draft EB that the firefighting techniques for VTOL aircraft are still unknown and may differ from model to model. However, previous FAA research with small lithium battery cells found that water and other aqueous-based fire extinguishing agents were more effective for suppressing lithium battery fires and preventing thermal runaway than gas or dry powder extinguishing agents during experiments within a test chamber. Although this method was found to be effective for small battery packs, it is yet to be determined if similar results would be achieved with large battery packs. 
• Security. For vertiports located in secured airport environments, unless screening was carried out at the VTOL passengers' departure location, FAA advised that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations may require that a screening area and/or screening be provided before passengers enter the airport's secured areas. For on-airport vertiports, FAA encourages proponents to work with their local TSA security representative to provide control access to airport airside areas with adequate security measures as required or recommended. 
Vertiport Design Industry Day. FAA also announced that the agency will host an “Industry Day“ on the draft EB on vertiport design. The event will allow FAA to provide an overview of the interim guidance, discuss some critical aspects of the draft currently under consideration, and provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. The industry day will be held on Tuesday, March 29, at 11-6 p.m. ET. You can register and find additional details here. 
What's Next? In the coming weeks, AAAE will be reviewing the document and developing a survey to collect feedback from our members. AAAE will prepare responsive comments for the agency based on the input received before the deadline of Monday, April 18. If you or your airport are interested in submitting your own comments, you can use FAA's comment matrix, which is available here, and submit feedback directly to vertiports@faa.gov.  
The AAAE Advanced Air Mobility Working Group will be hosting its next meeting on Wednesday, March 9 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the engineering brief in greater detail. We will be recording the meeting and making it available upon request. Please feel free to contact Jeremy Valcich if you would like to participate or if you have any questions.  
