Europe's Reg Framework Enables Innovation, but Capacity Needed
An EBACE Connect panel discussion suggests an existing regulatory framework allows for aviation innovation, but capacity is a concern.

The regulatory framework that exists in Europe for certification of new airframes, powerplants, and other aerospace technology is flexible enough to adapt to electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft and other advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. But it’s also a framework that needs additional regulatory capacity to keep pace with innovation, according to a panel of experts during an EBACE Connect seminar on Wednesday.


First and foremost, the panelists agreed, is that any new aviation technology undergoes the same level of safety scrutiny as any technology before it. “The regulations that are in place are on the one hand capable of both accommodating innovation [and] on the other hand ensuring that safety is being guaranteed,” said Joachim Lucking, the European Commission’s head of unit for aviation safety.


A good example of the accommodation of innovation is EASA’s type certification in June of Pipistrel’s Velis Electro two-seat trainer, Lucking added. “They have been able to certify the airplane despite the rules [that] were written in a pre-electric age,” he said. “In addition to certification, they needed to create a number of rules around this in relation to operations of such an electric airplane, training of pilots, etc. And they have been able to deal with all these challenges by using the existing rules in a flexible way.”


Robert Dingemanse, PAL-V CEO and co-founder, said that “in general” EASA’s regulatory framework has accommodated his company’s development of the Liberty flying car, which in February received a "clear path" to certification from EASA. “That’s what we found out,” Dingemanse said. “It takes time, about 10 years, but it works.” Still, some adaptations to pilot training had to be made to the legal framework, he added. “I think the main challenge we have, not the framework, is the capacity of the regulator side to really be able to deal with all these innovations.”


Based on the observations he’s made in his travels to other countries such as China and the U.S., “I think we have a big, big opportunity in Europe now to be one of the big leaders in this new advanced air mobility if we ensure that there’s enough capacity of the regulator side,” Dingemanse said.