Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Developers of new eVTOLs said&nbsp;their plans to achieve type certification for&nbsp;aircraft remain on track in the wake of the FAA’s recent move to approve aircraft as a special class&nbsp;under FAR 21.17(b)&nbsp;instead of existing Part 23 rules. However, executives participating in a panel during Honeywell's Air Mobility Summit last week expressed concern that the U.S. agency still has to address associated operational and training aspects under a to-come special FAR.

 


The FAA began AAM certification projects under Part 23 rules, which generally apply to light aircraft, with the use of special conditions. In recent months, however, it informed type certification applicants of the decision to use 21.17(b), which has applied to very light aircraft such as sailplanes and more recently UAS.

 


Max Fenkell, policy and government affairs lead for Joby Aviation, told attendees at the Honeywell summit in Washington, D.C., that&nbsp;from a certification standpoint,&nbsp;“the technical [requirement] has not changed.”

 


However, the move created a need for an SFAR encompassing commercial operations and training requirements. “The reason for this is under 135 today you have to be an airplane or a rotorcraft, Fenkell said.&nbsp;The SFAR requires formal rulemaking, and industry is hoping a final SFAR would be implemented by year-end 2024 as the first AAM vehicles hit the market.

 


Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at <a href="http://www.futureflight.aero/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">FutureFlight.aero</a>, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
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AAM Leaders Say Certs on Track Despite FAA Reg Shift

AAM developers say the FAA has honored previous technical work when it shifted cert paths, but they are concerned about resulting operational issues.

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