apl
Special Flight Authorization (SFA) to Operate at Supersonic Speeds
Currently, all civil aircraft flights are prohibited from operating above Mach one speeds over land in the United States. Aircraft companies seeking to advance the testing of civil supersonic aircraft require a special flight authorization (SFA) under 14 CFR § 91. 818 (“Special flight authorization to exceed Mach 1”) to flight test the next generation of supersonic (speed) capable vehicles. Issuance of SFAs is considered a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Office of Environment and Energy (AEE) Environmental Documents
AEE actions subject to NEPA review include issuance of special flight authorizations under 14 CFR § 91. 818 and issuance of grants under the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) discretionary grant program.
Environmental documents (environmental impact statements (EISs), environmental assessment (EAs), or findings of no significant impact (FONSIs) prepared as part of AEE’s environmental review process can be found below.
Energy
The Office of Environment & Energy’s Energy Division (AEE-500) is a team of professionals that manage a portfolio of research and development efforts to enable the safe use of novel energy sources in aviation. The division carries out activities that include: testing and evaluation of new fuels; analysis to better understand the economics, environmental benefits, policy impacts and potential supply of new energy sources; coordination across the U.S. government, with industry partners and...
National Parks Air Tour Management
The National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000 was signed into law on April 5, 2000. The regulations codifying the National Parks Air Tour Management Act (NPATMA or "the Act") of 2000 can be found in Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 136 (PDF) (hereafter Part 136).
Noise Certification of UAS/AAM using Rules of Particular Applicability
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making available noise certification standards that apply to individual model unmanned aircraft (UA), or drones, because no generally applicable noise certification standards were available at the time the aircraft was presented for certification.
FAA published a final rule of particular applicability for the Matternet Model M2 aircraft in the Federal Register on September 12, 2022.
Subsequently, when a noise certification applicant presents a UA for certification and the FAA finds that the appropriate noise certification basis is essentially the same as the standard adopted previously for another UA that was adopted through notice and comment rulemaking, the FAA may adopt the same standard for another applicant only as a final rule of particular applicability. Since each RPA affects a single manufacturer and a single vehicle model, no publication in the Federal Register is required. This practice is consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) as the APA requires publication only of “substantive rules of general applicability.” The following are the aircraft models for which the FAA has adopted a noise certification standard as a final rule, with a link to each rule.
- Final Rule for Amazon.com Services LLC Model MK27-2 (July 27, 2023)
- Final rule for Flytrex Model FTX-M600P (July 3, 2023)
- Final rule for Airobotics Model Optimus 1-EX (July 3, 2023)
- Final rule for Percepto Robotics Model System 2.4 Sparrow (July 3, 2023)
- Final rule for Wing Aviation Model Hummingbird 7000W-A (July 3, 2023)
- Final rule for Zipline Model Zip (July 3, 2023)
For further information, please email NoiseCertificationStandard@faa.gov.
India Pinkney
Executive Director, Office of International
Affairs
India J. Pinkney is the Executive Director, Office of International Affairs. As Executive Director, Ms. Pinkney is responsible for advising and assisting the Assistant Administrator for Aviation Policy, International...