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UK Means of Compliance for Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft under Special Condition VTOL
Following the decision in 2022 to adopt the Special Condition VTOL (SC-VTOL) as the basis for certification of Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, the CAA is proposing adoption of EASA Means of Compliance (MOC) to SC-VTOL to aid the development of guidance for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) entering or intending to enter into the certification process for VTOL aircraft.
These aircraft are developing fast and the CAA recognises the importance of enabling the certification process for the benefit of the UK aviation sector. The CAA has been an active member of the collaborative project to develop safety standards within Europe for eVTOL since before EU exit. MOC material is needed to enable industry to demonstrate compliance to the SC-VTOL standards already adopted. The work on MOC started in 2018, with the identification of a priority list of topics.
The MOC for priority 1 and 2 topics have been published by EASA, priority 3 topics were subject to public consultation in 2022 and resolution of comments is almost complete. Priority 4 topics are being drafted and are planned for release shortly.
The CAA independently concluded that in order to enable the latest design of VTOL related certification projects and the validation projects where EASA is the Certification Authority, and after establishing no technical objections to the EASA MOCs to SC-VTOL as published, the proposal is to adopt the MOCs in their most up-to-date version.
The CAA intends to introduce into its regulatory framework the MOC to SC VTOL by adoption of the materials developed in collaboration with EASA and the eVTOL industry. Your feedback will help us to better understand the potential issues or improvements before we finalise these.
What are Means of Compliance to Special Conditions?
Special Conditions are detailed technical specifications prescribed by the CAA for a product where the related current certification specifications do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for that product. This is usually because the product has novel or unusual design features relative to the design practices on which the applicable certification specifications are based.
Means of Compliance are developed for Special Conditions to provide further direction to OEMs on how these safety requirements can be met.
This consultation
The CAA is consulting on the approach to adopt EASA MOCs to SC-VTOL at their latest version, consisting of the following documents.
Priority 1 and 2 MOC topics are contained in:
Priority 3 MOC topics, for which comment resolution is due to complete in March 2023:
Why your views matter
It is important to the CAA that everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinion on matters that could affect them. There is also a legal requirement to consult when creating detailed specifications and guidance material, due to the legal status of these documents.
We welcome comments from every sector of the community. This includes the general public, government agencies and all sectors of the aviation industry, whether as an aviator, aviation consumer and/or provider of related products and services.
How to respond
This consultation will close on 21 April 2023. We cannot take into account comments received after this date. We will assume that all responses can be published once the consultation has closed. There is an option to request for your name to remain private, but in any event your email address will never be published.
Please submit your comments using the online survey link below.