eVTOL developer Volocopter has reiterated its prediction in a joint statement made with Aéroports de Paris and the DGAC that it will operate passenger flights at the Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. The company has been quite bullish in its service entry predictions for some time, and this latest announcement indicates either an exceptional level of confidence in a positive outcome in a defined timeline or a gambler’s doubling down. Which one it turns out to be will be revealed in 13 months’ time.
But what if certification cannot be achieved by that very finite deadline? It seems, given the present position of regulation and the realities of certification, an ambitious goal. Can Volocopter still make good on the promise of carrying passengers?
The obvious answer is no.
On the other hand, there is a lifeline should the DGAC make a liberal interpretation of the limitations of an EASA Permit to Fly. The EASA Permit to Fly regulations allow flights outside the flight test programmes and other specific missions on a limited basis. The critical passage is: “Examples of flight conditions not related to the safety of design include, but are not limited to: production flight testing for the purpose of conformity establishment.” It may be that passengers (now non-paying) could be manifested as “supernumerary crew for flight proving”.
It seems unthinkable that a government agency like the DGAC could be party to a sacrifice of the intent of regulations and, indeed, safety on the altar of civic pride. They wouldn’t do that, would they?
More importantly, in a worst case, would such an approach stand up to examination in not only law courts but also the court of public opinion? France is, after all, the home of the Code Napoléon, a legal system notoriously unforgiving of error or misjudgement. It cannot be imagined that the public would welcome such a cavalier approach, and we have seen in recent times how the children of the revolution react to initiatives regarded as elitist.
Of course, this is, after all, an idle rumination on a humid afternoon and has no more substance than that.
Certification may indeed be granted by the very finite absolute deadline of 11 August 2024, and the historic breakthrough made real. Honestly, the avgeek in me really hopes it is, but it does feel as though Volocopter is at the roulette table putting it all on red.
