FAA releases AAM vertiport guidelines for future air taxi operations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued its first set of guidelines on the construction and layout of future vertiports, providing a critical basis of uniformity for developers of advanced air mobility (AAM) services and infrastructure to work from.

The FAA’s Engineering Brief #105 is a 51-page document that walks planners of vertiports that next-generation AAM aircraft will need for operation through some fairly granular specs on future infrastructure conception. Viewed from a broader angle, however, the guidelines provide the first substantial picture of what regulators believe vertiports should look like, how they’ll be configured, and where they’re likely to be located.

Read: Wisk and Boeing unveil UAM operational roadmap for future air taxis 

That wider perspective is framed by the brief’s main sections outlining safety-critical geometry and design elements; lighting, markings, and visual aids; charging and electric…