How Pilot Training Is Developing

Several years ago, as interest in the nascent advanced air mobility industry began to grow, regulators and industry faced a vexing dilemma: How do you integrate a new class of aircraft when there are no existing powered-lift pilots, and no established training curricula to certify them?

After extensive consultations with industry, the FAA issued its Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for powered-lift pilot certification and operations in October 2024, which established procedures for the training and certification of the first generation of pilots of electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

But with such disparate configurations—ranging from multicopter to tiltpropeller to lift-plus-cruise—the FAA agreed with industry requests to create a series of pathways that provide optionality for different aircraft. As such, the training curricula at various companies are already taking on different characteristics.

Beta Technologies, for example, has designed its electric aircraft with dual flight controls, allowing for side-by-side training. As such, Beta’s pilots can essentially undergo a traditional Part 61 training course with no need for an alternate pathway like other eVTOLs with single-control designs.

Thanks to its dual cockpit, Beta has added flexibility around simulator testing. Unlike the rest of the industry which developed single-pilot cockpits, Beta’s trainees are allowed to supplement up to 15 hr. of the mandatory 50 hr. category flight time requirement with more affordable Flight Training Devices (FTD) as opposed to more comprehensive Full Flight Simulators (FFS). That doubles to 30 hr if Beta chooses to pursue an FFS, meaning its pilots would only need 20 hr. of in-aircraft training, and only a solo endorsement with no sequential requirement for solo flights to take place after sim training, which offers flexibility in their syllabus, culminating with a final check ride.

“Our dual-control aircraft don’t require us to have a full flight simulator to clear pilots to that solo phase but allows Beta to qualify and use flight training devices, keeping our operational costs low,” Beta’s regulatory affairs lead Kristen Costello said during a presentation at the Vertical Flight Society’s Transformative Vertical Flight 2025 conference in Phoenix.

Joby, meanwhile, has set up its own Part 141 flight academy in Watsonville, California, to train pilots to operate the S4 eVTOL air taxi under its Part 135 air operator certificate. The flight school is targeting entry-level students to give them a pathway “all the way from zero hours to a Joby aircraft,” says Ryan Naru, Joby’s aviation policy and regulatory affairs lead. The academy would offer the opportunity for students to receive a commercial pilot license and IFR rating before progressing onto a specialized urban air mobility transition course.

“While that’s not part of the FAA’s pilot qualification framework, within Joby that’s going to make sure that we are developing the right kind of pilots for our operation,” Naru says.

As a single-pilot aircraft manufacturer, Joby will augment its pilot instruction with Level 7 FFS training, the same type of simulator that is used for large transport category aircraft, in addition to FTD training. The company can use alternate pathways for single-pilot cockpits that allow PIC training where flight controls are accessible by both pilot and instructor. Solo flights will be a “really big part” of the training as well, with numerous competency checks along the way, all culminating in the final check ride.

In crafting its regulations, the FAA left open a pathway called a “deviation authority” that provides flexibility to modify training requirements to account for technological advances. Naru says that Joby would like to see the agency permit its trainees to fly the S4 in hover mode after just a few weeks, which he says would increase confidence for its pilots early on in the program. He said the simplicity of operating the S4 in hover should alleviate the FAA’s safety concerns.

While Beta and Joby are developing dual- and single-pilot cockpits, respectively, Boeing subsidiary Wisk is developing an autonomous air taxi without a cockpit. As the company works to certify its ground-based control stations under Part 23, it is also working to develop crew qualifications requirements for Part 61. Ahead of entry-into-service, the startup will add autonomous capabilities to its Part 135 certificate.

As an uncrewed aircraft, remote operators will undergo training through scenario-based education and simulation exercises, testing their real-time decision-making skills—which are critical because the remote pilot must intervene and take control of the aircraft in emergencies.

“Many of the functions that pilots traditionally do are going to be handed over to the aircraft,” says Tom Gunnarson, Wisk’s regulatory affairs lead. “We want the higher-level functions to be the focus of our people, and let the system automate the lower-level functions. That level of automation will increase over time as we gain more experience and as technology improves.”