We propose to develop a foundation for the Airworthiness Certification of the Personal Air Vehicle (PAV), This framework will recommend a model for Quality Assurance, consistent with the "consensus" based industry standards, and acceptable to the FAA. Further, our focus will include the review of certain FAA Regulations (CFAR) that create economic barriers to entry to the aircraft industry for high-volume automotive manufacturers and to offer alternative concepts for certification that remove or reduce these barriers.
Potential NASA Commercial Applications: (LIMIT 100 WORDS) It is NASA's intent for the PAV, program to identify the current baseline and research concepts, technologies and missions that enable faster and farther solutions for point to point air travel in the future. In principle, NASA's goals include the utilization of technologies and manufacturing processes employed in mass production, in order to produce a vehicle affordable for personal transportation.As a result of implementing the framework established by this investigation, and incorporating the "consensus" standards, the acquisition cost of the PAV can be significantly reduced. As the aircraft acquisition cost decreases, the PAV will become more affordable as a commercially viable means for public transportation of the future.
Potential NON-NASA Commercial Applications: (LIMIT 100 WORDS) The framework for the Airworthiness Certification of the PAV, established as a result of this investigation, will provide a basis for future certification activities in the General Aviation industry.Further, this approach will significantly reduce the non-recurring engineering cost associated with the typical approach to FAA Certification, as well as provide for reduction in the acquisition cost of the PAV, therefore making the PAV more affordable, and begin to compete with luxury automobiles as a means for personal transportation, enabling point to point transportation in the future.
