Glossary
Words this site uses
Definitions as of Oct 19, 2026. Each one is tied to a regulator page, a company release or a news article that was opened.
eVTOL · Powered-lift · Advanced air mobility (AAM) · SFAR · Type certificate · Restricted type certificate · Special condition · Means of compliance · Production certificate · Production organisation approval · Airworthiness certificate · Air operator certificate · Design organisation approval · Permit to fly · Part 103 ultralight · Vertiport · VTOL · Roadable aircraft · Conditional order
eVTOL
The National Aviation Authorities Network roadmap hosted by the FAA defines an eVTOL as an aircraft that can take off and land vertically using electric propulsion. The FAA's powered-lift FAQ says many aircraft in the powered-lift category will be electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. An eVTOL is a kind of aircraft. The word is not a certificate.
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Powered-lift
The FAA's Part 194 FAQ says an aircraft in the powered-lift category can take off vertically, land vertically and fly slowly, then fly like an airplane in cruise. The same FAQ says the category covers piloted aircraft, not unmanned ones, and that the FAA treats powered-lift as a category rather than as classes. Pilots need a type rating for the particular powered-lift they fly. The April 2025 NAA roadmap uses a longer definition: a heavier-than-air aircraft that depends on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for vertical and low-speed flight, and on nonrotating wings for horizontal flight.
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Advanced air mobility (AAM)
The FAA's Part 194 FAQ says advanced air mobility is an umbrella term for an air transportation system that moves people and cargo using new aircraft. The NAA roadmap's glossary uses the same idea and includes eVTOL aircraft inside that sector. AAM is not a certificate and not a single vehicle type.
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SFAR
The FAA's Part 194 FAQ says a Special Federal Aviation Regulation is an interim rule for a unique situation. For powered-lift, SFAR No. 120 sits in 14 CFR Part 194 and, the FAQ says, lasts ten years. FAA notice N 8900.732 says the final rule was published on November 21, 2024. The SFAR covers pilot certification and operations. It is not an aircraft type certificate.
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Type certificate
The NAA roadmap hosted by the FAA says a type certificate is a design approval issued when the applicant shows that a product complies with the applicable regulations. It includes the type design, operating limitations, the data sheet, the regulations used, and any other conditions the authority sets. The UK CAA says it issues a type certificate or a restricted type certificate for an aircraft, engine or propeller at the end of that compliance process. A type certificate is not a factory approval, not an operator approval, and not a permit to test-fly.
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Restricted type certificate
The UK CAA says it can issue either a type certificate or a restricted type certificate for a product. In the UAE, Archer says the GCAA moved Midnight into a restricted type certificate program on May 7, 2026, as a path to limited commercial operations. Archer does not say the certificate has been issued. Being in the program is not the same as holding the certificate.
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Special condition
The UK CAA's CAP 3002 defines a special condition as a set of technical specifications written when the related certification specifications do not contain adequate standards for the product. EASA wrote the Special Condition for VTOL for that reason, and says it prescribes the airworthiness standards used toward a type certificate for small person-carrying VTOL aircraft. JCAB Circular No. 1-031 is a policy for special conditions on certain electric VTOL type-certification projects. A special condition is part of the rule set. It is not the certificate.
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Means of compliance
The UK CAA says a means of compliance is a defined way, but not the only way, to show compliance with a special condition. The NAA roadmap says a means of compliance is a detailed design standard that, if met, accomplishes the safety intent of the regulation, and that it is one method rather than the only method. EASA says its VTOL means of compliance explain how an applicant can show it meets the special condition's objectives. They are not a type certificate.
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Production certificate
EHang says a CAAC production certificate means the manufacturer has a quality system that meets the regulator's requirements, and that each aircraft must match the approved type design. EHang says its EH216-S production certificate, issued April 7, 2024, was reviewed under CCAR-21-R4. That certificate is about the factory. It is not a type certificate. Accepting a production-certificate application, which XPulse says happened for Aridge on May 9, 2025, is earlier still: the application has been accepted, not the certificate.
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Production organisation approval
PAL-V says its EASA Production Organisation Approval, announced in September 2026, authorises it to manufacture aviation products under EASA rules. all-electronics.de reported the date as September 7, 2026, and wrote that the approval is not a completed type certificate for the Liberty. A production approval covers the factory organisation. It does not approve the aircraft design.
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Airworthiness certificate
EHang says a standard airworthiness certificate confirms that a particular aircraft conforms to the approved type design and is fit for the operation described. EHang's EH216-S example is dated December 21, 2023. That is approval of one aircraft, not of the design. A special or experimental airworthiness certificate is different again. Electrek reported that Alef had received an FAA special airworthiness certification by 2023. all-electronics.de reported a 2022 Slovak experimental-category certificate for an earlier AirCar prototype, and said it was not an EASA type certificate for the later production version. None of these is a type certificate.
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Air operator certificate
EHang says air operator certificates issued on March 30, 2025 went to two companies that would operate EH216-S flights, not to the aircraft design. An operator certificate is permission for an organisation to conduct flights. It is not a type certificate and not a production certificate.
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Design organisation approval
The UK CAA says an applicant for a type certificate or restricted type certificate generally must hold a design organisation approval, or a listed alternative, before the project can proceed. The approval is about who may do design work. It is not the type certificate. Vertical said its April 2026 piloted transition was flown under UK CAA design-organisation oversight. Archer says its May 2026 GCAA phase includes initiating a design organisation approval, and does not say that approval has been issued.
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Permit to fly
Vertical said the UK CAA expanded its permit to fly on July 10, 2026 so the company could make its first public demonstration flights away from Cotswold Airport. That permit allows specific flying. It is not a type certificate. XPulse also describes a September 10, 2025 UAE special flight permit for Aridge manned tests, and says that permit is not a type certificate.
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Part 103 ultralight
14 CFR 103.1 says an ultralight vehicle is for one occupant, for recreation or sport, and has no U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate. If it is powered, the rule also caps empty weight at under 254 pounds, fuel at 5 U.S. gallons, and sets speed limits. The Los Angeles Times reported that Pivotal classifies the Helix as a Part 103 ultralight and that the aircraft weighs about 355 pounds empty. This glossary does not resolve that difference. Part 103 is not a type certificate.
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Vertiport
The FAA's Part 194 FAQ says a vertiport is a piece of land, or a structure, used for powered-lift landings and takeoffs. It compares one to a heliport designed for powered-lift aircraft. Skyports uses the word for the Dubai International Airport building it said was technically complete on April 16, 2026. Technical completion is not the same as passenger service. Skyports did not say passenger flights had started.
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VTOL
The UK CAA's CAP 3002 defines a VTOL aircraft, for that policy, as a heavier-than-air aircraft that can perform vertical procedures using more than two lift/thrust units. The scope of that statement is piloted VTOL aircraft. VTOL describes how the aircraft takes off and lands. It is not a certificate. An eVTOL is a VTOL aircraft with electric propulsion, as the NAA roadmap uses the term.
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Roadable aircraft
This site uses "roadable aircraft" for vehicles built to drive on public roads and to fly. It is not a legal category in the pages cited here. PAL-V calls the Liberty a FlyDrive vehicle: one that travels at flight speed and can be used as a car after landing. all-electronics.de describes the AirCar as a road-capable fixed-wing aircraft that needs a runway, not a vertical take-off aircraft. Electrek describes Alef's flying car as something that can drive, park and be used as a car, and contrasts that with an eVTOL. Those are product descriptions from the companies and the articles, not certificates.
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Conditional order
A conditional commitment is not a firm purchase. On this site, a memorandum of understanding, a letter of intent, an option, a refundable reservation, a term sheet, and a deal that still needs closing conditions are marked conditional. Examples from pages opened for this edition: AutoFlight's memorandum for a planned 260 aircraft, Vertical's "conditional pre-orders," ASKA's refundable deposit, BETA's Loganair term sheet and options, Klein Vision's four orders held until approval, and Archer's agreement to buy Wisk, which Archer says still depends on closing conditions. Volant's English release calls 20 of 50 aircraft firm and does not classify the other 30.
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