EASA dropped big news on Monday, announcing a proposed special condition under which electric VTOL aircraft under 2000kg may be certified in the European Union. This is the most concrete pathway to certification from a major western regulator and is sure to be followed closely by the FAA (which tends to keep regulations in sync with Europe for the most part, and vice versa). I'll take a quick look at the updated rule and identify the novel issues raised. Several of the points are sure to be contentious, and I expect the public comment period to be quite lively.
It’s common knowledge that most new technologies are overhyped during early development. Technology advisory firm Gartner terms this process the hype cycle and suggests that there are five stages. Sure, it's made up and it's not really a cycle, but we'll go with it: