The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) today awarded Design Organization Approval (DOA) to eVTOL aircraft developer Volocopter. As an approved design organization, the company now has a higher level of authority to conduct tasks associated with the development and manufacturing of aircraft under EASA rules and process.

Volocopter claims to be the first eVTOL start-up company to receive the DOA clearance from EASA. The German company says this will give it a competitive edge in being able to accelerate the pace of getting its aircraft into production.

The DOA process means that EASA exercises its oversight of approved companies as a whole. This reduces the number of steps that have to be completed on the path to granting type certification and airworthiness approval for products.

“Awarding the first DOA with a scope of work for VTOL is a milestone for industry,” commented EASA executive director Patrick Ky. “We are happy about the successful cooperation and the fact that our safety standards are now part of the rising eVTOL market.”

In July 2019, EASA published its new Special Condition rules for certifying VTOL aircraft. Volocopter is seeking type certification for its VoloCity aircraft by the end of 2022.