In case your final gig was govt director of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Unmanned Plane Methods (UAS) Integration Workplace, the place do you go from there? Jay Merkle simply revealed his subsequent position: senior director of regulatory affairs at Supernal.
Supernal is a U.S.-based mobility service supplier related to Hyundai. Primarily based in X, it’s constructing an Superior Air Mobility eVTOL car that could possibly be accessible to the lots. The corporate is a subsidiary of South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group, which might give it a leg up given the corporate’s current automotive manufacturing heritage.
In his new position, Merkle will assist develop an built-in regulatory and coverage framework to help AAM operations globally.
“My three many years on the FAA have been targeted on making our airspace extra environment friendly, adaptable and strong – all of that are qualities that shall be much more essential with the introduction of a brand new class of plane,” Merkle mentioned in a ready assertion. “I look ahead to collaborating carefully with Supernal’s coverage, authorized, compliance and engineering groups to offer a complete resolution for AAM that delivers new ranges of mobility whereas sustaining uncompromising security requirements.”
Merkle, who beforehand spent 30 years on the Federal Aviation Administration, ought to seemingly have the ability to assist Supernal combine AAM into current transportation networks and airspace. He formally turned the brand new head of UAS Integration on the finish of 2018, following up a job because the FAA’s Deputy Vice President for the FAA Air Visitors Group’s Program Administration Workplace. In that place, he was concerned with the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Functionality (LAANC) program, which permits drone operators to make use of an interface (designed by FAA-selected non-public firms) to request approval to fly in restricted airspace.
His time heading up the FAA’s drone workplace included main the protected integration of drones into the Nationwide Airspace System. He oversaw the creation of the Information Take a look at for Leisure Flyers, which he particularly mentioned was supposed to be “a enjoyable, pleasing format as a substitute of a restrictive, boring format.” He was co-chair of the BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee, was created to assist the FAA develop a regulatory path for routine Past Visible Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.
Jay Merkle has a bachelor’s diploma in psychology from the College of Central Florida and a grasp’s diploma in industrial engineering and operations analysis from Virginia Tech.
And Jay Merkle isn’t the one notable identify over at Supernal. Different FAA veterans who now work for Supernal embody Mike Whitaker. And the Supernal coverage and rules staff is led by an excellent notable identify within the drone trade, Diana Marina Cooper, who beforehand got here from a four-year profession at drone and UAV distant sensing firm PrecisionHawk.
Hyundai Motor Group created Supernal in 2021. It plans to start certification with U.S. regulatory businesses in 2024, and from there launch its first business flight in 2028. If profitable, it says it intends to scale operations and develop larger all through the 2030s. Supernal is on a hiring tear, with greater than 70 roles open inside the USA.
