FAA Releases Draft Design Standards for Heliports and Vertiports

The FAA has released draft design standards for the places helicopters, eVTOL air taxis and other vertical-flight aircraft take off and land. Draft Advisory Circular 150/5390-4, “Vertical Flight Aircraft Infrastructure Design,” came out October 22. It combines the current heliport design advisory circular and the FAA’s interim vertiport guidance into one document. The public has until January 11, 2027, to comment.

What’s in the draft

The draft replaces AC 150/5390-2D, Heliport Design, and Engineering Brief 105A, Vertiport Design. According to the FAA’s announcement and industry letter, the draft is more performance-based. It sizes facilities around the aircraft that will actually use them instead of fixed categories. Key changes include:

• One standard for heliports and vertiports. Helicopters and powered-lift aircraft would follow the same framework, with notes where their needs differ.
• Touchdown areas based on landing data. Touchdown and liftoff area (TLOF) sizes would be based on rotor diameter, using FAA research on how far from the aiming point aircraft actually land.
• Transport heliports eliminated. The separate transport heliport category goes away, while hospital heliports and vertiports keep specific guidance.
• Approach slopes for powered-lift. The draft sets a maximum approach surface slope of 15:1 for powered-lift aircraft.
• Downwash and outwash areas. A new caution area would be marked wherever rotor wash is expected to reach about 34.5 mph or more, to protect people and objects near the pad.
• On-airport operations. New guidance covers spacing between helipads and runways, wake turbulence and aiming points for vertical-flight operations on airports.

“The next generation of aircraft is here, and we are ensuring we have the infrastructure built to support safe takeoffs and landings for them across the National Airspace System,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in the release. The FAA tied the draft to the Unleashing Drone Dominance executive order and said data from the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program will help refine future standards.

How to weigh in

Comments go to [email protected] using the FAA’s Excel comment matrix by January 11, 2027. The FAA will hold a virtual Industry Day on November 10, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST (8 to 11:30 a.m. MST). Questions for that session are due by November 2. The FAA says it expects to publish final standards in summer 2027.

Why drone pilots should pay attention

The draft doesn’t mention small drones, and it doesn’t change Part 107. But it affects the low-altitude airspace drone pilots share with helicopters. More hospital helipads, rooftop vertiports and on-airport vertical-flight pads will mean more aircraft flying low near the urban and suburban areas where many commercial drone jobs happen.

The broader regulations for routine drone operations are still in progress. The final Part 108 rule for beyond visual line of sight operations remains under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where it has been since July 10, according to Reginfo.gov. At the NBAA business aviation convention this week, FAA and industry speakers described Part 108 and the related Part 146 rule for automated data service providers as key to moving drone operations from one-off waivers to everyday use.

What this means for drone pilots

• Know where helicopters fly. Hospital helipads and heliports appear on sectional charts and in the Chart Supplement. Medical helicopters can arrive at any time and low. Give them plenty of space and yield right of way, as Part 107 requires.
• Rotor wash is real. The new downwash caution areas are a reminder that air from large rotors can push a small drone off course well away from the pad. Don’t fly near active helipads or vertiports.
• Expect more low-altitude traffic. As air taxis and Part 108 drones arrive, see-and-avoid skills and airspace knowledge will matter even more. Our Part 107 course covers airspace classes, chart symbols and right-of-way rules.
• Comment if you’re affected. Public safety, infrastructure and inspection operators who work around heliports can share their experience through the comment process.

Sources: FAA news release; FAA draft advisory circulars; FAA industry letter on Draft AC 150/5390-4; Reginfo.gov Part 108 review status; NBAA-BACE.

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