CNN
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The Federal Aviation Administration has released new rules it calls “the final piece of the puzzle” to allow electric “air taxis” that are part helicopter, part airplane, to begin zipping through the skies.

On Tuesday, the FAA released 880 pages of special regulations that spell out how pilots will learn the new subset of aircraft designs, part of a burgeoning multibillion-dollar industry flooded with investment money in hope for a future that closely mirrors the flying cars of “The Jetsons.”

“This introduces a whole new category of aircraft,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said during the announcement at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas.

“Over the last 80 years, we’ve had two types of aircraft: rotor and fixed-wing,” Whitaker said. “Now we have a third guy.”

Known as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft, the FAA now recognizes these models as falling under its new motorized transportation category. The plane can fly like an airplane but take off and land like helicopters at traditional airports as well as new, purpose-built vertiports in urban areas.

“This rule will create an operational environment,” Whitaker said.

The FAA chief was flanked by a full-size model of the five-seat, six-rotor design from Joby Aviation of California, which claims its competitor in the category will cruise at 200 miles per hour and emit a signature sound as calm like a normal conversation. Joby hopes to bring its plane to market by 2025, but it has not yet been certified by the FAA to carry paying passengers.

“The regulations issued today will ensure that the United States continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight,” JoeBen Bevirt of Joby said in a statement. “Delivering the rules ahead of schedule is a testament to the dedication, coordination and hard work of the rulemaking team.”