Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005-2030 - Federation of ...

UAS ROADMAP 2005
knowledge skills required of UA operators operating in the NAS; this minimum standard may differ for
given classes of UA. UA operators 3 will be expected to conform to these requirements.
Another issue that arises is when civilian pilots, such as those working for an aircraft manufacturer
building UA for the military, need to fly their company's product during the performance of a military
contract, such as for test, production delivery, and acceptance (DD Form 250) flights. The Defense
Contract Management Agency (DCMA), which is responsible for such activities leading up to the
acceptance of aircraft by the government, has established a policy letter (DCMA Instruction 8210.1, dated
13 November 2002) requiring all contractor UA operators to hold a current FAA Private or Commercial
Pilot and Instrument rating to fly outside of restricted or warning areas. This policy has already been
waived in certain conditions when the operator training and currency requirements have been found
adequate for the operation. Qualification standards for non-military UA operators and maintainers will
eventually need an FAA rating that reflects the type of aircraft they are operating.
SEE AND AVOID PRINCIPLE
A key requirement for routine access to the NAS is UA compliance with 14 CFR 91.113, “Right-of-Way
Rules: Except Water Operations.” This is the Section that contains the phrase “see and avoid,” and is the
primary restriction to normal operations of UA. The intent of “see and avoid” is for pilots to use their
sensors (eyes) and other tools to find and maintain situational awareness of other traffic and to yield the
right-of- way, in accordance with the rules, when there is a traffic conflict. Since the purpose of this
regulation is to avoid mid-air collisions, this should be the focus of technological efforts to address the
issue as it relates to UA rather than trying to mimic and/or duplicate human vision. In June 2003,
USAF’s Air Combat Command (ACC) sponsored a joint working group to establish and quantify a S&A
system capability for submission to the FAA; their White Paper, See and Avoid Requirement for
Remotely Operated Aircraft, was released in June 2004.
Relying simply on human vision results in mid-airs accounting for an average of 0.8 percent of all
mishaps and 2.4 percent of all aviation fatalities incurred annually (based on the 3-year average from
1998 to 2000). 4 Meaningful S&A performance must alert the UA operator to local air traffic at ranges
sufficient for reaction time and avoidance actions by safe margins. Furthermore, UA operations BLOS
may require an automated S&A system due to potential communications latencies or failures.
The FAA does not provide a quantitative definition of S&A, largely due to the number of combinations of
pilot vision, collision vectors, sky background, and aircraft paint schemes involved in seeing oncoming
traffic. Having a sufficient field of regard (FOR) for a UA S&A system, however, is fundamental to
meeting the goal of assured air traffic separation. The FAA does provide a cockpit field of regard
recommendation in its Advisory Circular 25.773-1, but the purpose of AC 25.773-1 does not specifically
mention S&A.
Although an elusive issue, one fact is apparent. The challenge with the S&A issue is based on a
capability constraint, not a regulatory one. Given the discussions in this and other analyses, a possible
definition for S&A systems emerges: S&A is the onboard, self-contained ability to
� Detect traffic that may be a conflict
� Evaluate flight paths
� Determine traffic right-of-way
� Maneuver well clear according to the rules in Part 91.113, or
3
NOTE: UA operators may, or may not, be "rated pilots." For this Airspace Integration Plan, "operator" is the
generic term to describe the individual with the appropriate training and Service certification for the type of UA
being operated, and as such, is responsible for the air vehicle's operations and safety.
4
National Transportation Safety Board aviation statistics.
APPENDIX F – AIRSPACE
Page F-7