Aviation Project

Research Project Proposal

Submitted to the Worldwide Campus

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

Of a Course ASCI 490, the Aeronautic Science Capstone Course

For the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics Degree

March 30, 2016

INTRODUCTION

New technologies generate new issues and new industries. The introduction of the automobile more than 100 years ago, brought about engine noise, reckless driving, speeding, collisions, and pedestrian injuries as new setbacks requiring fresh solutions (Dalamagkidis, 2015). For more than a decade after the introduction of the first motor-vehicles in the road, there were no center lines painted to separate vehicles on the highway, no municipal ordinances passed to regulate horn use and states had not introduced vehicle licensing. Many manufacturers in the industry used their own unique components and there were a wide range of gasoline, steam and electric vehicles (Bender, 2013). However, all these came to standardizations and there are rules and regulations governing the industry. Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Good!

Today, the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), in the airlines for commercial and civil purposes is in its early daysformative years, bringing about a similar set of new social and legal issues and presenting a comparable assortment of productsnew uses (Bender, 2013). Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones drones, consistcomprise of an aircraft and its various elements which are controlled in the absence of a pilot on board. Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), a subset of UAS, are a set of configurable components which consist of a distantly piloted aircraft, its associated far-off pilot station(s), the necessary command and control elements among other system components as may be vital, at any point in the course of flight operations (Byman, 2015). The term drone is used to describe both UAS and RPAS. A drone operator is an individual, company or business involved in, or offering to take part in a drone operation (Neubauer, 2016). Drones have the potential to the realization on numerous changes in the way government authorities operate. At the moment, companies and public agencies are thinking of ways to make prolific use of drones (Neubauer, 2016). Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Cite this definition Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Good Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Re-write this sentence--awkward

UAS are not a new occurrence as their introduction dates back to the mid-1800. However, their development in the commercial and civil sectors is comparatively recent. Unmanned aircraft systems are currently being introduced in various countries (Byman, 2015). Nevertheless, their rate of development in these nations will be determined, in part, by the issuance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directives presiding over the operation and integration of drones in the airlines. To date, the development of UAS has been driven chiefly by military uses. However, analysts foresee a rapid change leading to their worldwide use in commercial and civil purposes (Cavoukian, 2014). Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Cite Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Do you mean for commercial use, or specifically used by the airlines; or their impact on airline operation? Be clear.

Problem statement

Despite the availability of the various sources of information regarding the drones industry and its application in the military and warfare, less attention has been directed on the integration of the UAS in the airlines, either for commercial or civil purposes. There is still confusion on the use of UAS for purposes other than in the security (Neubauer, 2016). Many do not have a clear picture of how it will be to introduce drones in the airlines, the prevailing setbacks and how the aviation authorities are working on finding new solutions and arrive at standardized rules and regulations. In addition numerous myths regarding their role in the future exist. Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: See above. I guess I have trouble with this term… (I think you mean in commercial transportation (of “things”) Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: Ensure you are clear about connecting “skills of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis” and your demonstration of critical thought to “gathered existing data …to extend that information into new uses and concept.” The new part is most difficult to show in the POs. Reference: (ERAU Undergraduate Policy Guide, 2015, p. 10)

Research questions

1. What are the various operation concepts of UAS?

2. What are the various applications of UAS in the airfield operations?

3. What are the factors affecting growth prospects of UAS?

4. Do UAS have a future in the commercial and public sectors?

Research Methodology Comment by Jeffrey LaPoint: This is not the correct Template for Proposal. Use the University-approved “Proposal Template” located in the course Documents (See attached for example)

In an attempt to find responses to these questions, the investigator will conduct a systematic process of research. First it is important to briefly highlight the history of UAS on their airfield operations as well as their various operation concepts. Next, the researcher will discuss the various applications of UAS in airfield operations and some of the factors slowing down their integration. Lastly, a brief outline on the future on drones in airfield operations will be presented.

After completing the steps above, an analysis of the information to identify the best way of integrating UAS in airfield operations will be conducted. To sum it up, the research findings will be discussed and final remarks as well as recommendations made.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Brief history of UAS

In 1977 when George Lucas, in his film - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, popularized the use of droids which are worker robots programmed to take care of humanity's every need, many perceived him as a sci-fi visionary. Nevertheless, after nearly four decades, the idea of flying robotic companions, surveillance cameras, and unmanned aircraft transporting supplies globally is gaining ground (Byman, 2015 & Sifton, 2016).

The first delivery of drone in the United States happened in 2015 (summer), marking a significant breakthrough in the design and development of the new drone technology. In 2013, Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO made public the firm’s aim with regards to deployment of delivery drones. In May 2015, the FAA in collaboration with CNN launched the Pathfinder Program which was intended to test how drones can be deployed for newsgathering missions in urban areas (Cavoukian, 2014). Additionally, Precision Hawk, a drone manufacturer and BNSF Railroad, a transport company are similarly testing drone flights which are beyond the visual line of sight of a pilot. FAA has also set at least six (UAS) test sites countrywide and it has given blanket authorization for entities to fly any type of drone lower than 200 feet or 61 meters, supplanting the requirement to get distinct approvals mostly for every robotic aircraft.

Whereas countries such as Canada, Australia, and Switzerland have taken great strides with regards to commercialization of drones, several FAA's critics accentuate that such countries have favorable regulatory environments (Bender, 2013 & Sifton, 2016). However, with more than 18,000 airports; 690 air traffic control facilities; as well as intricate general aviation trepidations to manage, U.S. airspace is disputably the most sophisticated globally. The FAA, being at the forefront in incorporating new technology mostly into U.S. airspace for almost five decades, is keen on integrating UAS in a much safer and incremental manner (Cavoukian, 2014).

UAS Concept of operation

The concept of operation has been developed to tackle the incorporation and acceptance of UAS into the current airfield systems in a proportionate and safe manner as well as to foster a competitive and innovative drone industry, creating employment opportunities especially for SMEs. According to Cavoukian (2014), the integration of UAS should be controlled in a way proportionate to the risk of the particular operation. Based on the wide range of activities and types of UAS, it is suggested to set up three categories of airfield operations and their associated regulatory system, that is, Open, Specific and Certified.

Open category

According to previous research, the open category UAS should keep on within distinct restrictions (distance from people, aerodromes, etc) for the operation, though they do not require an approval by an Aviation Authority for the air travel (Consiglio, 2015 & Sifton, 2016). The category encompasses the very low risk UAS operations, thus no Aviation Authority involvement even for commercial activities. Without any licenses and approvals for pilots and operators, no airworthiness authorization is projected. Basically, it is meant for simple operations and the SMEs to obtain experience (Neubauer, 2016). Since there is separation with manned aviation, the danger for other airspace users is minimized.

According to Byman (2015), the UAS must be operated 500m under direct visual line of sight, at an altitude of less than 150 m above water or ground outside specific reserved areas such as airports. In addition, the drones use low energy and establish minimum distances depending on the presence of people on the ground. The category is operated by people as young as 14 years (Consiglio, 2015).

Specific operation category

The specific operation category will need an operations approval by an Aviation Authority with specified restriction tailored to the operation. The category should perform activities that are outside the capabilities of the open category where further operational restrictions or higher capacity of the involved personnel or equipment will be incorporated to mitigate certain risks (Consiglio, 2015). Through identifying mitigation measures that will be evaluated and authorized by the international aviation authorities, the operator should conduct a safety risk assessment. In addition, Operations Authorization (OA) will be issued by the international aviation authorities.

According to Consiglio (2015)., the minimum safety level to assess airworthiness ought to be solely based on the safety risk assessment results. Additionally, the airworthiness assessment is strongly connected to the operational environment and operational procedures; for instance, all operations with close proximity to crowds may possibly be acceptable only if the vehicle has been installed some extra functionality (such as, automatic procedure to check loss of link, devices limiting impact energy). In addition the operation procedures should be sufficient. The appropriate competence of the concerned staff will also be identified exclusively based on the safety risk assessment results. It may vary from definite training up to an accredited aviation authority license. Moreover, standards can well be developed for the pilots’ and other staff assessment so that they may be given an opportunity to prove basic competence.

Neubauer (2016), suggests that, an operations manual will be necessary to explain the standard operating procedures, set airworthiness level and mandatory competence of concerned staff; the kind of airspace taking into account the final outcomes of the safety risk assessment.

Certified category

This category is the third pillar of the planned regulatory framework. It might be quite similar to what is implemented with regards to piloted aircraft. It can be anticipated that the competent and legal authorities may perhaps be similar as for manned aircraft. Such competent authorities can rely on Qualified Entities to carry out all the technical tasks (Consiglio, 2015). Furthermore, the need for a certified category might be debated since one may perhaps envisage a scenario whereby the specific category might not have a set upper limit. Still, this could be challenged considering many reasons.

First, a completely regulated approach may possibly be essential for political reasons or otherwise opportune for practical reasons. It might be difficult for the masses to accept a drone similar to a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 in size which is not certified (Consiglio, 2015). Alternative reason related to the regulated approach is that, it can restrict the number and frequency of safety risk assessments to be done when they deal with similar operations (Byman, 2015). The delineation of the limit between certified and specific is quite open at this point. Nevertheless it could be centered on type of operations, kinetic energy considerations, and drone complexity particularly in terms of its autonomy.

Applications of drones in the airfield operations

Agriculture

Since flight over farm fields have low risk to people, property and aircraft, some analysts are for the idea that, agriculture will be among the first industries to benefit from the wide use of UAS. UAS have prospective uses in precision agriculture, which entails the application of detailed data on soils, nutrients, crops, moisture, pests, and yield to boost farm production. Cameras aboard UAS, for instance, might make available infrared imagery that can make the identification of the precise sites of insect infestations or weed emergence making it possible for farmers to take action in a targeted manner instead of treating acreage needlessly (Cavoukian, 2014). According to the American Farm Bureau, farmers using UAS services to check on their farms could witness a return on investment of 12 dollars per acre, 2.60 dollars per acre for soybeans, and 2.30 dollars per acre for corn, soybeans and wheat respectively. Ultimately, farmers might use drones for targeted use of pesticides and herbicides.

Real Estate

Although still awaiting FAA approval to commercialize their operations, Real Estates are currently using drones photography instead of more costly images previously captured by helicopters. Other than the images of inhabited real estate, UAS are likely to be applied in capturing the scale and details of huge commercial tracts such as malls, office parks and undeveloped land. Observers see a potential for UAS becoming a regular property safeguarding tool, being applied to look over properties after vandalism or storms (Neubauer, 2016).

Utilities

According to ongoing studies, utilities are projected to apply UAS for surveying, surveillance and inspection of the pipelines and electrical system. In particular, utilities, perceive the value of drones in carrying out repairs caused by natural calamities, when roads may be impenetrable. UAS also provide a way to observe towers, transmission lines, and substations, often situated in remote areas (Cavoukian, 2014). According to data by the Edison Electric Institute, a service trade organization, UAS could advance worker safety, as ropes and scaffolding currently used to examine generating amenities could be mostly replaced with distantly operated UAS.

Construction

Researchers speculate that the initial applications of drones in construction are likely to entail mapping and inspection work. As a result of more precise topographical mapping, more accurate project designs, minimizing the number of costly alterations made in the field in the course of the construction process. In addition, Neubauer (2016), foresees an improvement in worker safety removing some of the high-elevation checks currently done with scaffolding or lifts, such as checking caulking joints in a lofty building’s envelope. The Associated General Contractors of America foresee a possibility of UAS documenting the progress of constructions, giving a visual record that could decrease later clashes between landowners and contractors, and could ultimately be employed to transport equipment and tools from one place to another.

Factors affecting growth prospects of UAS

According to analysts, there are three important regulatory issues and a technology setback that are likely to have an effect on the development and integration of UAS in airfield operation (Cronin, 2015). These include the FAA drone testing plans, the final FAA regulations overseeing the industry, privacy issues and advancement in airspace management and sense-and-avoid technologies (Byman, 2015).

FAA Testing Plans

The 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act directed FAA to identify six locations to find out how UAS could be incorporated into the airspace system. Announced towards the end of 2013, the six sites, receive no federal financial support (Cavoukian, 2014). Some 25 states in the U.S. offered to host the test sites, often under the belief that they would bring added employment opportunities and investment. The sites hosts include The University of Alaska, The state of Nevada, NY’s Griffiss International Airport, North Dakota Department of Commerce, Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. For instance, according to Cronin (2015), Brian Sandoval, the Nevada Governor stated that hosting a site could translate to billions of dollars in a newly invented investment, create thousands of technical jobs and make the state an anchor tenant in a in a newly invented and growing industry.

However, as per the findings by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), things might turn out differently. In a recent report the office proposed that the ambiguity concerning the type of studies they are to carry out (Robinson, 2013). Nevertheless, despite challenges in attracting drone industry involvement, the sites recorded 195 test flights in the course of their first year. It is projected that studies conducted by the test sites will go on till 2017, but if FAA does not collect valuable data from these tests, regulations authorizing UAS activities in the airfield may be deferred or restricted in scope.

Final Federal Drone Regulations

In early 2015, FAA notified the public on the projected rulemaking as a step in the direction of regulations that will clarify safety rules for non-recreational drones less than 55 pounds. The notice proposes to restrict air travel to daytime and visual-line-of-sight activities. In addition, FAA plans to require only one operator for each UAS, which could restrict the business feasibility of some prospective applications of drones (Byman, 2015). The notice also outlines height limitation, non-compulsory use of a visual observer, operator certification prerequisites, operational limits and aircraft registration and marking. However, FAA may not issue final rules until late 2016 or early 2017 (Cronin, 2015).

Today, some countries such as Canada, Australia, France and the UK are moving ahead with the concluding regulations concerning the integration of UAS in the airfield operations (Bender, 2013). As a result, some U.S. companies have resorted to carrying out research in countries overseas. For instance, Amazon and Google have tested a package delivery UAS in Canada and Australia respectively (Bender, 2013).

Privacy Concerns

Despite the introduction of several bills on the topic of privacy in Congress with no enactment of new laws, there has been no directive regarding the issue of privacy implications of drone airfield operations in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. FAA failed to incorporate privacy standards in its anticipated rule on small UAS and their use in airfield operations. This has led to the issuance of a memorandum by President Obama, which directs federal agencies to deal with the privacy principles with regard to drones. Two main privacy issues linked to commercial use of drones: describing the meaning of “privacy” in the context of UAS and identifying a state entity to monitor such issues (Cavoukian, 2014). According to scholars, progress in dealing with these concerns may have an effect on the rate at which UAS are incorporated in the airfield operations.

Airspace Management and Sense-and-Avoid Technology

Currently, FAA is plausibly concerned about the safety of UAS as they may crash into other aircraft, buildings, or people below a flying drone. To tackle those concerns, suggested rules would oblige the pilot to keep a line of sight with the aircraft. This “see-and-avoid” limitation - quoted in FAA’s suggested UAS rules as one of the elementary principles for crash prevention- would restrict the range of drones and hinder the introduction of more complicated UAS that could travel over longer distances (Cronin, 2015).

Sense-and-avoid technologies under progress could prevail over the existing restraint through utilization of radar and electronic systems. A technology called ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) to be mandatory on airliners by 2020 provides sense-and-avoid capacities, but it is at the moment too large and costly for UAS (Cavoukian, 2014). As a result, a Bellevue, WA, firm and Google are separately trying to come up with radar scanning and smaller lightweight versions of ADS-B as well as two sense-and-avoid expertises that would be more suitable for UAS use. Such technologies could permit drones to operate in congested airspace, potentially widening their commercial uses. As part of the general inclusion of UAS into the airspace, it will be essential to set up the infrastructure and technology for a drone traffic supervision system for low-altitude airspace (Cronin, 2015). NASA is leading research, development, testing, and implementation of the system.

The future of UAS in air operations

Forecasts concerning the drone industry contrast greatly. Deloitte presumes that the total revenue from the selling of nonmilitary drones will range between $250 million and $450 million in 2016, this is much comparable a single mid-size passenger jet’s price. Longer-term predictions are more sanguine, estimating that the value of commercial drones could be a billion-dollar industry mostly by the 2020s (Finn, 2016).

Whereas the FAA persistently works to complete UAS regulations, other aviation stakeholders especially business entities are taking steps by engaging in research into conceivable applications related to UAS and they are prepared to deploy or launch those systems when formal operating rules are ratified (Byman, 2015).

Presently, more than 26 industries are patiently waiting and preparing for the FAA’s final rule on regulation of small unmanned aircraft (especially those weighing below 55 pounds) just before deploying such systems within their normal operations (Dalamagkidis, 2008). Besides, to understand and capitalize on the UAS full potential, issues like the ability of such systems to actually detect and avoid other flying aircraft need also be determined and resolved.

In January 2016, ABI’s Kara authored a report predicting that by the year 2019, the value of commercial small UAS industry will exceed over $5.1 billion (Dalamagkidis , 2015 & Finn, 2016). This amount is almost five times more than the revenue from the customer UAS market besides being twice the revenues generated from combined civil and military market presently dominating the drone industry. Kara stressed that the expansion and diversification strategies adopted by both consumer and military drone manufacturers into the commercial market for example, Lockheed Martin's acquisition of avionics’ developer - Procerus Technologies plus Parrot's acquirement of senseFly- demonstrate how the big players reach agreement. More so, Kara assumes that the market's key driver will be the services related to drones, such as, data processing and fleet management systems. Sony's diversification in July 2015 to start offering surveying and data inspection services is an impeccable example (Finn, 2016).

All in all, advanced drone development and their assimilation in non-segregated airspace will present entirely new challenges. While flying a single drone in a potentially non-segregated airspace alongside cooperative aircraft can be carried out with suitable coordination as well as special procedures, the operation of several drones perhaps with non-cooperative aircraft will be complex and will need extra measures to be considered (Cavoukian, 2014).. The operational concept will need to be much more developed to deal with issues associated with operations or deployment of a fleet of drones particularly in the non-segregated airspace (Byman, 2015 & Dalamagkidis, 2015). Such operations of a fleet of drones will present new challenges which have not hitherto been explored especially with manned aircraft operations. Such integration will need to be carried out in full coordination with the anticipated development of the state-of-the-art ICAO’s (ASBU) - Aviation System Block Upgrades which is being executed through the SESAR programme in Europe, for instance.

References

Bender, A. (2013). Drones to deliver parcels in Australia starting in March.

Byman, D. (2015). Why drones work. Foreign Affairs, 92(4), 32-43.

Cavoukian, A. (2014). Privacy and drones: Unmanned aerial vehicles (pp. 1-30). Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada.

Consiglio, M. C., Chamberlain, J. P., Munoz, C. A., & Hoffler, K. D. (2015). Concepts of Integration for UAS Operations in the NAS.

Cronin, A. K. (2015). Why drones fail. Foreign Affairs, 92(4), 44-54.

Dalamagkidis, K., Valavanis, K. P., & Piegl, L. A. (2008). Current status and future perspectives for unmanned aircraft system operations in the US. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic

Systems, 52(2), 313-329.

Dalamagkidis, K., Valavanis, K. P., & Piegl, L. A. (2015). On integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system: issues, challenges, operational restrictions, certification, and recommendations (Vol. 54). Springer Science & Business Media.

Finn, R. L., & Wright, D. (2012). Unmanned aircraft systems: Surveillance, ethics and privacy in civil applications. Computer Law & Security Review, 28(2), 184-194.

Neubauer, K., Fleet, D., Grosoli, F., & Verstynen, H. (2016). Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) at Airports: A Primer (No. Project 03-30).

Robinson, P. (2013). Government accountability and performance measurement. Critical Perspectives on Accountability, 14(1), 171-186.

Sifton, J. (2016). A brief history of drones. The Nation, 7.

Weibel, R. E., & Hansman, R. J. (2016). Safety considerations for operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the national airspace system.