UAS Separation from UAS

Jingwen Cai

ERAU ASCI 530 Research Assignment

The monitoring and maintaining of the separation of the unmanned aerial systems from the NAS is through the current FAA regulations and heavily rely on modern technologies.  The FAA notice N JO 7210.873 provides information and interim guidance on air traffic policies and prescribes procedures for the planning, coordination, and services involving the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace system (NAS).

The separation of the UAS requires a letter of agreement (LOA) if there is conflict, and each UAS must apply for a certificate of waiver or authorization (COA) before a specific UA’s activity is authorized. The FAA will review the UAS basic information, such as method of air traffic control (ATC) communications, surveillance capability, system monitoring/recording capability, flight plan, and reports of past incidents or accidents. 

The UAS shall have the sense-and-avoid method that provides an equivalent level of safety comparable to see-and-avoid requirements for manned aircraft. Technologies used to meet this requirement includes, but not limited to, radar observations, forward-or side-looking cameras, electronic detection systems, visual observation from ground sites, monitoring by patrol or chase aircraft, or a combination there of. 

UAs are required to be equipped with standard aircraft anti-collision or navigation lights following in 14 CFR, section 23.1401, and an altitude encoding transponder that meet the specification of 14 CFR, section 91.215.  The transponder must  be set to operate on a code assigned by ATC. In the event of lost link, the UA must squawk code 7600.

Direct two-way radio communication with ATC and the UA pilot is required at all times. This will ensure the monitoring and maintaining of the UA flying in the NAS at all time.  

For the difference airspaces, UAS is not allowed to operate in class B at this time, but all other airspaces.

For different sizes of the UAS, the requirement is a little different. The UAS manufacturer goes through a 3 to 5 year process to obtain a type certificate, which enables the issuance of a standard airworthiness certificate according to FAA requirement.  The pilots of small UAS is also required to pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test and obtain an unmanned aircraft operator certificate with a small UAS rating.

In 2012, Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95). In section 333 of Public Law 112-95, Congress also directed the Secretary to determine whether “certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system.”

FAA encourages to develop and integrate UAS enabling technologies within the NAS infrastructure. UASs aren’t a part of NextGen, but NextGen technology such as NVS will play a role in their safe integration in to the NAS. NVS, which takes advantage of modern router-based communications, will enable FAA to route, monitor and share information among facilities across the country. System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is the data-sharing backbone of NextGen, which distributes the weather and flight planning information to the NAS. The Flight information exchange model (FIXM) is developed to serve as a global standard for sharing data about flights. ERAM is the next generation computer system for en route centers, which control high-altitude traffic. Data Comm is for delivering message via digital format. 

In summary, the roadmap for UAS merging into the NAS is planned and quickly getting updated with new technology innovations.

Reference:

N JO 7210.873. July 11, 2014. Unmanned Aircraft operations in the national airspace systems (NAS). Retrieved on May 29, 2016 from http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Notice/N_JO_7210.873_Unmanned_Aircraft_Operations.pdf

Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Federal Aviation Administration. https://www.faa.gov/uas/

Billing Code 4910-13-P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Parts 21, 43, 45, 47, 61, 91, 101, 107, and 183 [Docket No.: FAA-2015-0150; Notice No. 15-01] RIN 2120–AJ60 Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Retrieved on May 29, 2016 from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-AJ60_NPRM_2-15-2015_joint_signature.pdf

NextGen. FAA. Retrieved on May 29. 2016 from http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/media/NextGenUpdate2014.pdf

UAS comprehensive plan, JPDO. The secretary of Transportation. Nov 6, 2013.Retrieved on May 29, 2016  from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agi/reports/media/UAS_Comprehensive_Plan.pdf