Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Civil Airworthiness Regulatory System: A Case Study

Abstract

Thelastfewyearshavewitnessedanumberofworldwideinitiativesdevotedtoassessthesafetylevelsofunmanned aircraft. These initiatives are very heterogeneous; some of them are centered in airworthiness aspects, while others focus on operations. From the point of view of a potential unmanned aircraft system manufacturer, the actual situationisfullofuncertaintiesrelatedtotheregulationsthatshouldbeappliedtocertifythedesign,manufacturing, and maintenance, and from the point of view of the potential operator, the situation is analogous with respect to operational procedures. The objective of this work is to clarify the present regulatory scene of civil airworthiness from the manufacturer’s viewpoint, by summarizing all regulatory efforts up to date and analyzing them contrastively, also including the manned regulations. The most representative state-of-the-art unmanned aircraft systems are examined regarding the existing and future regulatory framework. The main aspects to be considered refer to airworthiness certification (e.g., performances, structural design, etc.). Finally, a quantitative assessment is established to clarify how the new regulatory framework, mainly based on the conventional aircraft certification codes, will affect future unmanned aircraft system, as compared with the existing regulations.