ASTM International has approved a new standard establishing minimum training requirements for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drone) operators. The new standard, which will be published as F3379, addresses general, field and search-specific knowledge and skills for UAS pilots operating from remote locations. According to ASTM, it was designed to support public safety agencies fielding UAS teams.
Courtesy of NIST (2020)
“While other ASTM standards address the general and overarching aspects of UAS, the new standard focuses on the specific challenges for public safety remote pilots within their operational environment,” said Praxis Aerospace Concepts International CEO and ASTM International member Jonathan Daniels.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued the proposed rule for remote identification of drones. The proposed Remote I.D. rule would apply to all drones that are required to register with the FAA (recreational drones weighing under 0.55 pounds are not required to register), as well as to people who operate foreign civil drone in the United States.
Jonathan Daniels, PACI’s CEO, represented ASTM as a voting member on the 2017 FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee, and coined the term “electronic license plate”
Read the unpublished notice here, and check frequently for the public comment period.
The D&R testing is comprised of test hours and cycles fully representative of desired operating state operations. The D&R testing must also include verification of all operational limits and the entire aircraft flight envelope to ensure testing thoroughly encompasses the possible conditions that will be encountered in service.
D&R Test Hour Requirements
Population density (people per square mile)
Baseline configuration (flight hours)
Reduced probability of injury configuration <30% AIS 3 or greater injury (flight hours)
Up to 100 (Rural)
375
150
Up to 3000
1100
540
Up to 7000
2500
1300
Up to 10,000
3600
1800
Up to 14,000
5000
2500
Up to 20,000
7200
3600
As a rule, the D&R testing must demonstrate safe flight across the entire operational envelope and up to all operational limitations, for all phases of flight and all aircraft configurations.
Applicants will only be certificated to fly within limitations that have been fully demonstrated in test. For example, the D&R testing must encompass the most adverse weather conditions (wind, temperature, density altitude, precipitation, etc.) for which certification is sought.
Environmental conditions should also be considered, such as humidity, sand, dust, salt, particulates or foreign objects that could be ingested such as insects, etc. Additionally, D&R testing should take place in an operationally representative radio frequency and electromagnetic environment to the extent possible.
With 300+ days of flying weather a year, PACI can support Applicants seeking a Determination of Reliability (with third-party oversight) and our affiliated UAS DAR can assist in obtaining operating approval and permission to fly for the needed limitations.
The Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International earned a 2019 ASAE Power of A Gold Award for its AUVSI Trusted Operator Program (TOP), a certification program to create a culture of safety, reliability, professionalism, and trust within the unmanned aircraft systems remote pilot community, commonly known as drones. As it continues to expand and evolve, the TOP program is building confidence with end-users, driving member engagement, and strengthening the association’s relationship with the FAA.
The program supports pilots who perform a myriad of operations across dozens of industries – including energy, agriculture, construction, mining, and surveying. Because of the agility and precision sensing capabilities of this technology, remote pilots are making work faster, cheaper, cleaner, and – most importantly – safer. While a relatively new profession, remote pilots constitute a rapidly growing population of professionals around the world.
Paul Snyder, director of the UND Aerospace UAS Program, is a member of the ASTM International committee that developed standards for drone operation and maintenance as a joint program with Praxis Aerospace Concepts International Inc. He noted that receiving ASTM’s stamp of approval is important for UND’s UAS students, but also offers the potential to train UAS operators for industry.
You can read the original UND press release here. You can read more about the ASTM-PAVI UAS Approved Training Provider program here.
The
FAA and several industrial partners have successfully concluded real-world
testing of unmanned traffic management systems for integrating drones into
airspace in the USA. “The Eldorado and Piute Valley has been the home of
innovation in UAS airspace for commercial BVLOS operations. We started the
nation’s first commercial droneport in 2015 and expanded our testing corridor
to include Searchlight Airpark in 2017,” explained Jonathan Daniels, PACI’s CEO
and the Airport Manager for Searchlight.
The FAA operational tests were part of a program called the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP) launched in 2017 and conducted at sites in Nevada, North Dakota and Virginia. The UPP aims to help determine the services and capabilities UTM must provide to support extended and enhanced drone operations in the future.
PACI Interns with Representative Titus
PACI interns from the University of Nevada- Las Vegas, certified through AUVSI’s Trusted Operator Program™ and acting as Remote Pilots-in-Command, used the ANRA Technologies DroneUSS™ software platform to coordinate with the other participants of the UPP during operations on the Searchlight Airpark. Nevada’s senior Congresswoman, Dina Titus, later commended their work during the VIP Demo day at the end of the UPP.
UTM software platform for UPP and
see this as a steppingstone to more advanced drone operations at Searchlight
Airpark,” stated Brent Klavon, VP of Operations at ANRA Technologies.
UPP flight tracking with ANRA Technologies DroneUSS™
During the last two weeks of July, several companies
from around the country converged on the Searchlight Airpark to test
Ground-based Detect and Avoid systems with both VLOS and
Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS). These test flights were overseen by a PACI
Remote-Pilot-In-Command using PACI’s Part 107 BVLOS within the Piute Valley.
AirMap provided the PACI operations control center with a real-time operating
picture of the airspace for both manned and unmanned aircraft using their
proven UAS Service Supplier (USS) platform, in a similar manner as to recent
demonstrations with the Virginia UPP, and using ASTM standards in California
and Switzerland.
“We’re offering the UAS industry
a one-stop-shop operation,” said Daniels. “With our full-service facility in
Henderson, our customers are able to integrate system components right into
their new or existing aircraft and then test fly at our FAA UAS Test Range just
a few miles down the road. Our goal was to develop a droneport where new or
existing customers could utilize our capabilities to support their project
without the expense of building up the capability internally or organically- in
the same manner that legacy aviation does with traditional airports.”
About Praxis Aerospace Concepts International, Inc.
Founded in 2011, PACI is a
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business based in Southern Nevada. The
company’s mission is to develop practical solutions for multi-modal
(ground-air-sea-industrial) response robotics and unmanned systems (UxS) using
a mix of proprietary technology, unique team domain expertise, and unique
partnerships, PACI develops and operates laboratory and field facilities for
autonomous systems research, development, test, evaluation, deployment,
commercialization, and training. Praxis Aerospace Concepts International, Inc.
currently serves over 20 clients with military, public and civil
robotics/unmanned systems across the globe.
About ANRA Technologies
ANRA Technologies is a provider of end-to-end solutions for
UAS operators and airspace managers. ANRA has developed two software platforms
for commercial UAS operations. One platform is for UAS traffic management
(DroneUSS™) and the other is for orchestrating workflow (DroneOSS™). Both
platforms have been rigorously tested and vetted by the world’s foremost government
aviation entities and are operational today at multiple test sites, commercial
enterprises and UAS Corridors.
ANRA’s software platform supports a myriad of UAS through a
cloud-based architecture to enable airspace organization and management, flight
awareness, and strategic deconfliction while supporting stakeholder interfaces
and integrations. ANRA Technologies has been working on collaborative UTM
research and deployments with regulators and Air Navigation Service Providers
(ANSP) in United States, United Kingdom, Europe as well as South America.
On the third day of the highly successful North Carolina Drone Summit, a group of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) experts took the stage to discuss what the future of urban air mobility might look like. The panel took questions from an audience eager to learn more about the state of the technology and about the different alternatives available to drone operators today.
Members of the panel were:
Jonathan Daniels (Moderator), CEO Praxis Aerospace
Phillip (Phil) Hall, CEO RelmaTech Ltd. (UK)
Brent Klavon, VP Operations, ANRA Technologies
Laurent Huenaerts, General Manager UNIFLY
Matthew Satterley, Head of Federal Policy and Government Affairs, AIRMAP
PACI provides Third Party Testing Agency (TPTA) services for applicants who seek Part 107.39 Waivers using ASTM as a Method Of Compliance.
The new ASTM standard defines the requirements for the design, manufacturing, and testing of sUAS parachute recovery systems.
Amongst other things, the standard requires an autonomous triggering system to detect failures and deploy the parachute without relying on the RPIC (remote-pilot-in-command) as well as a flight termination system to stop the motors from spinning.
To meet the standard, parachute systems will need to pass a series of aerial deployments (45 for multi-rotors) through which they need to prove the effectiveness of the system in the sUAS’s full flight envelope and in various failure scenario.
F3322-18 requires the integrator/manufacturer to perform a series of over 45 aerial deployments in different scenarios together with a 3rd Party Testing Agency. These scenarios include two types of failures; Full Motor Cut (FMC), basically a complete loss of power to all rotors, and Critical Number Motor Failure (CNMF), a partial failure resulting in only some of the motors malfunctions. These deployments are performed at different UAS states (mainly hover or full forward speed).
Contact us here for more information, or call 702-586-1160 to schedule.
In support of the adoption of Trusted Operator Program™ (TOP) by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Chapters, Praxis Aerospace Concepts International, Inc. (PACI) expands its service by announcing their new, “Chapter Affiliation Incentive Program”. This program is a prime example of PACI’s latest initiatives and commitment to transform organizations by providing the next step of certification in accordance to the AUVSI Trusted Operator Program.
The Trusted Operator Program™(TOP) fills the gap between these minimally prescriptive operating regulations and a higher level of demonstrated knowledge, flight proficiency, safety and risk management practices that is expected to be valued by employers and customers of commercial UAS operators. PACI’s Chapter Affiliation Incentive Program offers a 10% discount on TOP Service Provider certification for Organizational Members of AUVSI Chapters and is in effect as of August 8,2019 and valid until February 1, 2020.
PACI is proud to offer this limited time discounted rate in compliments of other discount programs offered by AUVSI TOP Training Providers. This Program applies to TOP Level 1 and 2 Service Provider certification only and does not apply to individual certifications as TOP Remote Pilots or Instructors. This offer is not valid for colleges already participating in the discounted Section 631 Certification Program.
“Being TOP certified is important as it demonstrates assurance that the Organization meets protocols for competency and safety established by the industry consensus-based standards in the ANSI Standardization Roadmap for UAS,” said Jonathan Daniels, CEO of PACI. “TOP certification is important in terms of success as a professional organization, and has helped early adopters receive Part 107 Waivers. As the first TOP Certifying Body, PACI is committed to assisting industry organizations participate in the Trusted Operator Program.”
This year, the company plans to add more programs that will support the common goals of the Unmanned Aviation industry.
For those interested in taking advantage of this offer, organizations must show proof of Organizational Membership and Chapter Affiliation Click here to get started
PACI Trusted Operator Program officially
goes International
On July 8,
2019, Praxis Aerospace Concepts International, Inc (PACI) reached another
milestone and became the 1st
AUVSI Trusted Operator Program (TOP) Certifying Body authorized to
deliver International TOP Service to train drone organizations overseas.
At their
facilities in Henderson and Searchlight, NV, PACI provides
third-party evaluation of the curriculum of industry training programs in
compliance with AUVSI’s remote pilot standards and protocols.
The PACI
team is the first AUVSI TOP partner approved to deliver TOP Certification in
South Africa and continues to be one of fastest – growing leading providers in
the drone industries.
