Establishing Training and Certification Criteria for Visual Observers of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Operations conducted above 500 feet above ground level or beyond 1500 feet laterally from the pilot-in-command must have at least one dedicated visual observer, even if visual line of sight can be maintained by the pilot-in-command.
- When the pilot-in-command determines that one or more visual observers are necessary for the flight crewmember to maintain the safety of the operation.
- When the pilot-in-command is (expected to be) in a “heads-down” or any situation that precludes the ability to perform see-and-avoid duties.
- When the pilot-in-command is within an enclosure, at least two visual observers are required.
- In order to be certified, applicants for a visual observer certificate would be required to pass a practical test with either a certified sUAS pilot or instructor.
- Medical standards and operational limitations in this proposed rule ensure that the pilot and visual observer are capable of scanning the airspace of intended operations. Aids to vision, such as binoculars, must be used with care to ensure that the total overall viewing of the airspace is not inadvertently limited. An FAA second-class medical certificate is required for commercial operations.
- The pilot-in-command must be able to see or ensure that a visual observer is able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight well enough to: Know its location, determine its attitude and direction to exercise effective control, observe the airspace for other air traffic or hazards and determine its altitude.
- The visual observer will be required to always know where the sUAS is and to discern the attitude and trajectory in relation to conflicting traffic, obstacles, or inclement weather. Because of the level of vigilance that would be required in scanning the surrounding airspace, a visual observer would be prohibited from supporting more than one aircraft operation at a time.
- The visual observer will need to be in close proximity (within 10 feet) to the pilot-in-command and should be able to communicate directly, exchange non-verbal signals and share the same relative visual references. A backup communications system is required for operations where the pilot-in-command is in an enclosure and cannot directly see at least one visual observer.
- Operations that involve the hand-off of UAS control and/or see-and-avoid duties among multiple pilots and/or visual observers, sometimes referred to as ‘daisy-chain,’ ‘relay,’ or ‘leap-frogging,’ would not be authorized under this proposed rule.
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Phase 1
- Tracking unmanned and manned aircraft in various lighting and meteorological conditions:
- 1.
- Must be able to maintain visual-line-of-sight to the aircraft
- 2.
- Must be able to re-engage visual contact after loss and/or distraction
- Scanning airspace for approaching air traffic:
- 3.
- Must be able to shift visual depth of field
- Informing pilot of impending near midair collision or some other danger with enough time for the pilot to take appropriate action:
- 4.
- Must maintain cockpit discipline
- 5.
- Must use appropriate verbiage when communicating with the pilot
- 6.
- Must be able to use global bearings and local landmarks to identify positions of UAS and other air traffic
- 7.
- Must be able to estimate aircraft flight paths, altitudes and closure rates in order to determine the likelihood of a near midair collision
- 8.
- Must be able to determine and communicate correct course of action and a safe deviation from the flight path to avoid a potential near midair collision
3.2. Phase 2
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Manned Pilot | Certified military, commercial, or private manned aircraft pilot | “Yes, I am a licensed pilot.” |
UAS Pilot | Certified military, commercial, private unmanned aircraft pilot | “I have acted as an internal pilot at the computer controls for flights and ... mission commander... and, also, I act as an observer.” |
UAS Mission Commander | Mission commander for commercial (university) UAS operation | See previous. |
UAS Visual Observer | Safety-related visual observer in UAS Operations | See previous. |
UAS Flight Instructor | Flight instructor in UAS flight school | “I was hired by {company} as a flight instructor.” |
Radio Controlled Aircraft Pilot | Recreational pilot of radio-controlled aircraft | “So, recreationally, I fly RCs. I’ve been flying since I was nine on that.” |
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Manned Pilot Training Program | Training program involves both classroom and field training | “I mean the pilot training was excellent and I had previously taken ground school before I did that. … So, the pilot training and just actually working with aircraft, the flight training, the hands-on stuff.” |
Manned Certification | Licensed FAA pilot, certified military pilot | Experimenter: “And are you or were you a licensed pilot?” Participant: “I am.” |
UAS Pilot Training | Training program involves both classroom and field training | “Of course with the Predator I did the pilot training some of that included mission training because to fly the airplane you have to be able to work with the payload operator, move the aircraft around so the payload guy can see what he’s looking at, the communications, airspace, all the things that go into operations in a war zone.” |
UAS Pilot Certification | Military, FAA and manufacturer certification | “Airforce check ride. Ground check ride and then a flight check ride.” |
UAS Mission Commander Training | Training program primarily involves classroom/manual-based training | “… with the Predator, I did the pilot training some of that included mission training …. So, that carried through my CFI training which is also safety based. Then to get to the university, since I was trained at least going through the courses for each aircraft I knew what the safety hazards were …. So, I just threw all those things together in order to be able to be mission commander.” |
UAS Visual Observer Training | Training program involves both classroom and field training | “We have PowerPoints then we have actual on the job training …. So, I can’t really think of anything that’s rocket science and you have got to teach a visual observer. If they’ve got decent hearing and decent eyesight and they can stay vigilant and communicate clearly that’s all there is to it.” |
UAS Visual Observer Certification | No certifications were noted | “Section 333, as of right now, there’s no requirements for the visual observer. It has no age requirement, has no training requirement, has no minimum …” |
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Apprenticeship | Being trained by an experienced instructor / pilot | “… a new guy gets back from Iraq who’s been over there for 3 or 4 months and he’s kind of burned out and tired and they put him in with these students but they were the best people with all the information. Not just what the book said but what really happened what really worked.” |
Hands-on Training | Practical training with real aircraft | “Hands on training for me I think is the most valuable being able to fly the aircraft safely and being able to decide whether it’s safe or not to operate an aircraft because sometimes proponents don’t know when to take a step back and think about safety.” |
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Non-practical Testing | Classroom or computer-based testing | “Paper tests. Performance tests are useful vs. paper tests. Knowledge tests; I understand they’re important but sometimes there is too much weight put on them especially for people that don’t take test well. And there are a lot of people in high stress situations in regards to test taking that just don’t do well.” “… they required us to take weekly quizzes that was fine. An open book quiz annually that was harder than it sounds because they ask very obscure questions you had to go through a bunch of books to find it, that was fine. But then they gave us a really really difficult instrument exam every year and I’m an instrument instructor and they gave us an instrument exam that had nothing to do with reality or flying UAV’s or anything and it was a thing everybody had trouble with and never needed. So, it was very frustrating and a waste of time.” |
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Effective See-and-Avoid | Visually tracking aircraft; Disengaging to scan for other air traffic and re-engaging; Identifying potential near midair collisions; Orienting using local landmarks and cardinal directions | “If you’re just doing regular commercial operations, then yeah I mean they can be within line of sight… You look around if you see an airplane, [then you estimate] distances and position. Whether you feel it’s going to be a factor or not to the flight of the aircraft do we need to divert or not. That’s really about it.” |
Effective Communication | Communicating with pilot in person or via radio; Using global and local landmarks to relay aircraft position | “How to operate the radios, what you’re looking for…’Here’s south, figure out where it’s coming from. If you’re not sure give someone a call.’” “As long as you can get the message across to the pilot to maneuver the aircraft in time then yeah that should be fine.” |
Aircraft Operations Rules | Knowledge of airspace and FAA regulations | “The other day I was at the RC field and a guy was flying a parasail. Don’t need a pilot license, don’t need to have any training on airspace and he’s circling our RC field … and he’s down at like 150 feet but that’s safe according to the FAA. But flying a smaller UAS below that altitude, we have to have a pilot’s license.” |
Open Code | Properties | Example |
---|---|---|
Momentum | Weight; Speed | “I thought that the 55-pound weight was too big for the speed that they’re allowed. That’s a lot of mass and can cause a lot of damage really fast and danger…. There’s no doubt that the training required to fly the Predator is a lot more extensive than what is required to fly a multi-copter. It was, it is and has to be.” |
Components/Configuration | Fixed wing aircraft vs multi-rotor aircraft; Rotor guards | “I have a multi-copter and I’ve crashed it twice and in both cases I threw a propeller blade. I didn’t do anything wrong; I didn’t hit anything…. you’re just flying along and one blade came off. It didn’t hit anybody it just turned upside down … I’ve never had a wing come off an airplane, if it did that’d be catastrophic so you got to weigh that.” |
Distance/Line of Sight | Ability of UAS pilots and/or visual observers to see the UAS and scan surrounding airspace; Weather; Time of Day; Proximity to Hazards | “We’re flying at low altitude and for our flights we generally have three observers. We have one on each end of the flight area and one would be external pilot. So, we have people around that are an extra set of eyes. And the external pilots found that even with the larger aircrafts they didn’t want it as far away as they could possibly see it. And then the radio controls too, the larger one is probably large enough that it could get out of range of the radio controls.” “So the size [matters], an Aerostar or Tigershark [has] got all the light systems on it with a strobe then the risk I don’t really foresee that risk being any different than during the day. But if you’re looking at something like the Phantom, it’s got lights on it, you can see it from the ground but is a pilot in the air going to see it? Nope. So large UAS, sure I don’t see any reason why a large system can’t fly beyond line of sight with light systems on it at night, as long as they’re equipped with transponders, ASB, something of that sort and well-lit but small systems to be honest there is no reason to fly them at night.” |
Appendix B
- (1)
- Demographics (used U.S. government-provided definitions for items C and D).a. Age b. Gender c. Race d. Ethnicity
- (2)
- What is your (current or past) role in the field of aviation? (Please check all that apply)
- Private Manned Aircraft Pilot
- Commercial Manned Aircraft Pilot
- Private Unmanned Aircraft System Pilot
- Commercial Unmanned Aircraft System Pilot
- Unmanned Aircraft System Visual Observer
- Other Unmanned Aircraft System Crewmember (mission commander, payload operator, etc.)
- Air Traffic Controller at a Regional Airport
- Air Traffic Controller at an International Airport
- Manned/Unmanned Aircraft Technician
- Frequent Flyer
- Other
- (3)
- Currently, 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 107 states that unmanned aircraft, 55lbs and under, may operate in Class G airspace (and classes B, C, D and E with ATC approval), provided that they do so during visual meteorological conditions and within visual line of sight. In certain scenarios (pilot in heads-down position or in an enclosure), a visual observer is required during operations. Currently, no certification or training is required for visual observers involved in such operations? Do you think that visual observers involved in unmanned aircraft system operations greater than 55lbs should be required to:
- Receive formal classroom/online training? (Y/N)
- Receive formal practical (hands-on) training? (Y/N)
- Pass a formal classroom/online certification exam? (Y/N)
- Pass a formal practical (hands-on) certification exam? (Y/N)
- (4)
- If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the items in question #3, please explain the reason why. (Please write N/A for corresponding items to which you answered ‘No’ in Question #3.)a. b. c. d.
- (5)
- If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the items in question #3, please explain what kind of training/certification procedures would be ideal. (Please write N/A for corresponding items to which you answered ‘No’ in Question #3.)a. b. c. d.
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Should Visual Observers: | Yes | No | χ2 Value | p Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Receive formal classroom/online training? | 58 | 54 | 0.07 | 0.71 |
(2) Receive formal practical (hands-on) training? | 55 | 57 | 0.16 | 0.57 |
(3) Take a formal classroom/online exam? | 61 | 51 | 0.64 | 0.26 |
(4) Take a formal practical (hands-on) exam? | 43 | 69 | 5.79 | 0.00006 |
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Dolgov, I. Establishing Training and Certification Criteria for Visual Observers of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Safety 2018, 4, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4020015
Dolgov I. Establishing Training and Certification Criteria for Visual Observers of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Safety. 2018; 4(2):15. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4020015
Chicago/Turabian StyleDolgov, Igor. 2018. "Establishing Training and Certification Criteria for Visual Observers of Unmanned Aircraft Systems" Safety 4, no. 2: 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4020015