FLY SMART, FLY SAFE
Welcome to CHIRP Drone FEEDBACK Edition 12.0
I hope you have had a good summer’s drone flying, whether for pleasure or professionally. Statistics
from the Regulator indicate that the number of flyers continues to increase, albeit perhaps at a
lower rate than before. However, there are a growing number of drones in the air, and economically sustainable use-cases continue to be developed in the professional market. Diverse use cases involve different aircraft variants that perform very different functions. All of them bring along different human/computer system interface risks to the party. Each of them have unique Human Factor related challenges. A couple of good examples are described in this edition!
Since CHIRP Edition 11, there have as ever been some excellent new regulatory and technical innovations
in the world of drones. These include announcements about the Atypical Air Environment; plans for
implementation of SORA 2.5 in 2025; as well as a new subscriber-based digital fight approval service, which aims to reduce administration time for managing requests to landowners for take-of and landing requests. Airports adopting this include Aberdeen, Southampton, Cambridge and a combined Oxford Airport and Blenheim Palace. Encouraging though this may be, we continue to collect evidence of good old traditional Human Factors having as much influence on day-today flying and learning, as ever!
Let’s look at several recent examples and see what conclusions we can draw.
PS it can’t go without a mention that winter is of course approaching once more! Watch out for the HF consequences of lower temperatures, fog, snow and frozen fingers!
Rupert Dent
CHIRP Drone / UAS Programme Manager
The Thunderbird: Lifesaving Beyond Sight report, published in December 2024, outlines the United Kingdom’s advancements in integrating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations into emergency services. These drones are pivotal in enhancing situational awareness, locating missing persons, and delivering critical medical supplies like defibrillators.
The report highlights several key trials:
The report identifies ten priority themes across five core areas essential for the successful deployment of BVLOS drones in emergency scenarios:
The Thunderbird initiative emphasizes stakeholder collaboration, open innovation, and shared learning to expedite the routine use of lifesaving BVLOS drone operations across the UK.
ARPAS-UK welcomes and supports The Thunderbird Project’s paper.
Read more articles about Drones in the Emergency Services.
10 December 2024
Stay Compliant, Stay Competitive: Cyber Threat Strategies for Unmanned Systems
The growing adoption of unmanned systems across critical industries, enabled by IoT connectivity, makes them an increasingly attractive target for cyber threats. As drones evolve into highly interconnected devices with expansive attack surfaces, adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities in their hardware, software, and communication protocols.
Join qomodo CEO, Toby Wilmington, former NATO and BAE Systems cyber security expert, for an exclusive webinar that delves into the critical threats and solutions for safeguarding these advanced technologies. In this webinar, you will:
Exclusive Offer: Be among the first companies to register for a qomodo Unmanned System Cyber Risk Assessment and receive a 50% discount on your first project! This exclusive offer is available only to webinar attendees, join us live to receive a unique discount code during the session. Protect your business and gain a competitive edge.
Register now to secure your spot!
6 December 2024
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is proactively addressing artificial intelligence (AI) in aviation. Their strategy focuses on safe regulation and responsible use of AI to enhance aerospace efficiency, sustainability, and scalability while ensuring safety, security, consumer protection, and environmental sustainability.
Key points include:
The CAA collaborates with international partners and industry stakeholders to align with global best practices and meet UK aviation needs. They welcome public engagement and feedback on their AI strategy.
Link to other regulatory matters.
28 November 2024
Disclaimer: All jobs posted here are from LinkedIn and other job sites including member and non-member organizations. Drone Related Jobs.
Prismatic are looking to recruit a Battery Technician, a Battery Team Leader, UAS System Operator and an Air Operations Safety & Regulations Lead.
Murphy Geospatial are looking to recruit a UAV Operator.
Strativ are looking to recruit a drone technician.
Vertical Aerospace are looking to recruit a Test Pilot.
Mitie are looking to recruit a fixed-term drone pilot (12 months).
Iona are looking to recruit a GNC Engineer.
The University of Liverpool have a position open: Postdoctural Research Associate in Drone Aerodynamics & Wake Testing
Air6 Systems are recruiting for a Robotics / Embedded Systems Engineer.
The survey results of ARPAS-UK’s Drone Industry & Membership Survey, conducted in September of this year, offer a revealing snapshot of the UK’s commercial drone landscape.
With responses from both members and the wider drone community, the survey highlights perspectives from across the sector, including drone operators, SMEs, blue light services, academia, and more.
There’s still time to make your voice heard.
The survey remains open, and we’ll be updating our findings in February 2025. Share your perspective today and help shape the future of the UK drone industry.
Watch the Resulting Analysis of Our Findings…
25 November 2024
The CAA launched their consultation on their proposals for revisions to the existing UK Civil Aviation Authority CAA 2025/26 Scheme of charges, due to take effect from 1 April 2025.
Our preliminary analysis indicates major/ massive increases on all charges related to UAS.
· Fee Increases for PDRA-01: We have already expressed concern informally to the CAA over the proposed increase from £234 to £500 and its potential impact on operators, particularly given the significant role PDRA-01 plays in enabling safe and efficient operations for 95% of specific category operators.
· All other fees in the Scheme of Charge: we will seek clarification on the rationale for all charges increases and exact scope of application, in order to push back and formally respond to the consultation by Jan 6.
· Transition from PDRA01 to SORA? The recent CAA PDRA survey could suggest an intent to phase out PDRAs entirely, whereas the Charging Consultation mentions exploring additional PDRAs. We have already raised that point informally, and we will seek further clarification on the long-term plans for PDRAs in our Regulations Position Paper #2, due end November, that we will share with our Members and more importantly with the CAA and DfT.
· The Need for Additional PDRAs and SORAs: ARPAS-UK has reinforced the need for more predefined risk assessments (PDRAs) or simplified, generic SORAs to reflect common operational scenarios, such as reduced separation distances, BVLOS with visual observers, increased height limits. If there is no class-marking of drones in the UK in the Open category, why not develop asap new PDRAs that would function like A1 and/or A2 for reduced distances from uninvolved people, including in urban environments?
The transition to the SORA safety methodology will create lots of changes. The objective must be efficiency and proportionality, not complexity to a point that both the drone operators’ teams and the regulator’s teams need much more time to formulate and assess applications, translating into hikes in charging fees.
We recognise the importance of a feedback loop with the CAA during this period of change and are committed to advocating for solutions that balance safety with practicality – and proportionality.
Please don’t hesitate to share any thoughts or concerns with us as we continue to represent the interests of the membership.
The Scheme of Charges consultation is accessible through the link below:
18 November 2024
