On 23 & 24 May 2012, the kick-off meeting of the new EUROCAE Working Group 93 on Light RPAS took place at EUROCONTROL headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting was attended by 56 regulatory and industry representatives, as well as representative from the European Commission Directorate General Enterprise & Industry.
At this point in time, WG93 as participants from 20 countries have signed up, namely from: Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA.
The organizations currently participating in WG93 fall into the following participant categories:
- Academic
- Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSPs)
- Associations – National
- Associations – European
- Associations – International
- Commercial Pilot Training
- Consulting & engineering
- European Commission
- Light RPAS Operator – Commercial
- Light RPAS Operator – Research
- Ministry of Defence
- National aviation authority (NAA)
- Producers – Light RPAS
- Producers – Electronics & Communications
- Producers – Sensors
- Producers – Sub-systems
- Qualified Entity
- Research
The industry split is:
- 65% Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises & Industries (SMEs/SMIs) (quantity employees: < 250: annual turnover: < Euro 50.000.000);
- 33% large industry (quantity employees: >250; annual turnover: > Euro 50.000.000)
Additional information on this 2 year initiative, its objectives, structure, sub-groups & their taskings, the work methodology, the relevant terms of reference, and on how to join it – this is still possible, but only for a limited period of time – can be found on www.uvs-info.com; click on the WG93 on Lightweight RPAS tab in the main menu bar, or click here.