The third meeting of EUROCAE WG93 on Light RPAS took place in Madrid, Spain on 13 and 14 March 2013 and was hosted by AESA, the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
During the plenary session, representatives from AESA announced their future plans for the regulation of RPAS in Spain. This news was very favorably received by the audience, especially the Spanish working group members representing the Light RPAS sector.
José María Ramirez Ciriza, International Safety Activities Coordinator and the AESA spokesperson, informed the audience that the Spanish CAA has been working on two “Royal Decrees”, which are almost finished. He further announced that these degrees will set the stage for the development of the Spanish Light RPAS sector for the coming years. One of these decrees deals with specific regulations for the VLOS operations of RPAS with a MTOM of less than 25 kg, while the other will establish airworthiness, operational and pilot licensing requirements. Furthermore, José Maria Ramirez Ciriza confirmed that he is now the central point of contact at AESA for all RPAS-related matters.
According to the details disclosed during the meeting, the future regulation in Spain will be in line with that of other European countries. RPA with an MTOM of less than 25 kg will be exempted from a certificate of airworthiness. However, it will be necessary for RPAS operators and remote pilots to be licensed. AESA also revealed that it is their intention to initiate conversations with the Spanish RPAS industry in the coming weeks to jointly prepare the way forward.