Rules & Regulations
With an ever-increasing number of States bringing out operational rules or regulations, the non-military remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) market is growing substantially. This is very clearly the case in Europe, where the following 24 European Union (EU) countries now have an RPAS regulation in place, or where a regulation is about to be published: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, UK.
Note: Switzerland does not have a RPAS regulation, but a significant amount of commercial & non-commercial RPAS activity takes place under «adapted» model aircraft rules [Guidance for an Authorisation for Low Level Operation of RPAS (GALLO)].
Certificated Operators
The steadily increasing number of nationally approved or authorized (jointly referred to as certificated) commercial RPAS operators in Europe is a positive sign of the European commercial RPAS market development. However, it should be noted that the criteria used to define a certificated commercial RPAS operator vary greatly from country to country.
According to the figures at our disposal (and our best estimates), there are 11 473 certificated civil RPAS operators (companies commercially operating RPAS) in Europe (Dec. 2016), namely: Austria (198), Belgium (200 est.), Cyprus (2), Czech Rep. (24), Denmark (575), Finland (33), France (2500), Germany (750 est.), Ireland (30), Italy (965), Netherlands (102), Norway (300), Poland (2000), Spain (1800), Sweden (244), Switzerland (150 est.), UK (1600)
Note: The quantity of certificated RPAS operators is indicated between brackets.
Disparity
Currently, there is large degree of disparity in the following RPAS-related fields between EU States:
- Rules & regulations (which often exist only in the national language)
- Data protection and privacy rules (if they exist)
- Pilot training (syllabus) & qualification (licence)
- Flight school qualification
- Operator qualification (licence)
Consequently, there is an absence of mutual recognition of RPAS-related rules and regulations, pilot licences, and operator licences between EU States, which makes it extremely complicated and expensive for a commercial RPAS operator registered in one of the EU States to operate in another.
The DroneRules Project
The DroneRules project, which is being co-funded by the EU, is developing a comprehensive web site which will become the reference web portal for current & future RPAS operators in the EU (+ Norway and Switzerland).
The purpose of this portal will be to increase awareness and facilitate understanding with commercial RPAS operators of the legal environment and constraints in relation to light RPAS operations (safety, privacy and data protection, insurance, etc.); there will also be a specific information for non-commercial operators (incl. hobbyists).
The DroneRules project will contribute to facilitating the understanding of the access to the European market for commercial operators intending to use RPAS in their home country, or in other EU countries; it will also showcase the opportunities for economic and job market growth that RPAS represent for entrepreneurs and Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
General Awareness Creation
In this context, as well as in light of the necessary general awareness creation efforts that now have to be undertaken, this paper proposes an identification and classification of the non-military (civil) RPAS market. This document proposes:
- A segmentation of the non-military RPAS market in 22 aerial work sectors
- The distinction between commercial and non-commercial RPAS flight operations performed in these market sectors
- The flight mission purposes that can take place during commercial and non-commercial flight operations
- The explanation the indicated flight mission purposes
As the flight mission purpose defines the payload required to conduct it, and in order to be complete, payloads are split into 2 categories:
- Imaging payloads
- Non-Imaging payloads
and examples in both categories are indicated.
In conclusion there is a section indicating the following for each of the 22 aerial work sectors:
- The type of operator (commercial; non-commercial; corporate; governmental)
- The operation’s location (outdoor; indoor)
- Aerial work sub-sectors
- Examples for each aerial work sub-sector
The objective of this holistic approach is to, within the context of UVS International’s Global Access Initiative, lay the basis for a common understanding of the civil RPAS market and its potential, in such a way that it is comprehensible to all.
The relevant document can be found on & downloaded from www.rps-info.com (see “Europe” in the menu bar) and www.rpas-regulations.com (see “Community Info” in the menu bar)
Contact
For additional information, correction proposals, suggestions & comments, please contact Peter van Blyenburgh – pvb@rps-info.com