REALIZING a UCA TEST FLIGHT from WEEZE AIRPORT to TWENTE AIRPORT Graduation Thesis

Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

REALIZING A UCA TEST FLIGHT FROM WEEZE AIRPORT TO TWENTE AIRPORT Graduation thesis

Graduation thesis

Erik Waller 500668724

Supervisor: R.J. de Boer

Second supervisor: J.M.G. Heerkens

2016/2017

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 1 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Title: Realizing a UCA test flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport

Education: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Place: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Date: 06-01-2017

Supervisor: Dr.ir. R.J. de Boer

Second supervisor: Dr. J.M.G. Heerkens

Author: Erik Waller 500668724

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 2 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Summary As requested by HvA, the University of Twente and PUCA, graduate student Erik Waller created this paper to discover the feasibility of a UCA test flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport. The clients, all heavily involved in the development of UCA with as goal the implementation of UCA side by side with existing manned aviation, identified the lack of knowledge on the legal and operational aspects of RPAS. By preparing, and eventually conducting a UCA test flight the clients hope to gain the necessary information to advance the realization of the inevitable commercial implementation of UCA. The clients suggested that the test flight be performed from Weeze airport to Twente airport with a UCA constructed by modifying an existing conventional aircraft. The aircraft would need to be modified to receive inputs from a ground station. The clients want to perform this test flight within 48 months after the completion of this paper and, during the creation of this paper, did not have any funding available for the test flight.

Erik Waller advised that the clients adapt their original idea of performing just one single test flight but rather divide the test flight into three separate test flights. Furthermore, the idea of only using a UCA consisting of a modified convectional aircraft was adjusted and the use of an existing RPAS was suggested alongside the use of the original proposed modified conventional aircraft.

The reason for these adjustments was that the original proposed plan was too complex and gave too little time for carrying out the proposed plan. The addition of smaller more manageable test flights were required to gain experience and trust from the responsible authorities and give the project additional time to find sponsors. With the newly suggested plan the following flights would take place:  Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP)  Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW)  Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW).

The first two routes would be performed with a RPAS known as the Schiebel Camcopter S- 100. This RPAS is a finished fully certified product that has a fully certified operational team. By using the Schiebel built RPAS and their team a lot of valuable time would be saved that would otherwise be needed in certification, design and modification. This option is also cheaper than designing and modifying an existing aircraft. Therefore, the clients with their limited budget would be able to realize this UCA test flight within the requested 48 months. The first two routes have been picked because they form as good practice runs leading up to the final route, which is identical to the original proposed route. Furthermore, these routes will be crucial in showing the responsible authorities that such an operation can be performed safely and efficiently which will aid in the approval of the last and most complex route.

Given the fact that more time will need to be made available for the last route, the original proposed modified conventional aircraft will be left unaltered. This additional time will be necessary for the clients to gather the required funding and design and modify the aircraft. This paper only focuses on the execution of the first test flight due to the available time.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 3 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

To be able to perform the first test flight serious inquiries will need to be made with the Schiebel Company about hiring their services. Once the services of Schiebel have been hired previous disclosed information will be made available to the clients with regards to technical workings and safety procedures. Furthermore, a separate paper should be created focused solely on acquiring sponsors to fund the test flight. Lastly, the clients should make a formal request to ILT, LVNL, DFS and Nordrhein-Westfalen stating their intentions.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 4 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Preface This graduation thesis forms the basis for the completion of Aviation Studies, thus being awarded with the Bachelor of Engineering degree by the University of Applied Sciences of Amsterdam.

I would like to thank all the people that have helped me throughout this project. Many interviews were conducted with numerous organizations and individuals all of which I am extremely thankful for. Special thanks to Antoinette Schurink from the ILT, Rob Ruigrok and René Eveleens from the NLR, Ron Slootbeek from the LVNL, Michiel Kaptein of KLM’s OCC, Major J.H. Hazes from the MLA and Adjutant Hingstman from the AMC. I am grateful to Dr.ir. R.J. de Boer from the University of Applied Sciences, who has guided me during the entire process and provided feedback and useful hints and tips. I would also like to thank Dr. J.M.G. Heerkens (PUCA chairman and professor at the University of Twente) for inviting me to numerous PUCA meetings and for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me on a regular basis to discuss my progress and provide feedback. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. R.W. Huizing for bringing me in touch with Dr.ir. R.J. de Boer.

Throughout the thesis abbreviations will be used. The first time, the full name and abbreviation will be written in italic type, indicating that the abbreviation can be found in the abbreviation list. Appendices will also be referred to throughout the thesis and can be found in a separate booklet.

I hope you find this thesis informative and thought provoking.

Erik Waller

Amstelveen, The Netherlands

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 5 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Table of contents 1 Introduction 13 1.1 Prior knowledge 15 1.1.1 Findings and assumptions of the previous report 15 1.1.2 Amendments 15 1.2 Objective 16 1.3 Motivation 17 1.4 Thesis structure 17 2 Approach 19 2.1 Outlining the problem 19 2.2 Research questions 20 2.3 Project Strategy 20 2.3.1 Literature review 20 2.3.2 Conducting interviews 21 3 Legislation 23 3.1 Operational scenario 23 3.1.1 PUCA scenario 23 3.1.2 Conventional aircraft scenario 24 3.1.3 Schiebel Camcopter S-100 scenario 25 3.1.4 NLR scenario 25 3.1.5 Singeler Flyox I 25 3.2 Feasibility analysis 25 3.3 Conclusion 26 3.4 Legislative hurdles 27 3.5 Problem resolution and responsible agencies 28 3.5.1 Ground controller 28 3.5.2 Fall back pilots 31 3.5.3 Airworthiness certification 31 3.5.4 Aircraft registration 31 3.5.5 Insurance 31 3.5.6 ROC holding agency’s 32 3.5.7 RPAS > 150 kg 32 3.5.8 BVLOS operation 32 3.5.9 Modification Company 33 3.5.10 LVNL and DFS 33 4 Aircraft 35 4.1 Aircraft choice 35 4.1.1 Cessna Citation Business Jet 35 4.1.2 Schiebel Camcopter S-100 36 4.1.3 Singeler Aircraft Flyox I 38

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 6 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

4.1.4 Conclusion 38 4.2 Modifications 39 5 Safety 40 6 Ground Station 41 7 Route and Airspace 42 7.1 Plan of action 42 7.1.1 Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP) 42 7.1.2 Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW) 43 7.1.3 Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW) 44 7.2 VFR or IFR 45 7.3 Departure and Destination aerodromes 45 7.4 Route and airspace 46 7.4.1 Alterations 46 7.4.2 Route and airspace 46 7.4.3 Alternates 47 8 Tunnel in the sky 49 8.1 Adjusting the arrival time 49 8.2 Drifting off course 49 9 Personnel 51 9.1 Tasks 51 9.1.1 Creating and filing of the flight plan 51 9.1.2 Creating the M&B 51 9.1.3 Fueling the aircraft and de-icing if necessary 51 9.1.4 Creating and sending the briefing sheet to the PIC 52 9.2 Personnel 52 10 Script 53 11 Cost analysis 54 11.1 Medical Transport Cost analysis VU-Erasmus 55 11.1.1 Emergency transport by ambulance 55 11.1.2 Emergency transport with the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 55 11.1.3 Conclusion 56 12 Research plan 57 12.1 Tunnel in the sky 57 12.2 Publicity 57 12.3 Transition from autonomous to manual 57 12.4 Data link reliability 58 13 Recommendation 59 13.1 Recommendation original plan 59 13.2 Recommendation new plan 59 13.3 Plan of Action 60

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14 Discussion 61 15 Bibliography 64

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 8 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Abbreviation list

Abbreviation Word Definition §RADO Research Aircraft Design A branch within NLR specialized Organization in designing modifications for NLRs research aircraft. AIRICA ATM Innovative RPAS Inte- A Dutch project of which the gration for Coastguard Ap- Netherlands coastguard, the NLR, plications Shiebel and the Royal Nether- lands Air Force participate in. The goal of the AIRICA project is to, over the course of two years, show the feasibility of using RPAS for coastguard activities in non- segregated airspace. AMC Airspace Management Cell An office tasked with processing requests for special use of the Dutch airspace for military operation. ATC Air Traffic Control BVLOS Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operating an unmanned aircraft beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot. CTR Control Zone A CTR means that all traffic coming in and out of the CTR designated area must have received a clearance from ATC. DAA Detect and Avoid System A detect and avoid system developed by the NLR DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung A national organization guaran- teeing the safe continuity of air traffic services in Germany. DOA Design Organization Ap- A Design Organization Approval is proval the recognition that a Design Organization complies with the requirements of Part 21 Subpart J. The approval includes terms of approval defining:

 Scope of approval: The type of design activities including fields of expertise  Categories of products:

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 9 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

The applicable products such as Large Airplanes, Engines, Small Rotorcraft, Sailplanes, etc.  List of products: The list of products for which the DOA holder is Type Certificate applicant or holder (if applicable)  Privileges: A DOA holder can o Perform design activities within the scope of approval o Have compliance documents accepted by the Agency without further verification o Perform activities independently from the Agency  Limitations: Any limitations on the above

EASA European Aviation Safety An agency of the European Union Agency with regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. EO Electro Optical Electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. In this situation it is used as a motion detection camera. GAE Groningen Airport Eelde - GCS Ground station Control The ground station control sys- System tem in charge of controlling an RPAS GWL Goedkeuring Wijziging An approval for requested air- Luchtvaarttuig craft modifications. HvA Hoge School van Amster- The University of Applied Science dam of Amsterdam ILS Instrument Landing System A precision runway approach aid based on two radio beams which together provide pilots with both vertical and horizontal guidance

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 10 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

during an approach to land. ILT Inspectie Leefomgeving en The national aviation authority of Transport The Netherlands IR Infra Red An invisible radiant energy, elec- tromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light, and therefore not visible to the human eye. LBA Luftfahrt Bundesamt The natonal aviation authority of Germany LF Late File The title a flight plan is given when it is filed late. LVNL Luchtverkeersleiding Ne- A national organization guaran- derland teeing the safe continuity of air traffic services in the Nether- lands. MOA Maintenance Organization A Maintenance Organization Ap- Approval proval is the recognition that a Maintenance Organization complies with the regulations set out by EASA. NLR Netherlands Aerospace An independent, non-profit, Center foundation that specializes in the development of aerospace systems, aerospace operations and aerospace vehicles. NMOC Network Manager Opera- A European organization deliver- tions Center ing core operational services across several aviation related domains. OCC Operations Control Center The control center from which all commercial or non-commercial aviation related operations are coordinated from. PIC Pilot in Command The person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during the flight. This would always be the captain. POA Production Organization A Production Organization Ap- Approval proval is the recognition that a Production Organization complies with regulations set out by EASA. PUCA Platform Unmanned Cargo A coalition of companies and or- Aircraft ganizations from around the world aiming to facilitate the development of UCA’s.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 11 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

ROC RPAS operation certificate Certification required to operate RPAS commercially or for RPAS operations above 150 kg. RPAS Remotely Piloted Aircraft Unmanned aircraft that are con- Systems trolled from an external point or operate autonomously RTF Registered Training Facility An organization that has been approved to offer qualified pilot licenses. SID Standard Instrument De- A designated instrument flight parture rule (IFR) departure route linking the aerodrome or a specified runway of the aerodrome with a specified significant point, nor- mally on a designated ATS route, at which the en-route phase of a flight begins.

STAR Standard Terminal Arrival Specific arrival routes and vertical Routes profiles that are published for all major aerodromes connecting the airways structure with the aerodrome. STC Supplemental Type Certifi- National aviation authority- cate approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed ‘’supplemental’’. TDA Temporary Danger Area An area within which all aviation related traffic is forbidden, except for the traffic that the TDA has been implemented for. TGB Tijdelijk Gebied van An area within which all aviation Beperkingen related traffic is forbidden, except for the traffic that the TDA has been implemented for. UAS Unmanned Aircraft Sys- An aircraft without a human con- tems troller on board. UAV Unmanned Air Vehicles Unmanned aircraft that are controlled from an external point or operate autonomously UCA Unmanned Cargo Aircraft RPAS/UAV specifically designed to transport cargo

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 12 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

1 Introduction Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are only a small step away from transitioning from the 21st century battlefield and space exploration to civil aviation. No longer will they be something only seen on the news or in video games but, soon, Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV’s) will become part of our day-to-day lives. The first steps have already been made through the popular Amazon drones that are currently under development and the small off the shelf drones that anyone can purchase. Although convenient, these are not the life changing drones we had in mind. What about large RPAS that would be capable of transporting large amounts of cargo over hundreds or even thousands of miles? One likely candidate that promises to deliver on all of these fronts is the Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (UCA). UCA are aircraft that fly most of the mission autonomously and, if required, are controlled by a human pilot on the ground. This human pilot is not limited to 1 UCA and could possibly control up to 10 UCA’s at a time (van der Spek, 2016). The use of UCA will have a major impact on the current state of aviation. The main advantage is the noticeable cut in costs due to elimi- nation of salaries and the simplification of aircraft. No longer will a pressurized cabin be required enabling the aircraft frame to be simplified. Also, for the first time in history, duty hours would become obsolete, enabling flight planning to be done solely based on the cost index. This would have a profound impact on the UCA cruising speed. Lower cruising speeds will become more dominant cutting into fuel costs. Furthermore, productivity will increase as new routes will be established that will maximize the carried cargo on each individual leg. Regions that produce goods that are in international demand, but in volumes too small for dedicated cargo flights, and with populations too small for regular passenger flights with belly cargo, would for the first time be involved in the world market. This will increase the overall efficiency of cargo transport by increasing the available cargo carrying routes (PUCA, n.d.). It is safe to say that the application of UCA’s will have a positive effect on multiple fronts. So what is stopping us? As mentioned before UAV’s are already being used successfully by military- and space agencies in ways far more sophisticated than intended for UCA operation. Our technical ability therefore isn’t the issue. The answer is simple. The current aviation model used today is built on the idea of manned aviation. In order to allow a UCA from operating within active airspace new legislation and operational procedures will have to be created that can be implemented uniformly around the world.

One organization that is striving to realize this is the Platform Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (PUCA). PUCA is an organization founded in 2011 by Hans Heerkens, professor at the Univer- sity of Twente. It is a platform in which multiple organizations and companies from around the world come together to share information and ideas to facilitate the development of UCA. Each PUCA member has, in its own way, contributed to the cause by either conducting research papers, designing prototypes, operating systems, etc. Most of these contributions, however, focus on the technological aspects of a UCA. As previously identified, the technology required to realize UCA operations is not the most limiting aspect. To make meaningful advancements in carrying out the dream of an UCA operation, all of the aspects surrounding such an operation will have to be identified. The decision has been made by the HvA, Uni- versity of Twente and PUCA to do so by preparing and carrying out a test flight. The test flight will focus on overcoming the legal and operational hurdles to pave the way for future commercial UCA operations.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 13 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

The objective of this research is to determine what steps have to be undertaken to realize such a test flight. For the intended mission the departure airport will be Weeze Airport (EDLV) and the destination airport will be Twente Airport (EHTW). After the completion of this paper a recommendation can be made to the University of Applied Sciences in Amster- dam (HvA) and PUCA on the feasibility of such a test flight with the resources at hand. The HvA and PUCA intend to perform the test flight within 48 months after completion of this paper. It is therefore crucial that no items be overlooked and that every factor has been taken into account. Since the outcome of this paper will have real world implications most of the information will have to be gathered from real operational agencies. Legislative bodies and Air Traffic Control units (ATC) need to be involved in the conversation.

In the previous UCA paper (van der Spek, 2016) the decision was made to convert an existing aircraft into an UCA. This paper will continue with this assumption and look at what aircraft type best fits the needs of the operational requirements. The decision to convert an existing aircraft has to, partly, do with financing. This test flight has to be realized solely from donations since no funding is available. The aircraft either has to temporarily be donated or the funds have to be donated to enable the purchase of an aircraft. Since converting an existing aircraft into an UCA is far more cost effective than building a UCA from the ground up, the decision has been made to stick with the choice made in the previous report. By using a converted aircraft the cockpit can remain intact and fully functional which enables fallback pilots to be on board and take control if necessary. This extra measure of security is crucial during a flight test with an UCA of this scale and would require an unnecessary amount of effort and resources if performed with an UCA built from the ground up.

Lastly, it will be necessary to create a script of each task that will have to be performed at a certain time. This will help in identifying each member involved in the test flight and ensure that the test flight goes as planned. If done correctly, this paper will identify which steps have to be undertaken to carry out the UCA test flight. This will enable the realization of the eventual execution of the test flight that will help answer the bigger question: Does the current state of aviation allow for commercial UCA operations and if not, which changes will be necessary to facilitate this development?

The remainder of the Introduction chapter consists of three parts. First of all, prior knowledge regarding this topic will be discussed (1.2). Secondly, the research objective of this current paper will be mentioned (1.2). Thirdly, the motivation fueling this research paper will briefly be discussed (1.3). Lastly, the structure of this thesis will be briefly explained to give the reader a prompt on what to expect (1.4).

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 14 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

1.1 Prior knowledge The previous UCA report conducted by the HvA focused on the safety aspect of a UCA operation. STAMP-STPA was at the core of this previous paper and some significant developments were made. STAMP-STPA is an analysis method that is very suitable for testing safety on systems that do not yet exist and can be used early in the design stage. This chapter will briefly discuss which assumptions and findings were made in the previous paper that can affect this current paper (1.1.1). From there on out the decision will be made which assumptions from the previous report will be copied into this paper and which ones will not (1.1.2), accompanied by a comprehen- sive explanation as to why these distinctions are made.

1.1.1 Findings and assumptions of the previous report The previous report was based on the following situation. A Converted Saab 340 able to receive commands from a ground station would create the UCA. Much like this current investigation, the cockpit had to stay intact and fully operational to receive commands from the fall back pilots on board. Since the ground controller would be in charge of up to 10 UCA at a time most of the airborne operations would have to be automated. This would be achieved by programming the Standard Instrument Departure (SID), Standard Arrival Route (STAR) and pre-programmed flight routes into the UCA’s software. Through aids such as the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) and differential GPS the UCA would even be capable of landing itself. To maximize the safety of the payload, as well as the safety of other aircraft, whilst prevent- ing the disturbance of regular air traffic by implementing a Temporary Danger Area (TDA), the tunnel in the sky principal would be implemented. A TDA is an area within which all aviation related traffic is forbidden, except for the traffic that the TDA has been implemented for. The tunnel in the sky is a tunnel fixed in the x-y-z-t dimensions through which only UCA traffic can operate. This tunnel would be located in such a way that other manned traffic would be prohibited to pass through that section of airspace. Through the implementation of the tunnel in the sky, safety of the UCA and other traffic would be maximized. In addition to the safety, the flow of UCA traffic would also be easily manageably since every individual UCA would have to reach a certain designated point within the tunnel in the sky at a preor- dained time. To protect the UCA from internal hazards a multitude of sensors would be fitted in the UCA to prevent short circuits and overcharging of the battery that could lead to an onboard fire. Besides the electrical sensors, additional sensors on board the UCA would be in charge of sensing moving cargo and turbulence. Lastly, to protect against human error a dead man’s button was installed. This button had to be activated every fifteen minutes to let the system know that the human operator was still supervising the operation. If for some reason all of these securities fail, and there is a chance that the UCA damage or harm surrounding aircraft, infrastructure or people, the decision was made to equip the UCA with a self-destruct function. This self-destruct function would only kick in if the controller failed to activate the dead man’s button. In this situation the UCA would use it’s on board terrain database to pick an adequate area to self-detonate.

1.1.2 Amendments Many assumptions and choices were made in this previous report, some of which are inadequate for this current paper. These items that are deemed inadequate for the current paper will now be discussed and, if possible, an alternative solution will be given. Two decisions stand out which are unsubstantiated, irrational, or unattainable for the test flight in mind,

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 15 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies with the first one being the aircraft choice. The decision of using the Saab 340 as UCA candidate might be the right one, but due to the fact that no other conventional aircraft candidates were offered as potential candidates, additional research is required to see if this decision was in fact the right one. This in depth comparison, and eventual decision, will be made later on in the paper.

The second and biggest conflict is the choice of equipping the UCA with a self-destruct option. This self-destruct option was included if the dead mans switch was not operated every fifteen minutes, suggesting that the human controller operating from the ground station was not supervising the flight. For this test flight two human fallback pilots will be on board the UCA. Therefore, it is unacceptable for the UCA to self-destruct in flight, leading to the deaths of both human pilots. The human pilots on board will be given absolute control, meaning that their control inputs will always have priority over commands from the ground. This would prevent opposite control inputs from the ground and from inside the cockpit to inter- fere with each other. Secondly, the option of a self-destruct function will most likely be performed through the use of explosives on board of the aircraft. This means that every UCA flight would carry explosives on board which would form a major hazard and create the possibility of unintentional detonation either in flight or on the ground. The decision has been made to do away with this self-destruct all together during the test flight. A more suitable option for UCA operations in the future, when no human pilots are on board, is to utilize the on board terrain database. This provides an option to ditch the aircraft during an emergency. This option eliminates the implementation of dangerous explosives on board the UCA whilst gaining the same end result.

1.2 Objective The aim of this project is to contribute towards the realization of UCA operations in civilian aviation by identifying all the operational and legislative aspects through the preparation of a UCA test flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport.

RPAS test flights with a MTOM above 150 kg have already been performed in countries such as the UK and France. The most notable flight was the Autonomous Systems Technology Re- lated Airborne Evaluation and Assessment (ASTRAEA) program led by the UK. The ASTRAEA program has previously performed test flights with a BAE system manned Jetstream 31 that was either controlled from an external ground station or flew autonomously. It is therefore important that the proposed UCA test flight makes meaningful developments and not simply replicates what has been done before. The proposed UCA test flight will break new ground in the following areas:  First cross country RPAS flight from point A to point B through German and Dutch airspace;  First civilian BVLOS RPAS flight over Dutch land;  Attract valuable publicity in the hopes of attracting public interest and sponsors for the topic of UCA;  Test the accuracy of a tunnel in the sky.

The ASTRAEA project has in the past operated numerous RPAS test flights with a Jetstream 31 from England to Scotland but due to Scotland and England being part of the State of the

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 16 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

United Kingdom this technically was not a true cross country flight. Furthermore, this Dutch- German UCA test flight will also help further establish PUCA as a leading UCA developer. The UCA itself will have to be created, as stated in the previous report, by converting an existing manned cargo aircraft. The wishes of the client are that the UCA cockpit stays operational to enable fallback pilots to intervene if necessary. The UCA will, if possible, transport actual cargo on the day of the test flight to (as closely as possible) simulate actual operating conditions. One important part of the carried cargo will be a letter from the mayor of Weeze to the mayor of Enschede. This gesture will serve as a good publicity stunt to attract the attention of the public to UCA’s, which should help to attract sponsors. For the record, this paper will not focus on the actual recruitment of sponsors for the intended test flight and will only discuss the options available to finance the operation. Since the UCA will have the same performance as a manned cargo aircraft and since the area of operation is within active airspace, the safety of other traffic will have to be maximized. In addition to the safety of people on the ground and adherence to existing procedures limitations all of these items will have to be discussed with the relevant legislative bodies and ATC’s. Lastly, the steps and players required to carry out the operation need to be identified. An operation of this scale will have a substantial amount of tasks that have to be performed at certain times to enable a smoothly run operation. Once all of these components have been successfully identified they will be published in the script to give a clear overview of at what time each task member needs to perform their assigned task.

1.3 Motivation After 20 years of planning and, millions of dollars of funding, the Hubble Telescope was launched into earth’s orbit in 1990. All of this planning however didn’t stop the Hubble Tele- scope from being rendered useless because engineers had not taken into account the minute shape changes that the lens would undergo when exposed to zero gravity. The result was three service missions spread out over seven years and millions of dollars to correct the problem. This is a great example of why this test flight is so critical. Any potential shortcom- ings of the current aviation legislative and operational design can be identified during a real world test flight. Even more so, this will be the first test flight of a civilian UCA travelling from point A to point B, between two countries. Countless agencies, most importantly the members of PUCA, will be closely monitoring the test flight and the results may be transferred into future research papers. The outcome is to create a safe and efficient way of implementing UCA operations into civil aviation.

1.4 Thesis structure This section will inform the reader on the structure of the thesis. Chapter two (2) will discuss the methodology and strategy explaining the main research question and the accompanying sub research questions. In addition, the strategy on the conduct of the interviews and the collection of data will be documented for the reader. Once the a clear strategy has been set out a transition can be made into the following chapters, which aim to go over each project step and answer the associated sub questions. Firstly, the legislative challenges that the UCA test flight will face will be discussed and solutions to overcome these challenges will be given (3).

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 17 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Secondly, the aircraft choice will be discussed through means of systematically comparing three aircraft candidates and the demands of the clients (4). Thirdly, the means by which the safety of the entire operation is upheld will be stated (5). The design of the ground station from which the UCA will be controlled will be mentioned (6). Through this gained knowledge the route and airspace through which the UCA will operate can be elaborated upon (0). The tunnel in the sky, which will allow future UCA operations from operating alongside manned aviation, will also play a key role in the test flight (8). Furthermore, the personnel required on the day of the test flight will have to be identified (9) and the time that each member will have to perform his/her assigned tasked will be published in the script (10). Lastly, a cost analysis of a potential UCA operation will be given (11) after which the research plan will elaborate on why the actual UCA test flight needs to be performed after the planning phase has been completed (12). The project will thereafter end with the standard recommendation (13) and discussion (14).

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 18 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

2 Approach The project approach will discuss how this research will be set up and performed. Firstly, the challenges of an UCA will be stated (2.1). Secondly the main-and sub questions will be out- lined (Error! Reference source not found.). When both of these items have been completed the strategy on which this project will be performed will be discussed (Error! Reference source not found.).

2.1 Outlining the problem Since the founding of PUCA in 2011 the organization and its contributing members have been striving towards the realization of a UCA model that can safely and efficiently be operated. Over the years major advancements have been made, such as the design of conventional-and blended wing body UCA platforms, and presentations on the advantages of UCA implementation. The HvA, in association with PUCA, has decided that the emphasis of UCA research must shift from a technological standpoint to an operational standpoint. Sufficient data on UCA platforms have been gathered and the priority has shifted to the underexposed topic of operational requirements needed to fulfill an UCA operation. These requirements will become apparent through the preparation and execution of an UCA test flight. The preparation of the test flight will be published in this paper including a recommendation on its feasibility. Before completion multiple obstacles must be overcome.

The first obstacle will be the aircraft choice. As previously mentioned, the financing of the entire operation will be done through donations and subsides, either of goods or money. It is important that the aircraft type, and means of acquiring it, be as cost effective as possible. The aircraft can be acquired through the following ways; purchasing, leasing or borrowing.

Secondly, the clients intend to depart from Weeze airport, located in Germany, and arrive in Twente, located in the Netherlands; the operation will have to be coordinated between two countries. The national legislative bodies of Germany, the Luftfahrt Bundesamt (LBA) and of the Netherlands, the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT) will have to be consulted. As the UK is the most progressive on the topic of UAV’s the legislation set by the CAA will also be followed even though the intended operation is outside of the UK. As stated in CAP 722, any UAV’s with a mass more than 150 kg will be subject to the EASA as the responsible regulatory body. An exemption to this rule is made for experimental flights. This exception implies that the jurisdiction, in case of experimental RPAS flights, falls back onto the national authorities. This will be elaborated on later in this paper. CAP 722 states that segregated airspace is required for UAV operations with a mass more than 150 kg operating Beyond Vis- ual Line Of Sight (BVLOS). Since there is not one complete stretch of segregated airspace linking the centers of Weeze airport to Twente airport the goal will be to get a Temporarily Danger Area (TDA) in place for the intended route. The ILT and LBA will both have the jurisdiction to approve or deny the test flight in each individual country. In addition to the civil aviation authorities, the airports of departure, destination and alternates will have to give permission. Some airports may not be enthusiastic about the idea of a never before tested, unmanned aircraft departing or landing at their facilities. Both countries have designated organizations tasked with representing and regulating the ATC’s. In the Netherlands this would be ‘’Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland (LVNL)’’ and in Germany this would be ‘’Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS)’’. It becomes evident that multiple parties will be involved in the opera-

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 19 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies tion and if only a single fails to sign off on the test flight the mission will not be able to be performed. Another item that will have to be examined is the composition of the ground station. The UCA will need to be able to receive commands from the ground on distances beyond that of conventional line-to-sight basis. Lastly, all the personnel required on the day of the test flight must be identified to ensure a smoothly run operation. No stone can be left unturned as this could lead to a cancellation or failure of the mission.

2.2 Research questions Identifying a main question will help to determine what steps need to be undertaken to successfully perform the test flight. The main question is as follows:

What steps have to be undertaken to realize a successful test flight with an UCA from Weeze to Twente airport?

To answer this question multiple sub questions will first have to be answered. To determine what these questions are the problems described in the previous section will be examined. The previous mentioned problems were studied and together with prof Robert Jan the Boer the following sub-questions were created:

1. Which agencies have to be asked for permission? 2. What aircraft will be used and how will this have to be modified? 3. How will safety be maximized during a test flight? 4. What will the ground station look like and how will it function? 5. What personnel are needed to realize the test flight? 6. What will the script for the test flight look like?

Some of the above mentioned sub-questions can already be answered while others require additional research.

2.3 Project Strategy To answer the main-and sub question mentioned earlier (Error! Reference source not found.) a strategy has to be made. The research strategy will cover two information- gathering methods. The first will be the literature that will be utilized during this paper (2.3.1). The second, and most important, method will be the interviews that will have to be conducted (2.3.2).

2.3.1 Literature review The literature used in this paper will answer most of the sub-questions. The reason that not all the sub-questions can be answered through the use of literature is due to the fact that most information available is on small-scale RPAS activity. Concerning the legislations on RPAS, most papers on this topic serve merely as a guideline and hold no legislative ground or are restricted to RPAS operations below 150kg. Because of these factors this paper will be operating on the front line of RPAS operations and will be pioneering most of the developments on its own. By researching the available information a quick conclusion can be made on which sub-questions can and cannot be answered through the use of literature. Only the

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 20 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies sub-questions that can, partly, be answered through the use of literature will be mentioned in this section.

The first sub-question: Which agencies have to be asked for permission?; can be answered by referring to the websites of each national aviation authority. The actual acquisition of the permission obviously cannot be done through literature review.

The second sub-question: what aircraft will be used and how will this have to be modified?; can partly be answered through the use of existing literature. A final decision is complex as it depends on the clients funding. The lack of funding will have an influence on the test flight. There are three ways that an aircraft can be acquired: purchasing, leasing or borrowing. Only the purchasing option can be answered through the use of literature. Finding affordable, second-hand aircraft needs to be investigated. The modification of the conventional aircraft to a UCA will be answered by conducting interviews.

The third sub-question: How will safety be maximized during the test flight?; can be answered partly through literature. The previous UCA report was based on the safety analysis of an UCA operation and is therefore well equipped to answer part of this question.

2.3.2 Conducting interviews The remainder of the sub-questions will have to be answered through the use of interviews or correspondence. The field of UAV’s is developing more quickly than the existing documentation on the subject. Conducting interviews with the responsible authorities will provide the most accurate and up to date information. Interviews will provide not only information but may help to gather support and, hopefully, gain approval from the responsible authorities. The permission for the test flight, as stated in the first sub-question, will have to be asked to the following authorities:  LBA  ILT  LVNL  ILS  EASA The project will primarily aim to conduct these interviews face-to-face. If for some reason this is not possible it will be done by either email correspondence, phone calls or through virtual meetings.

The option of leasing or borrowing an aircraft will have to be explored through means of interviews. Contact will have to be made with leasing companies to explore options and aircraft, which can then be converted and, after the test, be re-converted into its original state. With regards to borrowing an aircraft, parties willing to lend their aircraft without receiving any compensation will have to be identified. One PUCA member that has an aircraft and the resources is the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR). The NLR is an independent, non-profit, foundation that specializes in the development of aerospace systems, aerospace operations and aerospace vehicles.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 21 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

The fourth sub-question: What will the ground station look like and how will it function; can be answered with help of one of PUCA’s members. During the PUCA meeting on September 7th 2016 at the NLR, a company by the name of (UN)MANNED was introduced. The CEO of (UN)MANNED, Filip Verhaeghe, gave an overview of the many fields his company specializes in, one of which is the construction of ground stations for large military RPAS. Because the military RPAS in question operate on BVLOS basis and virtually have all the features of a large civilian aircraft these ground stations, on first glance, perfectly fit the needs of the UCA aircraft intended for the test flight. With regards to the fifth and sixth sub-questions; What personnel are needed to realize the test flight? & What will the script for the test flight look like?; contact will have to be made with the KLM Operations division to see if they are willing to lend a helping hand, either by sending over documentation or agreeing to an interview. The only experience that KLM has with test flights is testing aircraft that have returned from maintenance. Therefore, KLM isn’t the best reference to help identify test flight personnel and the test flight script. The decision to utilize contacts at KLM were influenced by the following factors:  After meeting with René Eveleens and Rob Ruigrok from the NLR and requesting test flight documentation, they shared an executive summary from one of NLR’s own UAV test flights; UAV in Civil Airspace – OUTCAST or friend. OUTCAST was a project conducted by NLR between April 2004 and March 2007 to investigate a technical con- cept for Detect & Avoid (DA) based on available ACAS technology in combination with an Electro Optical (EO)/Infra Red (IR) camera to provide ‘’visual information’’. NLR designed a special camera and fitted it to their Cessna Citation Business Jet and performed numerous test flights. Unfortunately, this executive summary focused heavily on the technical aspect of the test flight and did not go in depth on the planning or personnel required. René Eveleens and Rob Ruigrok did not have the OUTCAST paper in their possession. Attempts to contact personnel at NLR, to obtain a copy, were un- successful.  As the UCA test flight would be with a conventional aircraft it was assumed that the planning of the flight would differ little from that of a commercial aircraft operation. The decision was made, after the failed attempt to attain the OUTCAST paper, to use KLM’s operational procedures to identify the required personnel and create the script.

Besides the above-mentioned authorities other companies and organizations need to be interviewed. The first one will be an aviation insurance company. The insurance company Bird&Bird is an international law firm based in London with experience in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Bird&Bird attended one of PUCA’s meetings and expressed their willingness to lend their services to PUCA that could lead to Bird&Bird insuring the test flight.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 22 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

3 Legislation The first sub-question was: Which agencies have to be asked for permission? The agencies in question have already been identified:  LBA  ILT  LVNL  DFA  MLA The operational scenario will have to be clearly stated to properly tackle the legal aspect of the operation (3.1). Each legislative hurdle associated with the test flight will then be given, along with the associated agency that has legal jurisdiction to resolve this problem (3.4). The next step will be to attempt to resolve these issues by conducting interviews with each individual agency and publish the findings (3.5). Furthermore, an attempt was made to make contact with the German authorities in charge of the area where airport Weeze is located in but the person in charge of this matter has been sick for an extended period of time and had other business to attend to. I was told that they would try to respond to my request/questions but was informed that since this did not have their priority a response would not be likely. Because of this, the remainder of this paper will focus mainly on the requirements set out by the ILT and LVNL.

3.1 Operational scenario To properly identify the legislative hurdles a clear distinction between the multiple operational scenarios must be made. A total of five operational scenarios have been identified, all of which have a different degree of difficulty. The ones that are easy to execute contribute little or no new knowledge. Conversely, operational scenarios that are difficult to carry out are more valuable as more knowledge is acquired. The five scenarios that have been identified are:  PUCA scenario (3.1.1)  Conventional aircraft scenario (3.1.2)  Schiebel Camcopter S-100 scenario (3.1.3)  NLR scenario (3.1.4)  Singeler Flyox I scenario (3.1.5)

After each scenario has been illustrated a feasibility analysis will be created (3.2). Lastly, a conclusion shall be created as to what scenario will be implemented for the remainder of this paper (3.3). The preparation and performance of the eventual chosen scenario must be capable of, as accurately as possible, answering the following questions:  What is necessary to perform a UCA test flight?  What is necessary to perform a commercial UCA flight?

These questions will be answered at the end of this paper.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 23 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

3.1.1 PUCA scenario The PUCA scenario assumes that the UCA consists of: a conventional aircraft that is converted to receive inputs from an external ground station; a newly designed conventional cargo aircraft that does not have a flight deck; or a newly designed blended wing body aircraft (Patrick van der Spek 2016). None of these aircraft have a human pilot on board and have one ground station pilot in charge of up to 10 UCA’s at a time. The idea is to let the aircraft fly themselves as much and as long as possible (Read, 2014). Once the UCA is airborne after take-off, it could follow a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) as set up by the authorities and programmed into the UCA’s software, thereby taking into account local rules and noise abatement procedures. Once it has completed this SID, it could fly a pre-programmed route, taking into account possible altitude changes. When the UCA gets close to the arrival airport, it could follow a Standard Arrival Route (STAR) that lines it up with the runway. Thereafter, the Instrument Landing System (ILS), which consists of the equipment in the aircraft, with the help of the equipment on the ground takes over and the UCA could make an automatic landing. This automatic landing could also be performed with another type of equipment, such as differential GPS. At all the airports, there will be controllers who can intervene with the aircraft’s flight path, but only when deemed necessary. This could be in a situation where manned aircraft would declare an emergency or a situation in which urgency is required. Intervention with the flight path can be done when the UCA is taking off, during the departure procedure, during the arrival procedure and during the landing phase. Besides this, there will be one or more controllers to monitor the UCA when it is in the cruise phase of the flight. The idea is to make one controller responsible for up to twelve UCA at one moment (Hoeben, 2014). The UCA will fall under RPAS legislation and be operating BVLOS. Through the use of a tunnel in the sky, safe separation with other traffic would be guaranteed whilst also allowing the flow of future commercial UCA traffic to travel as efficiently as possible. As explained in the introduction and what will be elaborated on later in this paper, a TDA will need to be implemented to safely separate surrounding traffic from the UCA since it will be an RPAS>150 kg operating in non-segregated airspace. A Class 2 exemption will also be required since the operation will be BVLOS. For the test flight the departure airport would be Weeze and the arrival airport would be Twente.

3.1.2 Conventional aircraft scenario At the beginning of this paper the assumption was made to build on the previous paper (Pat- rick van der Spek 2016) and utilize a conventional converted aircraft as the UCA platform. Additionally, two fallback pilots will add an extra measure of safety to the test flight that would be operating between existing and non-existing legislation. The fallback pilots, in combination with radar services and a transponder, will provided an adequate measure of DA. The fallback pilots would cause the UCA to be classified as a manned flight. However, since the UCA hierarchy would put the fallback pilots at the bottom of the list the UCA would still be partly operating under RPAS legislation (Table 1).

Control hierarchy 1. UCA autonomous flight 2. Ground station 3. Fallback pilots

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 24 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Table 1 Control Hierarchy

The fallback pilots will only intervene in case of an emergency or a situation that requires immediate action that the ground station pilot could not comply with in a timely manner. The aircraft would still primarily be operating BVLOS controlled by an external ground station and would therefore still have to adhere to RPAS legislation. An exception to this situation is that the ground controller is not required to have an RPAS license, which will be elaborated on later on in this paper. Like the PUCA scenario the UCA would operate between Weeze and Twente, follow the tunnel in the sky principle and require the use of a TDA and a Class 2 exemption.

3.1.3 Schiebel Camcopter S-100 scenario Due to the difficulty of executing some of the scenarios new scenarios were created to increase the feasibility of the project. One of these scenarios suggests that the UCA consist of an existing RPAS, the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. The Schiebel is a fully functional, and above all, certified RPAS that only requires the addition of NLR’s designed Airscout Detect and Avoid System (DAA). The Schiebel also has a fully certified ground station and operating team. One major flaw of the Schiebel is the lack of payload. The Schiebel is capable a transporting a mere 34 kg, far less than what future UCA operations are expected to transport. Another adjustment that is made to this scenario is that the original proposed plan of one single test flight is replaced with a new plan to perform a total of three test flights. The first, and possibly, the second test flight would both be performed with the Schiebel Camcopter S- 100. Due to the lack of time, this scenario will only be capable of taking into account the first test flight. The first test flight will be between Weeze and De Peel airports. Since both airports are connected with each other through two CTR’s no TDA is required. Detect and Avoid will therefore be partly provided by ATC services. A Class 2 exemption is, however, still required. The advantage of using the Schiebel with the newly chosen routes is that a great deal of time and resources can be saved whilst part of the learning objectives are still upheld.

3.1.4 NLR scenario Another one of the compromised scenarios inspired is a technique used in the past by the NLR during test flights. This scenario puts the fall-back pilots in control of the entire flight, thereby doing away with any hurdles caused by RPAS legislation and BVLOS legislation and does not require any major modifications. Instead of directly controlling the aircraft, the ground station sends instructions to the pilots on board. This way there is still a connection between the ground station and the aircraft, though in a simplified form. The aircraft could fly the majority of the route autonomously by using the existing autopilot. The original proposed route from Weeze to Twente can be maintained in this scenario.

3.1.5 Singeler Flyox I The last scenario would be to utilize another finished RPAS known as the Singeler Flyox I. The Singeler Flyox I, unlike the Schiebel Camcopter S-100, does in fact meet the criteria set by PUCA with its payload of 1850 kg and a maximum operating range of 2,515 nm. It is therefore a better aircraft candidate than the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. However, the Singeler Flyox I was discovered towards the end of the paper and therefore could not be implemented into the findings of this paper.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 25 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

3.2 Feasibility analysis Now that all five options have been mentioned they will be compared with one another against the set challenges that the operation may face. This helps contribute towards the learning and understanding of new UCA related knowledge and skillsets. This comparison will be done through the use of Harvey Balls (Tabel 2). The Harvey Ball classification is as followed: 4 = 100% 3 = 75% 2 = 50% 1 = 25% 0 = 0%

Harvey Balls marked with an * do not apply to that scenario and therefore will be given 4 because this will not form an obstacle.

PUCA scenario Conventional Schiebel NLR scenario Singeler Fly- aircraft sce- Camcopter S- ox I scenario nario 100 scenario Required steps % That the required steps can be performed or granted within 48 months

Design, modifica- 0 0 4 4 n.d. tion and certification Detect & avoid 0 2 4 4 n.d. method Tunnel in the sky 4 4 4 0 n.d. operation TDA 0 2 4 4 n.d. Certified ground 1 1 4 4* n.d. station RPAS operating 0 4* 4 4* n.d. license Class 2 exemp- 0 4 4 4* n.d. tion/BVLOS Economical busi- 0 0 1 1 n.d. ness case Loss of contact 0 4* 4 4* n.d. procedure UCA operation 4 3 1 2 n.d. simulation Tabel 2 Feasibility analysis

3.3 Conclusion The PUCA scenario is the most ideal for gaining insight on all UCA related aspects. However, as can be seen from the Feasibility analysis, this scenario cannot be performed due to numerous legal or time constraints.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 26 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

The second-best scenario is the Conventional aircraft. By letting the UCA perform the mission autonomously, or through inputs from the external ground station, and by having two fallback pilots on board the UCA, some previously encountered legal hurdles can be avoided. However, the presence of the fall back pilots also causes some issues. RPAS operating license and loss of contact procedure will not be required and therefore will not be able to be tested during the preparation and execution of the test flight. The third best scenario is the use of the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. The Schiebel can perform nearly all tasks required expected from a UCA. Its only shortcoming is a UCA operation simulation. Due to its limited payload it does not accurately simulate future commercial UCA missions. The fourth most desirable option is the NLR scenario. The NLR scenario can, like the Schiebel scenario, perform nearly all required steps. However, since physical pilots are on board of the UCA the NLR scenario will not be capable of testing numerous steps, therefore, greatly decreasing its benefits. The fifth option is the Singeler Flyox I scenario. Unfortunately, no data is provided in the feasibility analysis due to the late introduction of this scenario to this paper. When comparing all of this data with each other it is clear that the use of the Schiebel Camcopter S- 100 is the most viable option. All factors can be performed to some degree and, due to it being a fully finished and certified product, including a certified ground station and operating team, major hurdles are overcome using this scenario.

This project will focus on the Schiebel scenario. However, initially this paper will still assume that the Conventional scenario will be used. The reason this has been done is so that the reader will experience for themselves the problems that this scenario, and therefore this paper, initially faced when trying to carry out this scenario. Each problem will be given a solution which eventually leads to the use of the Schiebel scenario. The reader will be able to closely follow and better understand each decision made in this paper.

3.4 Legislative hurdles The following legislative requirements have been identified by studying existing national and international RPAS legislation and through correspondents with the NLR: 1. The ground controller and the fallback pilots must have the appropriate licensing; 2. The aircraft must have a valid airworthiness certification with the accompanying registration and insurance; 3. The aircraft has to be operated by an acknowledged organization holding an RPAS operation certificate (ROC); 4. Currently no legislation for RPAS with a mass>150 kg; 5. BVLOS RPAS operation is currently not yet permitted; 6. The company in charge of converting the conventional aircraft into an UCA must be able to prove that the ground station and data link guarantee controllability over the aircraft at all times. The company in charge must also have a Design Organization Approval (DOA); 7. The safety of the operation has to be maximized prior to the test flight; 8. The airfields at departure, destination and alternates have to be asked for permission.

By complying with parts 2 and 6 the mission will be in eligible for a Class 2 exemption. A Class 2 exemption is given out by the ILT and temporarily allows RPAS operation above people and buildings at a height above 120 m or at a distance further than 500 m, and in the dark. IFR and can only be given out if the following criteria are met:  The type of UAS has the appropriate airworthiness certification;

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 27 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

 The designer is DOA certified;  The system is built by a qualified builder labeled with a Production Organization Ap- proval (POA);  The system is maintained by a qualified organization labeled with the Maintenance Organization Approval (MOA). Since the system consists of a conventional aircraft converted into a UCA no POA is required. Furthermore, since it is a one-time test flight no MOA is required. Now, each individual hurdle will be dissected and each corresponding authority with jurisdiction to resolve the problem will be identified.

3.5 Problem resolution and responsible agencies The first problem: the ground controller and the fallback pilots must have the appropriate licensing, will have to be answered separately since both pilots require completely different licenses. Firstly, the ground controller will be discussed (3.5.1) and thereafter, the fallback pilots will be mentioned (3.5.2). The second problem: The aircraft must have a valid airworthiness certification (3.5.3) with the accompanying registration (3.5.4). Insurance (3.5.5) will be discussed individually. Thirdly, the available ROC agencies will be mentioned (3.5.6) after which the issues of RPAS >150 kg (3.5.7) and BVLOS RPAS operation (3.5.8) will be looked at as the 4th and 5th problem. Furthermore, a recognized company must be identified to perform the modifications to answer the 6th problem (3.5.9). The 7th problem: The safety of the operation has to be maximized prior to the test flight, is possibly the most difficult one as the agency in charge of doing so is EASA. This will not be discussed in this section as it has its own dedicated chapter (5). Lastly, the 8th problem will be dealt with by direct communication with the LVNL and DFS (3.5.10).

3.5.1 Ground controller RPAS have been divided into three main categories:  RPAS ≤ 25 kg  RPAS > 25 kg - ≤ 150 kg  RPAS > 150kg.

For the intended operation the RPAS will fall into the latter category. The first two categories fall under national legislation and are therefore the responsibility of the ILT in The Nether- lands and the LBA in Germany. RPAS operations above 150 kg fall under EASA. However, as stated in II (i): ‘’ The Agency (EASA) is competent for drones with an MTOM above 150 kg (annex II (i)) that are not used for:  Military, customs, police, search and rescue, firefighting, coastguard or similar activity or services (article 2 basic regulation);  Specifically designed or modified for research, experimental or scientific purpose to be produced in very limited numbers.’’

Because the intended flight of operation is an experimental flight EASA states that the jurisdiction falls back onto the national agencies. However, once UCA flights will become a com-

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 28 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies mercial operation it will in fact fall under EASA jurisdiction. From here on out a distinction will be made in this chapter between the test flight requirements and commercially operated UCA requirements. For the UCA test flight the use of the fallback pilots will work in the operations favor. The presence of the fallback pilots means that the UCA will not be classified as an RPAS, but as a manned experimental aircraft. Therefore no RPAS licensing is required for the ground controller because at all times during the flight the fall back pilots will be in the cockpit and ready to take over control if necessary (ILT). However, what the fall back pilots must possess are a CPL and a type rating. The ground station pilot will also require Obtaining the CPL will not be an issue since a good portion of civilian pilots already possess a CPL. However, the requirement of the ground station pilots to possess a type rating identifies one major hurdle not previously mentioned in this paper. During an interview with ILT at their headquarter on October 10th 2016 the organization raised the issue that once the modifications were made to the conventional aircraft it would no longer be classified as the aircraft it was before the modifications. Because of this, the aircraft would have to be completely re-certified; more of this will be discussed in the next section (4). Only once this certification process has been completed can a type-rating course be made available.

After correspondents with the LBA, the following information was gained: German aviation, unlike aviation in the Netherlands, is not controlled by one single umbrella organization; Germany can be divided into 16 districts, also known as ‘’Bundesländer’’ (Tabel 3). Each individual district is responsible for the civil aviation operations within its airspace.

STATE 1 Baden-Württemberg 2 Bayern 3 Berlin 4 Brandenberg 5 Bremen 6 Hamburg 7 Hessen 8 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 9 Niedersachsen 10 Nordrhein-Westfalen 11 Rheinland-Pfalz 12 Saarland 13 Sachsen 14 Sachsen-Anhalt 15 Schleswig-Holstein 16 Thüringen Tabel 3 Bundesländer

Weeze, and the route of operation, lies in the Nordrhein-Westfalen district. Therefore permission will have to be asked to the municipality of Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 29 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

With regards to future commercial UCA operations the situation is a lot more complicated. The ILT, the agency tasked with creating and monitoring aviation related legislation in the Netherlands, has not created any legislation for RPAS > 150kg since this usually falls under EASA. EASA is currently still in the process of creating legislation for RPAS operations above 150 kg, including the requirements for the ground controller. Therefore, no statements can be given on this matter. However, an overview of the criteria required for RPAS < 150 kg can be given as these are already in existence and since there is a strong possibility that these requirements will also be mandatory for RPAS operations > 150 kg.

The licensing for RPAS operation within the Netherlands can currently be divided into six categories:  Aeroplanes (A) mtom ≤ 25 kg  Aeroplanes (A) mtom > 25 kg - ≤ 150 kg  Rotorcraft (H) mtom ≤ 25 kg  Rotorcraft (H) mtom > 25 kg – 150 kg  Other aircraft (OA) mtom ≤ 25 kg  Other aircraft (OA) mtom > 25 kg - ≤ 150 kg.

The category that will most likely resemble the qualifications required for an RPAS operation (> 150 kg) is category A mtom > 25 kg - ≤ 150 kg. These licenses can only be acquired at a Registered Training Facility (RTF). The NLR is an RTF and is qualified to train each class ≤ 25 kg. There currently is no RTF qualified to offer training for RPAS >25 kg. Through correspondence with the NLR the following information was gained:  The NLR is currently busy acquiring the right to offer RPAS training > 25 kg.  The NLR is the only organization that possesses civilian pilots with a RPAS > 25 kg.

To attain this licensing the candidate must attain a certificate, from a RTF, proving that the candidate has gone through the proper theoretical and practical training. Furthermore, the candidate must pass the proper medical examination and be older than 18 years old. By utilizing the pilots at the NLR that currently already posses a RPAS license for a mtom > 25 kg the training process can be drastically shortened to achieve the, yet to be determined, requirements set by the ILT for RPAS operations with a mtom > 150 kg for the first commercial UCA flight.

Another option would be to utilize military pilots from either the Netherlands or from Ger- many. Germany currently uses the Heron RPAS in their armed forces, which has a MTOM of 1150 kg. Therefore, the German armed forces possess pilots licensed to operate RPAS > 150 kg. The Netherlands has ordered 5 reaper drones but these will not be fully operational until late 2017 and the ground station pilots are still undergoing training. On first glance, the most ideal situation would therefore be to utilize RPAS pilots from the German armed forces. However, after meeting with the ILT the following comments were given when presented with a questioner regarding the test flight. The ILT highly discouraged the utilization of military pilots. The reason being that the military does not uphold the same strict regulations as civilian aviation and therefore their personnel, as well as their equipment, do not adhere to the strict requirements set by EASA. The conclusion can be made that for the first commercial UCA flight no short cuts can be taken and that there is no other option then to wait for a certified RPAS>150 kg training course to be created.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 30 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

3.5.2 Fall back pilots Two fallback pilots will be on board during the test flight to take control of the aircraft in case the situation so requires. For this reason the decision has been made to leave the cockpit of the converted aircraft intact and fully functional. Since the modifications will not change anything about the aircraft performance the fallback pilots in question should have the following qualifications:  Instrument Rating  Type Rating  CPL  Category 2 flight test rating.

Since the NLR possesses a Cessna Citation Business Jet, which is frequently used for test pro- grams, they also possess pilots that are both Category 2 test pilot rated instrument rated and CPL rated. However, as identified in the previous section, the acquisition of a type rating is currently not possible. Obviously, no fallback pilots will be used in future commercial UCA operations and therefore no requirements will be given.

3.5.3 Airworthiness certification With the newly gained information given by the ILT it has been identified that the aircraft will have to be re-certified after the required modifications have been performed. Before the modifications can even be performed an approval for the requested modification will have to be given by both the ILT and the LBA. The request can be made to the ILT by filling out the form: Goedkeuring wijzing luchtvaarttuig (GWL)(Appendix 1). After this request for modifications has been approved by both agencies, and the actual modifications have been performed, the aircraft will be classified as a new type of aircraft and will therefore have to be re-certified by EASA. EASA will only recertify the aircraft if it can be established that the aircraft can be operated in a safe manner. To enable the aircraft to operate in a safe manor the following two factors play a key role:  Must be able to guarantee that all of the traffic, including traffic without a transponder, can be identified and avoided in a timely manner;  Prove that when the point of control is placed outside of the cockpit the operation is still at least as safe as before the modifications were made.

Methods on how to achieve this will be discussed in the upcoming sections relating to these topics.

3.5.4 Aircraft registration Since the UCA will consist of a conventional aircraft converted to receive commands from the ground the original registration will be maintained, as discussed with ILT.

3.5.5 Insurance The UCA used for the test flight will be classified as a manned aircraft that will be capable of receiving commands from the ground. This simplifies the way the aircraft can be insured. Insurance companies with experience in the aviation industry should, because of this classification, have no problem with insuring the aircraft for the day of operation. Because the UCA

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 31 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies will be converted from an existing operational aircraft this aircraft should already come with the necessary insurance. Also, since one of the requirements of the modifications is that the operation is at least as safe as before the modifications the original insurance should not drastically change. This is even more so if the decision comes down to using the Cessna Cita- tion Business Jet from the NLR. Since the NLR already uses this aircraft for experimental flights the insurance used by NLR should already cover these types of operations.

For future UCA operations a separate insurance policy will have to be drafted. Since there is currently no such operation, and therefore no such insurance in place, this will have to be created by insurance companies willing to endeavor in such an operation. Even though the premium will likely be different for UCA operations the type of insurance will not. Like all manned aircraft the UCA’s of the future will need ‘hull and liability’ insurance. Insurance companies however will not be willing to offer their services until it can be proven that such an operation can be performed safely. Once again, this is a reminder of the importance of this test flight.

3.5.6 ROC holding agency’s The organization tasked with operating the UCA must have a valid ROC. Obtaining a ROC in The Netherlands can be done through the ILT by filing the ‘’Aanvraag RPAS Operator Certifi- cate (ROC)’’ (Appendix 2). Obtaining a ROC does not come easy, which explains why the NLR is the only organization in the Netherlands with an ROC. It would therefore be beneficial for this project that the NLR be tasked as the operator of the test flight. They will, besides the ROC, bring flight test experience to the table that could drastically increase the chances of a successful mission.

3.5.7 RPAS > 150 kg As known by now, there is no legislation for RPAS operation > 150 kg. This immediately puts an end to any dreams of repeated operations with an RPAS > 150 kg. Because the UCA for the day of the test flight will have two fallback pilots on board the aircraft will not be classed as a RPAS but as an experimental manned aircraft. This solves the problem for the test flight but does not solve the problem for the eventual goal: Implementing UCA operations into civilian aviation. Commercial flights will not be permitted until a clear set of regulations have been implemented nationally and internationally that the operator can comply with.

3.5.8 BVLOS operation BVLOS RPAS operation is currently not yet permitted. Even though the UCA will not be classified as an RPAS it will still receive input BVLOS and will not be allowed to operate in non- segregated airspace (ILT & NLR). An exception to this rule is made if the operation is carried out within a TDA, also known as ‘’Tijdelijk Gebied van Beperkingen (TGB)’’ in the Nether- lands. By obtaining a TDA the ILT will also be capable of giving a Class 2 exemption (Klasse 2 ontheffing)(Appendix 3) that permits BVLOS operations and operations above 500 m above buildings and people in IFR conditions. So both a TDA and a class 2 exemption will need to be requested and obtained from the ILT to allow BVLOS operations for the test flight. With the eye on the future, the law will have to permit a genuine RPAS from receiving BVLOS input signals to carry out commercial UCA flights. A TGB will prevent any other traffic from operating through the corridor that the TGB is active in. This will hinder any aircraft operations on the day of the test flight and, due to the location through which the route will go, will hinder

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 32 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies exiting commercial and emergency services. This will therefore form a major hurdle in getting the flight approved. It is therefore realistic to assume that ILT might not grant a TDA for the requested route. If this were to happen a compromise would need to be made by operating the UCA Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS). EVLOS is where, beyond 500 meters, the pilot is supported by one or more observers, in which the crew maintains direct unaided visual contact with the remotely piloted aircraft (eurocontrol, n.d.). This means that the ground controller will be operating the UCA BVLOS but will at all times maintain visual contact with the UCA through the use of observers that report on the UCA’s position.

3.5.9 Modification Company The company tasked with modifying the conventional aircraft to receive commands from a ground station will have to face a long and complicated certification process. The designer and builder will have to prove beforehand that the airworthiness is not put in jeopardy and that the safety is at least as safe as before the modifications. For example, when Fokker wanted its aircraft to be certified in the 1980’s it took the effort of a 100 man strong team 10 years to get the aircraft certified (NLR & ILT). Once a company has proven that it can safely and effectively design and perform modifications it receives a Design Organization Approval (DOA). The process of getting the required aircraft modifications certified is so detailed and complex that it does not fit into the scope of this paper. What can be said is that the NLR’s Research Aircraft Design Organization (RADO) has been accredited with a DOA and is therefore certified to design and modify aircraft. Due to the rarity of DOA certified companies and the cooperation of the NLR during this research the obvious choice will be to task the NLR with designing and performing the required modifications.

3.5.10 LVNL and DFS After contacting LVNL the following information was gained. First of all it became apparent that there is still some confusion between organizations over who would be in charge of processing a request to perform the UCA test flight. LVNL stated that the only task that LVNL would have in the test flight would be the publication of a NOTAM. The NOTAM would serve as additional information for flights planning to operate in the vicinity of the route of the UCA on the day of the test flight. However, LVNL did state that a formal request would have to be made to Nieuw Milligen (NW Milligen). The reason that LVNL referred to NW Milligen is because Twente airport, and part of the route, is located within NW Milligen airspace. NW Milligen is an area of Dutch airspace within which the Dutch Air Force operates. Upon contacting NW Milligen it was pointed out that NW Milligen does not handle requests of this nature but that a separate department known as the Airspace Management Cell (AMC) would need to be contacted. AMC is an office tasked with processing requests for special use of airspace. Upon receiving such a request AMC examines if the set request can be performed safely and legally. AMC also processes all of the paperwork and is in charge of instat- ing a TDA. Once the request has been processed by the AMC a draft decision is created and sent to the ‘’Minister van Waterstaat’’ and the ‘’Minister van Defensie’’ who then make the final decision. During this entire process on organization known as the MLA is also involved. MLA is the military equivalent of the ILT.

After speaking to the AMC it was made clear that the AMC only processes requests of military nature. Since the operation is of civilian nature the request will have to be made to the ILT. This is good news since this means the entire request can be submitted and processed

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 33 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies by one entity and since the ILT has already been involved with this project. Since the flight will, however, go through military airspace MLA must also be made aware of the intentions of the operation. This communication will be done by ILT and any objections from MLA will be communicated directly back to ILT. To summarize the abovementioned information:  ILT is solely in charge with processing the legal side of the request to operate within Dutch airspace and will discuss this with MLA.  NW Milligen will be involved in the execution of the test flight through Dutch airspace.

AMC also mentioned that NW Milligen is currently under staffed and that an operation of this nature would require at least one member of the NW Milligen to be assigned to supervise the UCA during the operation through Dutch airspace. Since the operation is of civilian nature it will not have top priority with NW Milligen and therefore could create problems for the test flight.

After consolidating with the German authorities it became apparent that DFS is not the authority that need be asked for permission. This is also a matter of the relevant Bundesländ and therefore will need to be discussed with Nordrhein-Westfalen. The authorities that will actually need to be asked for permission will therefore be:  Nordrhein-Westfalen  ILT  LVNL  MLA

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 34 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

4 Aircraft The second sub question was: What aircraft will be used and how will this have to be modified? Firstly, the aircraft candidates will be discussed, eventually leading to the aircraft choice (4.1). Secondly, the modifications that will need to be performed and the legal steps required to perform these modifications will be examined (4.2).

4.1 Aircraft choice As mentioned numerous times in the paper, the aircraft choice will way heavily on the available resources. Since there are no available resources the acquisition of an aircraft will be done through donated funds or through a, temporary, donation of an aircraft. The three candidates that have been identified as UCA platform for the test flight are:  Cessna Citation Business Jet (4.1.1)  Schiebel (4.1.2)  Singeler Aircraft Flyox I (4.1.3).

Once all aircraft have been examined a conclusion will be made (4.1.4).

4.1.1 Cessna Citation Business Jet The first and most obvious aircraft candidate is the Cessna Citation Business Jet (Figure 1). The reason for this became clear after meeting with the NLR on November 11th 2016 regarding the use of their Cessna Citation Business Jet for the UCA test flight and regarding their own experience with test flights. Through this meeting a lot of helpful information was gained.

First of all, the NLR pointed out that since the NLR is the only acknowledge aviation test center in the Netherlands the NLR has a special license that exempts the organization from go- ing through the EASA certification after an aircraft modification has been performed. As explained by the NLR, modifications can be separated into two categories: Minor and Major. Plans for Minor modifications go to the NLR’s own flight test and certification department that has been accredited with a DOA. Plans for Major modifications have to be submitted to the ILT who then, when deemed safe, give out a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC)(Appendix 4). By utilizing both the NLR’s Cessna Citation Business Jet and technical branch a great amount of time can be saved which would otherwise be spent certifying both the conventional aircraft after modifications and the modification organization.

As the NLR pointed out, the suggested operation and modification would require a great deal of planning and resources that require funding. The NLR works on a project basis and requires a compensation for its work that neither HvA, the University of Twente nor PUCA can offer at this time. The NLR deemed the ambitions of the HvA and PUCA to perform the UCA test flight within 48 months after the completion of this paper without any funding as being unrealistic and as something that the NLR could not assist in. The Cessna Citation Busi- ness Jet will therefore not be available for the test flight if the financial situation stays the same.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 35 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Figure 1 Cessna Citation Business Jet

4.1.2 Schiebel Camcopter S-100 The second aircraft candidate is the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 (Figure 2). The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is an Austrian designed fully operational UAV that has already seen action by coastguards and military around the world. The specifications of the S-100 will be given below (Tabel 4). As specifications show, the S-100 is completely different from the original proposed plan of converting a conventional aircraft to receive commands from a ground station. However, as explained in the previous chapters, the financial and legal hurdles that a project of this nature faces will delay the execution of the UCA test flight. Both the HvA and PUCA have expressed their desire to perform this test flight within the next 48 months. As the situation stands now, this will not be possible if choosing to create a UCA by converting a conventional aircraft without the proper funding. However, since the main goal of the test flight is to identify legal en operational factors surrounding UCA operations, the use of an existing UAV, such as the Camcopter S-100, will still meet the requirements of the mission. One thing to take into consideration when using the Camcopter S-100 is the carried payload. The clients have not specified the amount of payload they want to transport on the day of the test flight. The Camcopter S-100 has a max capacity of 34 kg. The main advantage of the Campcopter S-100 is that it has experience in operating in non-segregated airspace in the Netherlands and it has a team that it certified to operate the Camcopter S-100. Schiebel acquired this experience through the ATM Innovative RPAS Integration for Coastguard Applica- tions project (AIRICA), ATM standing for Air Traffic Management. The AIRICA project is a Dutch project that the Netherlands Coastguard, the NLR, Schiebel and the Royal Netherlands Air Force participate in. The goal of the AIRICA project is to, over the course of two years, show the feasibility of using RPAS for coastguard activities in non-segregated airspace. AIRI- CA’s latest development was a detect & avoid test flight in 2015 in Den Helder. The test flight faced the same challenges as the one currently discussed in this paper. The main ones being:

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 36 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

 Must be able to guarantee that all of the traffic, including traffic without a transponder, can be identified and avoided in a timely manner.  Prove that when the point of control is placed outside of the cockpit the operation is still at least as safe as before the modifications.

Schiebel was able to resolve the first issue by equipping the S-100 with an Airscout DAA designed by the NLR. The DAA enabled Schiebel to detect all surrounding traffic equipped with a working transponder. ‘’Once the traffic had been identified the DAA system then determined in real time the corrective action to ensure the necessary separation from the intrud- er aircraft’’ (denhelderairport.nl). In layman’s terms this means the following: The DAA system automatically detects intruding traffic and automatically avoids this traffic. The genius part is that when avoiding this traffic the DAA system automatically choses an alternate route that stays clear from this intruding traffic (Dronewatch.nl). But what about traffic not equipped with a working transponder? For the test flight in 2015 the UAV received radar assistance to detect any traffic not equipped with a transponder. The intruding traffic was simulated by using an aircraft from the Dutch Coastguard and a helicopter from the Dutch Air Force and created an ‘as safe as possible’ test environment.

The second problem: Prove that when the point of control is placed outside of the cockpit the operation is still at least as safe as before the modifications, does not apply to Schiebel since it was designed from day one to receive commands from an exterior point. This can been confirmed since ILT, the agency that proposed the above two requirements, approved the Schiebel flight in Dutch airspace during the AIRICA project. During this testflight the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 was not operated BVLOS. The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is capable of BVLOS operations and would be capable of operating in such a manner on the day of the test flight if a TDA is issued through the route of operation. By adding up all of these factors it shows that the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is a qualified candidate. However, just as the Cessna Citation Busines Jet, the use of the Schiebel Camcop- ter S-100 required funding.

After contacting Schiebel with this exciting opportunity the company declined, as they have no interest to perform such a test flight without compensation.

Figure 2 Shiebel Camcopter S-100

Capacity 34 kg Length 3.11 m ( 10 ft 2 in) Width 1.24 m ( 4 ft 1 in)

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 37 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Height 1.12 m ( 3 ft 8 in) Empty weight 110 kg (243 lb) MTOW 200 kg (441 lb) Fuel capacity 57 L (15.5 gal) Powerplant 1 x Austro engine AE50R Wankel engine 41 kw (55hp) Main rotor diameter 3.4 m ( 11 ft 2 in ) Max speed 120 knots Cruise speed 55 knots Max Range 200 km (108 nm) Endurance 6 hours. 10 hours with extended fuel tanks Service ceiling 5486 m (18 000 ft) g-limits + 3.5 g, -1 g Tabel 4 Shiebel Camcopter S-100 specifications

4.1.3 Singeler Aircraft Flyox I During the later stages of this paper the Singeler Aircraft Flyox I came to light as another potential UCA candidate. However, at the point that this RPAS was discovered the paper was already near completion and the Singeler Aircraft Flyox I could no longer be implemented in this paper. The Singeler Aircraft Flyox will therefore not be taken into consideration for the remainder of the paper, even though it might be the most suitable candidate.

4.1.4 Conclusion After comparing both aircraft with each other the decision has been made to go with the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is a finished product and only requires the addition of a cargo of some sorts to classify it as an UCA. Therefore, the least amount of work and financing is needed when choosing for the Shiebel Camcopter S-100. This goes without saying that without any funding neither candidate will be available for the test flight. It is of upmost importance that the HvA, PUCA and the University of Twente raise funds if the UCA test flight is to become a reality. Since the Schiebel is a finished product this means that the HvA, PUCA and the University of Twente have approximately three years to gather the necessary funds leaving a comfortable one whole year to plan out the test flight. Once the funds have been gathered Schiebels RPAS, along with Schiebel’s services will be hired. Taking all of this into consideration it becomes apparent that opting for the use of the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 best fits the needs of the clients whilst still upholding the key val- ues of the test flight. Due to the decision to opt out of the use of a manned aircraft some additional information will have to be given to the previously made assumptions/decisions: 1. Since no fall-back pilots will be on board the aircraft a clear protocol will have to be given on how to act in case of loss of control with the RPAS. Schiebel has protocols for this situation but is unwilling to share any documentation on the Camcopter S- 100 before its services are hired; 2. Insurance of the UCA on the day of the test flight will need to be revaluated. Since the Schiebel has once before operated in the Netherlands during a test flight it can be assumed that the Schiebel is already insured for these kinds of operations. This will not be definite until Schiebel’s services are hired which allows the exchange of previously disclosed information;

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 38 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

3. With regards to the aircraft registration: The Schiebel is an RPAS but since no modifications will be performed to the RPAS it will maintain its aircraft registration; 4. Like the NLR, Schiebel is an acknowledged ROC holding agency (NLR); 5. RPAS > 150 kg is not permitted in the Netherlands. However, Schiebel has a MTOM of 200 kg and has previously operated in the Netherlands. This is because the ILT allowed the temporary operation of the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 in 2015 because the operation was deemed safe and the RPAS was granted a Class 2 exemption. The aim for the UCA test flight is to again receive such a temporary exemption. The use of a TDA will aid in the acquisition of this exemption; 6. Schiebel Company is a POA and also has its own MOA, thereby adhering to the requirements to obtain a Class 2 exemption.

The Schiebel was not a UCA that PUCA initially considered as it falls short on payload and performance. For the purpose of this test fight the Schiebel is suitable to test all the aspects surrounding RPAS operations with a MTOM > 150 kg in both The Netherlands and Germany. Due to the made changes a new operational scenario will be given.

4.2 Modifications With the newly chosen UCA candidate the following can be said about the modifications: Since the Shiebel Camcopter S-100 is already a fully functional UAV that operates BVLOS only one modification is required: the addition of NLR’s DAA to detect and avoid traffic. NLR’s RADO will have to be tasked with fitting the DAA to the Camcopter S-100 (Figure 3). The Schiebel is also capable of transporting 34 kg of cargo so no additional modifications are required. One drawback to adding NLRs DAA system is that it prevents the addition of a belly- mounted camera.

Figure 3 Schiebel Camcopter S-100 equipped with NLR's DAA system

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 39 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

5 Safety The third sub-question focused on the safety of the operation. Multiple layers of protection will have to be put in place to maximize safety. A failure in one of these layers could lead to a hazardous situation, potentially causing an accident. As identified during the meetings with ILT the operation must guarantee the following:  Must be able to guarantee that all of the traffic, including traffic without a transponder, can be identified and avoided in a timely manner;  Prove that when the point of control is placed outside of the cockpit the operation is still at least as safe as before the modifications.

In the previous chapter the methods on how these requirements were to be met were explained. The major advantage of utilizing the Shiebel is that besides a fully certified aircraft, it also comes equipped with a certified ground station and operating team. The Shiebel has previously performed a flight in Dutch non-segregated airspace and will bring experience to the test flight. Just like the Shiebel test flight in 2015, radar services will be required to guarantee that all traffic, including traffic not equipped with a transponder, can be properly detected and avoided.

One important factor to point out (that was explained during the PUCA meeting on Novem- ber 30th) that was not covered during the previous UCA report (van der Spek, 2016)) is the workings of the Ground Station Control System (GCS) reference with the UAV reference. On November 30th 2016 a speaker, representing OFBLEEKER Consulting, explained that all UAV operations need to be programmed so that the GCS reference will be copied and followed by the UAV. This allows that during a data link failure the UAV will not simply fall out of the sky but it will follow the instructions of the most recent GCS reference. Through this method a UAV will, in case of a data link failure, uphold the most recent GCS reference that was acquired whilst the data link was still active and the movement and future positions of the UAV will be easily predicted. This greatly increases the safety of UAV operations in case of a loss of data link communications since its movements will still be predictable and appropriate steps can be undertaken to inform the surrounding traffic. Since Schiebel refuses to share any of its information it cannot be said that this technique is applied on the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 but, due to the strict regulations set by both EASA and ILT it is assumed that a system identical to, or very similar, is applied on the Camcopter S-100. To summarize the following steps have been taken to maximize the safety whilst upholding to all the legal requirements: 1. Implementing a TDA and a class 2 exemption to maintain safe separation with surrounding traffic and to allow for BVLOS operation. 2. Operate EVLOS if ILT so requires. By doing so the mission can be continued whilst the BVLOS capabilities of the Schiebel will still be utilized. 3. Equipping the Schiebel with NLR’s DAA system. This will enable the Schiebel from de- tecting and avoiding incoming traffic autonomously and will be the first time that the system can be tested out in a non-controlled environment since any traffic that might intervene with the UCA’s flight path will not be planned. 4. Schiebel was unwilling to share any information on the procedures for loss of contact so no details can be given on this. However, since the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 has already operated in the Netherlands before it can be said with certainty that the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 will act accordingly if loss of contact were to happen.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 40 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

6 Ground Station The fourth sub question is: What will the ground station look like and how will it function? Since the Shiebel Camcopter S-100 has its own certified operational ground station no ground station will have to be built if utilizing the Camcopter S-100 for the test flight. In an email response from Shiebel it was made clear that Shiebel could not send any documentation on the exact workings of the Camcopter S-100 and the associated ground station, since most of this information is confidential. Only once Shiebel services will be hired against the proper compensation would the company be willing to share selected pieces of information. From public made informative videos published by the NLR regarding Shiebel’s test flight it can be seen that the ground station is a military style ground station (Figure 4). Military style ground stations refer to a stripped down ground station that only shows the necessary information and can easily be relocated in the form of a container. These ground stations are cheap to produce and extremely mobile. This perfectly suits the future application of UCA, which will be operated on airports that do not receive a lot of traffic and therefore do not have any elaborate facilities. These easy to move and affordable ground stations from Shiebel would therefore properly simulate the future ground stations that will operate commercial UCA operations.

Figure 4 Military style ground station

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 41 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

7 Route and Airspace The fifth sub question focuses on the flown route and airspace through which the UCA would operate on the day of the test flight. Due to the complexity of the suggested route first a clear plan of action will need to be laid out (7.1). To accurately determine what route will be flown it must be determined if the flight will be flown VFR or IFR (7.2). Once this has been made clear some additional information will be given on the departure and destination airport (7.3). From here on out the route will be discussed (7.4).

7.1 Plan of action After consolidating with both LVNL, NLR, ILT and AMC the decision was made not to continue with the original plan to perform the UCA test flight from Weeze to Twente airport. This plan is too ambitious to be performed as the first BVLOS UCA test flight from point A to point B between the Netherlands and Germany and is therefore not achievable. The goal will still be to eventually perform this test flight but not until multiple, less complex, test flights have been performed. This will not only give all parties involved the necessary practice to hone the required skills, but also give the clients additional time to find financers to fund each test flight. By dividing the test flights into multiple, more manageable test flights it can be proven to the authorities that the operations can be performed safely, thus increasing the chances that each subsequent test flight be approved. The UCA test flight will now be divided into the following three separate test flights, each flying a different route and using different UAV platforms: 1. Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP) (7.1.1) 2. Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW) (7.1.2) 3. Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW) (7.1.3)

Due to time constraints, this paper will solely focus on the complete preparation of this first flight from Weeze to De Peel. However, to help illustrate how these individual flights will compliment each other a brief explanation of these three individual flights will be given, after which this paper will continue with a detailed plan for the first test flight from Weeze to De Peel.

7.1.1 Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP) For the first test flight the decision has been made to depart from Weeze airport and land at De Peel airport. The reason that this route has been chosen for the first test flight is due to the following reasons: 1. The route will still require the UCA to operate within both Germany and the Nether- lands and thereby test the transition and cooperation of both the German and Dutch national aviation authorities and ATCs; 2. The route will in its entirety be within the confined of two CTR’s. Because of this no TGB/TDA will be required which means that the surrounding traffic will not experience any interference. Since this surrounding airspace is used for from the depar- tures and arrivals from Eindhoven (EHEH) airport the request for a TGB/TDA in this area would most certainly not be granted; 3. The route will allow the UCA to transition directly from the Niederrhein (Weeze) CTR to De Peel CTR. Both these CTR’s are classified as class D airspace. The advantage of flying the UCA within a CTR is that all traffic is required to have a transponder. This means that the requirements set by ILT concerning the detection and avoidance of all

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 42 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

traffic, including traffic without a transponder, will be extremely straightforward with the help of NLR’s DAA system. Furthermore, ATC will be responsible for separating IFR from IFR traffic since it is class D airspace.

Due to time and financial constraints this flight will be carried out with the Schiebel Camcop- ter S-100.

7.1.2 Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW) The second test flight will depart from Eelde airport and land at Twente airport. Just like airport Twente, airport Eelde has been chosen for its involvement with drone activity. The province of Groningen has ambitions to create airport Eelde into a Drone hub known as ‘’Drone hub Groningen Airport Eelde (GAE)’’. Secondly, by flying between Eelde and Twente the progress made in the 1st test flight from Weeze to De Peel can be built upon by extend- ing the operating range of the UCA mission without the bureaucratic interference associated with a UCA test flight between two countries. This will enable the operation to mainly focus on the BVLOS RPAS operation over a distance of approx. 52 nm. This distance is similar to the distance between Weeze and Twente airports. Furthermore, this second test flight will be the first time that a TDA/TGB will be requested and the tunnel in the sky principal can be tested, which will be elaborated on in the following chapter. Unlike the first test flight, the second test flight will be mostly outside of the safety of the CTR. Because of this, radar services will be required to guarantee safe separation with other traffic. Another factor to take into consideration is the fact that Twente aiport is currently not yet a civilian airport and is only used for local military operations. Twente is however currently transitioning from a military airport to a civilian airport. This means that at the moment NW Milligen is in charge of handling any request to land at Twente airport but by the time that this test flight will be performed Twente will already have transitioned to a civilian airport and therefore the request will have to be made at ILT. Another difference from Weeze, Eelde and De Peel airport is that Twente airport is an uncontrolled aerodrome. It is not permitted or possible to land IFR on an uncontrolled aerodrome. Because the flight will be BVLOS, or EVLOS, the flight will initially be filed and flown as an IFR flight. Upon reaching Twente airport the IFR flight plan will need to be cancelled and the UCA will have be landed visually. Whether the UCA platform for this 2nd flight will be the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 or the Cessna Citation Business Jet will have to be researched in a separate paper.

Two low fly corridors are present between Eelde and Twente airport (Figure 5):  Route 10A  Route 10

After investigating both corridors it turned out that both low fly corridors are unsuitable for the second UCA test flight for the following reasons: 1. Route 10A is temporary suspended since 2002 and no information suggests if will open any time soon; 2. Route 10 is a one-way corridor from Twente to 20 nm east of Eelde; 3. Route 10 is only for military operations; 4. Route 10 is only for fixed wing aircraft.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 43 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Reasons 2 and 4 can be avoided by switching the departure and destination airport and by using the Cessna Citation Business Jet from the NLR. Problem 3 however is something that cannot be solved that easily. The UCA test flights are not of military nature and therefore are not allowed to operate within these corridors. Since the test flight will be a one-time operation it is however suggested that a request be made to ILT and MLA to see if an exception can be made.

Figure 5 Low fly corridor

7.1.3 Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW) Once the 1st and 2nd test flights have successfully been completed the original UCA test flight departure and destination locations will be flown. By successfully completing both test flights confidence will have been gained with both the German and Dutch aviation authorities and a request for a TDA of the required magnitude through both Dutch and German airspace will have a greater chance of being approved by the concerned authorities. This last flight will be carried out with the modified Cessna Citation Business Jet. At this point the re-

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 44 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies quired funding should have been gathered to design and perform the necessary modifications to the Cessna. By using the Cessna Citation Business Jet for this last test flight the clients’ request of performing a UCA test flight from Weeze – Twente with a UCA consisting of a modified conventional aircraft will still have been met.

7.2 VFR or IFR Since the flight will be performed mostly autonomous through pre-programmed SIDs, STARs and pre-programmed flight routes and, because the addition of NLR’s DAA systems prevents the Schiebel from being equipped with an exterior camera, the flight will be filed as an IFR flight. However, De Peel airport currently does not have any nav-aids or landing systems. Therefore, the landing will have to be carried out under VFR conditions. The advice is to lo- cate the ground station at De Peel airport. When arriving at De Peel airport the IFR flight plan will be cancelled and the ground controller will take control of the UCA and manually land the aircraft. The weather at De Peel airport on the day of the test flight will have to be within VFR conditions.

7.3 Departure and Destination aerodromes As previously discussed, the departure aerodrome Weeze has been chosen for the fact that it has already been involved in RPAS operations and requires a border crossing into the Netherlands. The Departure aerodrome Weeze is home to an RPAS organization known as UAVSOLUTIONS. UAVSOLUTIONS is a company that delivers UAV’s, flight training and acces- sories for unmanned operations to companies and entrepreneurs. Members of UAVSOLU- TIONS are involved with PUCA, which is how airport Weeze came to be the proposed departure aerodrome for the UCA test flight. Weeze airport is a controlled airport and therefore it has its own Control Zone (CTR). A CTR means that all traffic coming in and out of the CTR designated area must have received a clearance from ATC. This is advantageous as ATC will be in charge of separation with other traffic. Weeze has SIDs but since all of these head towards the east the current SIDs at Weeze will not be utilized.

De Peel airport is an old Dutch Airforce base located on the eastern boarder of the Nether- lands. Currently, jurisdiction has been transferred from the Air Force to the Army, but De Peel is now only used by glider aircraft. Unlike Weeze, De Peel does not have a control tower of its own. The commander stationed at De Peel will have to be asked for permission to use De Peel airport facilities. To be able to use military facilities an exemption will have to be granted as stated in Article 34 of the ‘’Wet Luchtvaart’’. This is with regards to the use of civilian operation on military facilities. This request can be made at the MLA but will weigh heavily on the decision of the commander in charge of set military facilities.

All aircraft operating within the eastern side of De Peel CTR will be in contact with Volkel. Volkel is one of the two F-16 bases from which the Dutch Air Force operates. Due to the nature of the flight and since the entire flight through Dutch airspace will be under command of Volkel ATC, Volkel will have to give its approval to the flight and any requirements set by Volkel must be met. As described earlier, De Peel does not have any nav-or landing-aids. Therefore, the approach will have to be done by GPS or visual. Furthermore, De Peel does not have any weather information, which will play an important part in determining the alternates discussed in the upcoming section.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 45 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

7.4 Route and airspace Due to the fact that the newly picked route is confined solely within the compounds of two CTR’s, in combination with the short distance, some previously set requirements can be amended (7.4.1). After these alterations have been implemented the route and airspace will be discussed (7.4.2).

7.4.1 Alterations The main alteration will be the previous requirement of a TDA. The use of a TDA in combination with a class 2 exemption is required to operate a RPAS > 150 kg BVLOS operation in the Netherlands. However, after speaking with Major J.H. Hazes from the MLA and Adjutant Hingstman from the AMC it was made clear that, legally speaking, it would not be required to have a TDA due to the operation not leaving the protected area of both the Niederrhein CTR and De Peel CTR. The class 2 exemptions will still be required. The ILT will be in charge of delivering such an exemption but not until the MLA has reviewed the request and given its own approval.

The previous requirement of radar facilities will not be necessary because all of the surrounding CTR traffic will be able to be identified by ATC through the use of mode S tran- sponders, which is mandatory whilst operating within a CTR.

Lastly, the problem of NW Miligen being understaffed will not play a part in the route from Weeze – De Peel because NW Miligen will not be in charge of supervising the flight. The su- pervision of the flight will be the sole responsibility of Niederrhein in Germany and Volkel in The Netherlands.

To quickly summarize the responsible authorities during this newly picked route:  ILT, MLA, and the commanding officer at De Peel will be in charge with processing the request for the test flight;  ATC Volkel and ATC Niederrhein will be in charge of supervising the test flight;  LVNL will be involved in creating a NOTAM.

7.4.2 Route and airspace The route from Weeze to De Peel has a total distance of 12 nm. The entire flight will be in Class D airspace (Appendix 4) and be confined in its entirety within the CTR’s of Niederrhein and De Peel (Figure 6). As can be made out from: Aeronautical Chart ICAO The Netherlands, both CTR’s are present from the ground (GND) to an altitude of 3000 ft (3000). To stay within the confines of both CTRs the flight will not climb above 3000 ft and will uphold the semi- circular rule and plan to fly at 2000 ft.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 46 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Figure 6 Route: Weeze- De Peel

7.4.3 Alternates De Peel does not publish any meteorological information. Therefore, as stated by EASA, two destination alternates are required. Given the Schiebel’s max range of 106 nm the two chosen alternates are:  Volkel (EHVK), 10 nm from De Peel,  Eindhoven (EHEH), 18 nm from De Peel.

Volkel lies within the Volkel CTR and Eindhoven lies within the Eindhoven CTR, which are both directly connected to De Peel CTR. A situation requiring the diversion to one of the two alternates will uphold the safe separation from other traffic. The Eindhoven CTR is classified as Class C airspace and extends from the ground to 3000 feet. Class C airspace is stricter than Class D airspace and requires ATC to separate IFR from IFR traffic and IFR from VFR traffic. Diverting to Eindhoven will only increase the safety of the test flight. Volkel CTR is, like De Peel CTR, classified as Class D airspace and also extends from the ground to 3000 feet (Figure 7)

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 47 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Purple: De Peel – Volkel

Green: De Peel – Eindhoven

Figure 7 Alternates

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 48 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

8 Tunnel in the sky Even though this item was not mentioned as a sub-question, the tunnel in the sky principle will be tested during the test flight. The tunnel in the sky principle is crucial for the future of aviation, since it allows manned aviation and unmanned aviation to operate side by side in a safe manner. The implementation of the tunnel in the sky will allow the UCA to safely and autonomously fly the cruise portion of the flight. The tunnel is fixed in the x-y-z-t dimensions, indicating that it is fixed in latitude, longitude, altitude and time. The tunnel could be divided into several segments, whereby the UCA has a time window for a specific segment (Patrick van der Spek 2016). An important part of the tunnel in the sky principle is already present in the Schiebel with its function of the RPAS to fly a pre-programmed route at pre- programmed speeds and altitudes. This feature is also present on most G1000 equipped manned aircraft and is incorporated in the flight data computer and is linked with the autopilot. An important note on the tunnel in the sky is that the flight route cannot be altered, due to the fact that the tunnel principle takes other tunnels into account to make sure that there is sufficient separation between UCA. The only adjustment that can be made is speed to enable the UCA to reach its next checkpoint earlier or later. During the first test flight the cruising leg is too short to adequately test the tunnel in the sky principle. Because of this only the tracking accuracy of the UCA can be tested. However, the second and third test flights have much longer cruising legs and will therefore be more suitable to test the complete tunnel in the sky principle. The main features that will be tested are: 1. Adjustment of the arrival time at certain points by altering the speed (8.1); 2. Simulating a scenario where the UCA, for some reason, drifts off course (8.2).

8.1 Adjusting the arrival time Legally, the test flight on the second and third flight will be within a TDA but as far as the operating team is concerned the test flight will be within the confines of a much smaller tunnel in the sky. Taking into consideration the wind and temperature on the day of the test flight, a flight plan will be created which will specify the time and altitude at which the UCA must reach a certain point in space. During the test flight a situation will be simulated that will require the UCA to reach its next point at a later specified time. By adjusting the speed it can be tested how accurately the UCA can maintain this newly set time and, if required, techniques can be developed to accurately adjust these arrival times.

8.2 Drifting off course It is crucial that the UCA is able to stay within the confines of the tunnel in the sky, since this tunnel is what separates the UCA from all the surrounding traffic. This obviously only implies for future UCA operations, since the TDA will be the real border between the UCA and surrounding traffic during the second and third test flights. Nonetheless, these test flights will be utilized to test the accuracy of which the center of the tunnel in the sky can be maintained. Since no official tunnel in the sky regulations exist yet the Required Navigation Per- formance (RNP) guidelines set to operate area navigation (RNAV) will be upheld. Only RNAV equipped aircraft meeting a minimum of RNP 5 accuracy may plan for operations under IFR on the ATS routes (including SIDs and STARs) within the FIRs and UIRs of most of Europe. Aircraft operating under IFR must meet the following RNAV requirements:  A system accuracy equal to, or better than, 2.5 nm;  An average continuity of service of 99.99 percent of flight time.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 49 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

Since no camera will be on board the Schiebel during the test flight it will be an IFR flight and therefore the buffer on each side of the route will be 2.5 nm. The benchmark for the test flight will therefore be to keep the UCA within 2.5 nm on each side of the route centerline. The UCA will also need to be programmed so that if it were to drift outside of this 2.5 nm limit the ground controller is informed and handed full control.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 50 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

9 Personnel The sixth sub question aims to identify the personnel required on the day of the test flight. To properly answer this sub question a clear overview of the operational tasks will have to be created (9.1). Once all the tasks have been identified the personnel assigned to each task will be identified (9.2).

9.1 Tasks On November 22th a meeting was scheduled at KLM’s Operations Control Center (OCC) with Michiel Kaptein, a staff member of KLM’s operations division tasked with handling all KLM’s flights operating in NW Europe. Mr. Kaptein gave a detailed overview of the multiple branches that KLM’s OCC consists of and how these branches work together. With regards to the preparation of the UCA test flight, Mr. Kaptein gave an overview of the steps required to perform a regular flight with a KLM B737. Here is an overview of the steps according to KLM’s SOP’s: 1. Creating and filing of the flight plan (9.1.1); 2. Creating the M&B (9.1.2); 3. Fueling the aircraft and de-icing if necessary (9.1.3); 4. Creating and sending the briefing sheet to the Pilot in Command (PIC) (9.1.4).

In addition to the tasks identified by the KLM OCC, a member of the AMC will need to supervise the flight on the day of the test flight.

9.1.1 Creating and filing of the flight plan KLM is a major airline and therefore has every possible route planned out beforehand with each corresponding flight plan. Due to the shear volume of flights that KLM performs, precious time can be saved by utilizing this method. Since the UCA test flight will be ‘a one time thing’ with a route not used by any existing airline, a flight plan will be created from scratch. Luckily the creation of a flight plan is very straightforward and will not be discussed in this paper. Once the flight plan has been created is will need to be filed. The flight plan will have to be filed at least three hours before the time of departure. If the flight plan is filed after the three-hour deadline it is categorized as a Late File (LF). This will not have any effect on the flight but it will not make the job of the Network Manager Operations Center (NMOC) located in Brussels any easier. If the flight plan is filed later than two hours before the time of departure restrictions will be put on the requested flight.

9.1.2 Creating the M&B The UCA on the day of the test flight will be the Schiebel Camcopter S-100, which does not have any space for passengers. The payload on board will use all of the 34 kg of capacity that the Schiebel has to offer and will include a letter from the mayor of Weeze to the mayor of Enschede. Since no passengers are on board the only calculation that will need to be made is the amount of fuel on board of the Schiebel during takeoff and the payload on board. KLM OCC requires that the M&B sheet be released to the load controller at least two hours prior to departure so this standard will also be maintained for the test flight.

9.1.3 Fueling the aircraft and de-icing if necessary KLM OCC requires that all fuel orders be sent out to the fueling services at least 45 minutes prior to departure. The reason for this is that the fueling services at Schiphol airport charge

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 51 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies an additional €100 for any order received after this 45 minute benchmark. Therefore it can be assumed that fueling services at Weeze airport will follow similar procedures. The decision has been made to send any fueling orders to the fueling services at least 45 minutes prior to departure. If icing conditions are present and/or if icing is found to be present on the aircraft it is up to the KLM OCC to inform the de-icing services. Icing is usually detected by the fueler or by the PIC during the walk around. For the UCA test flight, conditions with icing will not be favorable and therefore will be a reason to delay or re-schedule the test flight.

9.1.4 Creating and sending the briefing sheet to the PIC KLM has brought its entire operations to the 21st century by equipping the flight crew with company issued iPads. Prior to each flight, KLM OCC creates a briefing sheet containing flight plan, weather, NOTAMS and aircraft performance and sends this information to the fight crews’ Ipads. This equipment won’t be available for the UCA test flight but can nonetheless be performed the old fashioned way. Every pilot has done all of these tasks by hand during their flight training. The ground station pilot will be tasked with getting the weather, creating the M&B, obtaining the NOTAMS and calculating the aircraft performance.

9.2 Personnel Most of the previously discussed tasks can be performed by the ground station pilot. Every pilot has obtained the skillsets to create and file a flight plan. It is also every pilot’s responsibility to calculate the aircraft performance and M&B. Furthermore, obtaining the accurate weather and interpreting the current and upcoming weather is something that every pilot should be familiar with. Due to the size of the Schiebel, de-icing can be done by the pilot if icing conditions are present but for the day of the test flight icing conditions will be a reason to re-schedule the test flight. Four out of the five identified tasks can be performed by the ground station pilot. Some parts of the world allow the pilot to refuel the aircraft himself but due to safety the fueling of the UCA it will be done by the airports’ fueling services.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 52 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

10 Script The last sub-question focuses on the creation of the script. The script will aid in directing each participant with the tasks at hand. For the sake of this paper we will assume that the time of departure is at 12 o’clock local time on day x. The script will be presented in the form of a Gantt chart (Figure 8). As discussed in the previous chapter, most of the tasks can be performed by the ground station pilot.

As can been seen from the Gantt chart, prior to the briefing 1 hour and 45 minutes of time is scheduled to plan the current and upcoming weather. This has been scheduled in to obtain the most recent weather reports at departure, destination, en-route and alternates that can then be incorporated into the mission briefing. METAR reports are updated by the hour and experience has shown that METAR reports could at one time call for a cancellation of a flight but a the subsequent METAR conclude that the flight can be continued. Therefore, not knowing the weather on the day of the test flight, 1 hour and 45 minutes has been calculat- ed to study the most current METAR and weather radar observations in combination with the current TAF. Lastly, 15 minutes of flight time have been planned assuming the 12 nm distance will be flown at the cruising speed of 55 knots in still air conditions.

Figure 8 Gantt chart script

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 53 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

11 Cost analysis A cost analysis has been created showing the potential benefits of a commercially operated UCA operation utilizing the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. This Cost analysis will aim to educate Schiebel in the commercial application of their Camcopter S-100 and show that the application of the Camcopter S-100 is not limited to just military, search and rescue or maintenance operations. By doing so the aim is to convince Schiebel to temporary lend their Camcopter and services. Since the Schiebel has a limited maximum capacity of 34 kg its application will be most useful in a market where high value cargo needs to reach its destination is a short amount of time. Schiebel does offer payload expansion capabilities, which increase its payload capacity to 50 kg. The application that first comes to mind is that of transporting organic materials such as organs. Delivery of organs is a real life challenge, as organs do not remain viable for more than a few hours. They must be transplanted soon after harvesting. For instance, a donor heart or lungs only last from four to six hours, so if the donor and recipient are not in the same region, delivery by current methods usually is not fast enough. An organ such as a heart or lung always has to be transported as quickly as possible, usually by an ambulance. Some organs are required to be accompanied by a doctor. This takes up valuable resources. In the Netherlands, organs are always transported by car, plane or helicopter. Organ transport by air is therefore already utilized but this, of course, requires a manned aircraft that has far greater fuel consumption than that of the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. Further- more, due to the Camcopter S-100’s size and vertical take off and landing capability, it is not restricted to an airfield and could land almost anywhere, such as helipads on hospital roof- tops. The use of drones to transport organs is nothing new and a Chinese drone manufactur- er by the name of EHANG recently received an order from US-based medicine firm Lung Bio- technology for 1000 of their EHANG184 drones. Lung Biotechnology plans to use the drones to speed up transport for artificial human organs for transplant. The EHANG184 is an autonomous aerial vehicle that seats one passenger. Their system, however, is battery powered and therefore has extremely limited performance specifications (Appendix 5). The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 outperforms the EHANG184 on nearly every aspect and would therefore be a much more suitable candidate. The only aspect on which the Schiebel falls short is payload. Contact was made with Medical Emergency Transport (METR), a Dutch company specialized in transporting medical goods and equipment, including organic material and organs, to investigate the application of drones for organ transplant. METR expressed that the Dutch medical industry had been exploring the application of drones to transport medical goods. METR stated that it required that a drone used for these types of applications would need to be capable of transporting a payload of between 75 kg and 100 kg to allow for a versatile application of the drones. This relatively high weight is due to the specific packaging and cooling units that organic materials have to be transported in. The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is currently not capable of transporting such high payloads but this does not mean it cannot be used for the medical field. Blood cells are one candidate that could be transported, specifically red blood cells due to them being fairly stable and not having to be transported under strict regulations. Another application for the Schiebel could be the transport of high value medical equipment. Some medical equipment is costly and so task specific that hospitals in the Netherlands purchase it together. If one of these hospitals needs this piece of equipment urgently, but it is currently located at another hospital, the application of the Schiebel would be useful. For the following costs analysis the following situation will be assumed:

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 54 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

 A flight from the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam to the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam;  The Schiebel will take off and land from a helipad on both hospitals;  The Schiebel flight will be for Emergency Transport;  The conditions for the day will be assumed to be ISA conditions in still air.

The costs of one single Schiebel mission transporting medical supplies or organic tissue from VU Medical Center in Amsterdam to the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam will be put up against a similar mission performed with an ambulance (11.1).

11.1 Medical Transport Cost analysis VU-Erasmus For this analysis the costs for an emergency transport with a Schiebel and with a conventional ambulance will be compared between VU Medical Center Amsterdam and Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam. Both these hospitals have been chosen because they lie in the two largest cities in The Netherlands and are connected through the countries most con- gested highway, the A4. First, the costs of an emergency transport by ambulance will be examined (11.1.1), after which the same emergency transport with the Schiebel will be looked at (11.1.2). When all the data is published a conclusion will be made (11.1.3).

11.1.1 Emergency transport by ambulance Using data published by Regionale Ambulancevoorziening Gooi en Vechtstreek (RAVGOOI) a good assumption on the costs of an emergency transport by ambulance can be made (Tabel 5).

Costs for emergency transport by ambu- €667,74 + €3.81/km lance in 2015 Tabel 5 Costs for emergency transport by ambulance in 2015

The distance by car between VU Medical Center Amsterdam and Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam is 68 km. By applying the distance to the formula given by RAVGOOI a total of €926.82 is given. Depending on the traffic and the time of day it will take an Ambulance between 50 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes.

11.1.2 Emergency transport with the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is powered by the Austro AE50R rotary engine. No information on the fuel consumption is given so a few assumptions will be made. The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 has an operating range of 27 nm when flying continuously at the dash speed of 120 kts. Time will be of the essence during an Emergency transport so we will assume that the Schiebel will be flying as fast as possible. The air distance between VU – Eras- mus is 31 nm. This exceeds the range of the Schiebel when flying at 120 kts. Therefore, to allow the Schiebel to comply with EASA legislation and to have enough fuel on board to di- vert and comply with ATC instructions the Schiebel will be operating at the cruising speed for best endurance: 55 kts. This will allow the Schiebel to fly at approximately 81 nm given that it will be configured to carry 50 kg of payload. The Schiebel has a fuel capacity of 57 Liters. So for this flight we will assume that the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 has a fuel consumption of 0.71 l/nm when flying at the maximum endurance speed of 55 knots. Cruising at this speed it will take the Schiebel 33 minutes to reach Erasmus MC and it will have burned ap-

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 55 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies proximately 22 litres of fuel. The Austro AE50R runs on AVGAS 100LL, which is currently priced at €2.517 per liter. The fuel costs of operating from VU MC to Erasmus MC will therefore be: 22 x 2.517 = €55.37. On top of that, since the Schiebel will be used for medical pur- poses it will not have pay any landing fees when using the Helipads at both Medical centers.

11.1.3 Conclusion In summary, it will take between 50 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes and costs €926.82 to transport medical equipment or organic material by ambulance for an emergency transport between VU MC and Erasmus MC. Using the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 the travel- ing time will be decreased to 33 minutes and the costs will be a mere €55.37. It is therefore obvious that the Schiebel is much more efficient and cost effective than a conventional ambulance. As identified earlier the Schiebel is not nearly as versatile as an ambulance due to its limited payload capacity. However, since the Schiebel was not designed for medical transport one can only imagine what the advantages of a specifically designed Schiebel medical transport would be.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 56 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

12 Research plan Now that the entire test flight has been planned out one could argue that the execution of the test flight has become obsolete since all the required steps have already been identified. This however is not the case as there are still numerous items that can only be proven or tested by actually performing the test flight. These items are the following:  Tunnel in the sky (12.1)  Publicity (12.2)  Transition from autonomous to manual (12.3)  Data link reliability (12.4)

Lastly, the two questions asked at the beginning of this paper on the feasibility of a UCA test flight and a commercial UCA operation can finally be answered ().

12.1 Tunnel in the sky The tunnel in the sky boundaries have been set at 2.5 nm from the centerline of the route, thereby adhering to the RNP 5 regulations which will allow the UCA to operate IFR. If the UCA were to drift outside this 2.5 nm boundary the ground controller would be informed and full control would be given to the ground controller. This sounds good on paper but the actual accuracy on which the UCA, whether the Schiebel or the Cessna Citation Busines Jet, can fly the preprogrammed flight path will have to be tested. Furthermore, the out of bounds procedure will have to be tested to ensure that the system in fact informs and hands over control to the ground controller when the UCA flies out of bounds. The out of bounds situation will most likely be simulated since it will be extremely difficult for the UCA to unin- tentionally fly outside the 2.5 nm boundary in calm conditions. The tunnel in the sky will be tested on all three-test flight occasions. Each test flight shall therefore be well documented to identify any tunnel in the sky related issues that can be improved upon during the subsequent test flight.

12.2 Publicity A major reoccurring theme during this paper has been the lack of financing to execute these test flights. One way to tackle this issue is to not only use the test flight for scientific purpos- es but also use it as a publicity stunt to attract the interest of sponsors and public interest to help gain momentum for the topic of UCA. R.J. de Boer suggested that a picnic be organized at De Peel airport and let the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 deliver the food. Since it will be a flight from Germany to the Netherlands the transported food will be Bratwurst, a staple in the German kitchen. This will help showcase the capabilities of UCA operations in a fun way and will help pique the interest of the general public that in first instance might not neces- sarily get excited about UCA. This will also undoubtedly create fun news articles that could serve as a reason for companies to associate themselves with the test flight by donating funds or goods. Lastly, by performing the test flight PUCA will have yet another accomplish- ment under its belt, further cementing its name as one of the driving forces behind UCA.

12.3 Transition from autonomous to manual Another key moment in the test flight will be when the UCA transitions from autonomous flight to manual flight. This will happen upon reaching de Peel airport and is necessary since no nav-aids or landing systems are available. This situation is a good representation of the conditions that future UCA operations will face. UCA focuses a good portion of its operation

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 57 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies on smaller airfields that are not economically interesting enough for belly cargo aircraft or do not have to proper facilities to support such belly cargo aircraft. Markets in where UCA operations will flourish have been identified as China and Africa. Visually landing UCA’s will be common and therefore it is crucial that the handover to manual flight happens smoothly. Obviously, this can only be tested during a real world test flight.

12.4 Data link reliability As described previously, Schiebel has a reliable data link connection between its RPAS and its groundstation but is unwilling to share any of the technical data. The same goes for Schiebel’s loss of contact procedures. Upon hiring the services of Schiebel a part of this information will be made available.

To summarize, the actual execution of the UCA test flight(s) will enable the parties involved to test and further develop the tunnel in the sky, gain publicity from UCA and PUCA, test and develop the transition from autonomous to manual control and test the reliability of the data link and the associated loss of contact procedures.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 58 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

13 Recommendation In this chapter the recommendation to HvA, PUCA and the University of Twente regarding the execution of the suggested UCA test flight will be made. Firstly, a recommendation will be made on the original proposed plan of performing a UCA test flight with a UCA consisting of a modified conventional aircraft from Weeze (EDLV) to Twente (EHTW) airport (13.1). Subsequently, a recommendation on the newly proposed plan of a three-part test flight will be made (13.2). Lastly, a recommendation on further steps needed to accomplish the UCA test flight will be given (13.3).

13.1 Recommendation original plan The original proposed plan of performing a UCA test flight consisting of a modified conventional aircraft from Weeze (EDLV) to Twente (EHTW) airport was scrapped due to numerous reasons. The refusal of this plan went out from the following situation:  NLR’s Cessna Citation Business Jet would be the modified aircraft.  NLR’s Flight Test and Certification Department, which is DOA and POA certified, would be hired to design and perform the modifications.  NLR is ROC certified and would be the operator of the UCA.  The deadline for the test flight would be 48 months after the completion of this paper.  Contact with Nordrhein-Westfalen was not made since the concerned person had been sick for an extended period of time and was not able to answer any questions within the scope of this investigation. Considering all of these points it was chosen to do away with the original suggested UCA flight test plan for the following reasons:  The clients have not made any funds available for the UCA test flight. After consolidating with NLR it became apparent that without the proper funding NLR’s services and aircraft would not be available.  The airspace between Weeze (EDLV) airport and Twente (EHTW) airport is extremely busy and the implementation of a TDA/TGB would be capable of heavily disrupting existing airflow operations according to the LVNL.  The distance between Weeze (EDLV) airport and Twente (EHTW) airport spans more than 50 nm. On top of that the operation will be BVLOS, which requires the implementation of a TDA/TGB. After consolidating with NLR, ILT, LVNL and AMC it was made clear that this route was too ambitious to be flown as the first UCA test flight. Considering all of these points the original proposed plan will be given a negative recommendation and will not be able to be performed in the current state.

13.2 Recommendation new plan Because the original plan could not be performed in the current state a new plan was drafted that will maintain the goals set in the original plan set by the clients. This new plan made some significant key changes: 1. The test flight will be divided in three separate test flights:  Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP)  Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW)  Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW);

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 59 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

2. The first and possibly second flight will be performed with the Schiebel Camcopter S- 100; 3. The last test flight will be performed with NLR’s Cessna Citation Business Jet. Due to the time constraint this paper will only focus on the first test flight from Weeze – De Peel. The reason that this route is chosen as the first test flight is that the entire route is confined inside both Niederrhein CTR and De Peel CTR. By keeping the flight confined to both CTR’s the use of a TDA/TGB is not required. Therefore, no existing flight operations will be disrupted and the chance of the test flight being approved by ILT and MLA will be greater. Also, by splitting the test flights into three separate test flights, fundamental experience will be gained with the operators and trust will be won with the concerning authorities. This trust will be crucial to advance each increasingly, more complicated, successive test flight and get the approval and cooperation from the authorities. The use of the Schiebel was chosen because the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is a finished product and does not require any modifications. Furthermore, Schiebel is, like the NLR, a qualified ROC agency and has certified ground stations and ground station pilots. Funds will still be necessary to hire Schiebel’s product and services but this is less expensive than the other option. This first test flight will fit in the time frame of 48 months. The eventual third and last test flight will not be completed within this time frame but this should not be seen as a negative as this will give all parties involved more time to recruit sponsors and modify NLR’s Cessna. Whether the second test flight fits in the time frame of 48 months depends on what UCA will be chosen.

13.3 Plan of Action To achieve all three-test flights additional research will be required. First of all, serious enquiries will need to be done at Schiebel regarding their costs, safety procedures, and technology. Schiebel was not willing to share any of this information before their services were acquired. Secondly, separate research should be conducted focused solely on the acquisition of spon- sor and/or funds. Thirdly, contact should be made with Nordrhein-Westfalen to pitch the idea of a UCA test flight and attain permission for the flight. Fourthly, two separate papers will need to be made focusing on the preparation and execution of the second and third test flight. One important factor to take into consideration is that ICAO plans to roll out its first RPAS standardized legislation in 2018, which will undoubtedly have an effect on the execution of the UCA test flights. Fifthly, a new paper should be made including the Singeler Aircraft Flyox I since this aircraft was not taken into the consideration and might very well be the best platform to perform the UCA test flight with. Lastly, a clear research plan has to be created that will aid in properly monitoring and docu- menting the findings of the test flight.

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 60 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

14 Discussion The discussion chapter is implemented to establish whether the expectations made before the creation of this paper have been met. The objective of this thesis was to research and determine if a UCA test flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport could be accomplished. Based on the previous paper the assumption was made to perform the test flight with a modified conventional aircraft. To determine whether the previous expectations have been met the most important findings discovered in this paper will be discussed one by one. Firstly, the legislation surrounding the abovementioned UCA test flight had to be made known. Before tackling this issue the agencies that would need to be asked for permission needed to be identified. These agencies turned out to be the following:  ILT  MLA  Commanding officer at De Peel  LVNL  Nordrhein-Westfalen

Once this was done each individual legislative hurdle was identified and solutions to overcome these problems, if available, were given. The identified legislative challenges were the following: 1. The ground controller and the fall-back pilots must have the appropriate licensing; 2. The aircraft must have a valid airworthiness certification with the accompanying registration and insurance; 3. The aircraft has to be operated by an acknowledged organization holding an RPAS operation certificate (ROC); 4. Currently there is no legislation for RPAS with a mass>150 kg; 5. BVLOS RPAS operation is currently not yet permitted; 6. The company in charge of converting the conventional aircraft into an UCA must be able to prove that the ground station and data link guarantee controllability over the aircraft at all times. The company in charge must also have a Design Organization Ap- proval (DOA); 7. The safety of the operation has to be maximized prior to the test flight; 8. The airfields at departure, destination and alternates have to be asked for permission.

Solutions to all of these problems were given except for problems 5 and 7. Problem 7 could be overcome through the use of a tested loss of data links procedure and through assistance of radar services. Problem 5 however, could not immediately be solved and could therefore hinder the continuation of the project. This would form as the first indication that the project in its current state could not be continued. One possible solution could be the use of EVLOS and would need to be discussed further with ILT. Secondly, the aircraft choice needed to be determined. Since no funding was available there actually were no aircraft candidates. However, to pursue the achievement of the UCA test flight and, with hopes that the clients would be able to get the required funding, two aircraft candidates were identified. The first and most likely candidate was NLR’s Cessna Citation Business Jet. The second candidate was the Schiebel Camcopter S-100, a RPAS. Because the Schiebel was not a conventional aircraft, on first glance it did not seem like a viable option since it did not meet the previous set criteria for the UCA test flight. However, when taking

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 61 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies into consideration the wishes of the client to perform the test flight within 48 months of completion of this paper, and the time needed to request, perform and test the required modification, on top of the costs to perform set modifications, it became apparent that Cessna Citation Business Jet, or for that matter any other conventional aircraft that needed to be modified, were unsuitable for the test flight. Therefore, the decision was made to go for the finished and fully functional product that is the Schiebel Camcopter S-100. Later on in the paper the Singeler Aircraft Flyox I was discovered but this unfortunately happened too close to the deadline and therefore the Singeler Aircraft Flyox I could not be properly implemented in this paper. Thirdly, the methods on which the safety would be maximized during the test flight would need to be explained. However, due to the fact that the Schiebel Company refused to dis- close any information on the workings of the Schiebel Camcopter S-100, including aspects on safety, no statements could be made. Most of Schiebels information is classified and Schiebel would only be prepared to share certain pieces of information if their services are hired. Fourthly, the composition of the ground station needed to be determined. The same problem was faced as with safety. Schiebel already has its own functional and certified groundstation but since the company refused to share any information no statements could be given on the ground-station. Fifthly, the route and airspace through which the UCA would operate needed to be determined. This is where the previous challenge regarding the implementation of a TGB/TDA to enable BVLOS had to be dealt with. Since airspace between Weeze and Twente airport is actively used by commercial and emergency aviation services the implementation of a TGB/TDA would be capable of heavily hindering these services. Therefore, AMC, ILT and LVNL advised that such a request would be unlikely to be approved as a first test flight. The decision was made to divide the original test flight into three individual test flights that would still maintain the goals set in the original plan. By doing so, the following three routes were picked:  Weeze (EDLV) – De Peel (EHDP)  Eelde (EHGG) – Twente (EHTW)  Weeze (EDLV) – Twente (EHTW)

As can be seen the third test flight maintain the original route. The first two flights will form as good practice runs for both the operators and the authorities. Furthermore, by dividing the test flights more time is bought to find funding and design and perform the required modifications for the eventual third and last test flight, which will be performed with NLR’s Cessna Citation Business Jet. Due to the time constraint for the completion of this paper only the first flight can be planned. Furthermore, the personnel needed to perform the first test flight with the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 needed to be identified. This was done with help from a contact at KLM’s OCC. By comparing the steps KLM performs to successfully plan out a flight with a 737 in Western Europe, in combination with my own experience gained during my flight training, an overview of the required personnel was successfully identified. Lastly, the tasks that each personnel need to perform have been put in a Gantt chart to form as the script on the day of the operation. When comparing all of these findings with the expectations that were present at the beginning of this project the following can be said: The expectations prior to this project were not

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 62 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies in line with the available resources and legislative capabilities available at present. However, by alternating the number of test flights, the route and the aircraft, the project objective will still be met, though not within the 48 months set by the clients. However, I feel that this is a minor detail that should not hinder the clients from continuing with the plans of performing the suggested three-part test flights as the benefits and advancements from such test flights will form key building blocks in establishing UCA operations in the near future.

Lastly, the two question asked at the beginning of the paper can be answered.

What is necessary to perform a UCA test flight?  Class 2 exemption for either BVLOS or EVLOS  Financing  Permission from ILT/MLA/ Nordrhein-Westfalen and the commanding officer at De Peel  Exemption to use military facilities at De Peel according to ‘’Artikel 34’’  ATC Volkel and ATC Niederrhein need to supervise the flight  Mounting the Airscout DAA to the Schiebel  ILT needs to create a NOTAM  DFS needs to create a NOTAM

What is necessary to perform a commercial UCA flight?  Legislation for RPAS>150 kg has to be created  RPAS license requirements for RPAS>150 kg have to be created  RTF offering training to obtain an RPAS>150 kg license have to be created  BVLOS operation has to be permitted  A tunnel in the sky principle needs to be created and uniformly be implemented on a global scale.  Insurance companies will need to be willing to insure UCA  Uniform ground station specifications have to be created  A uniform loss of contact procedure has to be created

Realizing a UCA flight from Weeze airport to Twente airport- Graduation Thesis - Erik Waller 63 Hogeschool van Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Aviation Studies

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