Master thesis Comparison of Selected UAS Test Areas in Europe and America regarding Practical Aspects for Developers Submitted by: Alexander LAPPI, BSc Registration Number: 1210587028 Academic Supervisor: Ing. Andreas HINZE Company Supervisor: Raoul FORTNER, MSc (AAI) Date of submission: 13 September 2017 i Affidavit I hereby affirm in lieu of an oath that the present Master’s thesis entitled “Comparison of selected UAS test areas in Europe and America regarding practical aspects for developers” has been written by myself without the use of any resources other than those indicated, quoted and referenced. Graz, 13 September 2017 Alexander Lappi, BSc ii Preface The six months which I spent at the Austrian Aeronautics Industries Group (AAI) from March to August 2017 did not only result in this thesis, but also in an uncountable amount of experiences and memories, which I would hardly have made elsewhere. My employment at this company offered me to get the chance to have a unique, close and practical view on the Austrian Aeronautics Industries, especially within the interviews as a part of the study UAST, which were conducted with numerous companies from different niches and gave me as a student an outstanding possibility for planning my future career. I would like to thank Secretary General KR Ing. Franz Hrachowitz for giving me the opportunity to work for the AAI, Mrs. Schmöllerl for her sunny personality which eased numerous intensive office days, and especially Raoul Fortner, MSc, who hired me to work for the AAI and was furthermore constantly zealous to maximize the value I could gain from this employment – Not only by fully incorporating me into the project UAST and taking me to numerous events and memorable business trips, but also by unhesitatingly and intensively supporting me during the creation of this thesis as my company supervisor Thanks to Ing. Andreas Hinze, who supported me as my academic supervisor and gave me the necessary freedom to create this thesis in conformity with my tight schedule. At last, I dearly thank my entire family, especially my mother Andrea, my sister Julia, my grandmother “Omi” Maria and “Hans-Peterl”, who constantly support me in what I am and what I do. Due to your support I was able to reach what I have reached, wherefore I would like to dedicate this thesis solely to all of you. Alexander Lappi Leibnitz, September 2017 iii List of contents Abstract ................................................................................................. vi Kurzfassung .......................................................................................... vii List of figures ....................................................................................... viii List of tables .......................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction .................................................................................... 1 1.1. Subject and purpose of the thesis ................................................... 1 1.2. Background and motivation ........................................................... 2 1.3. Supervising company (AAI) and Project UAST .................................. 2 2. Basics of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) .................................. 5 2.1. Technological principles of UAS ...................................................... 5 2.1.1. Taxonomy of UAS ................................................................... 5 2.1.2. Fixed-wing UAS ...................................................................... 6 2.1.3. Rotorcraft UAS including multicopters ........................................ 8 2.1.4. Hybrid and other UAS .............................................................. 9 2.2. Regulatory framework for UAS ..................................................... 10 2.2.1. International level (ICAO) ...................................................... 10 2.2.2. European UAS rulemaking...................................................... 12 2.2.3. Austrian UAS rulemaking and risk assessment .......................... 14 2.2.4. Further legal issues ............................................................... 17 2.3. History and modern applications .................................................. 20 2.3.1. History of UAS development ................................................... 20 2.3.2. Modern civil UAS applications ................................................. 23 3. Current Status of UAS Test Areas Worldwide ................................ 27 3.1. Background about UAS testing ..................................................... 27 3.2. Worldwide survey of existing UAS test areas .................................. 31 3.3. Selected aspects of existing UAS test areas ................................... 32 3.3.1. Airspace extension and population density ............................... 32 3.3.2. Surface and topography ......................................................... 33 3.3.3. Segmentation and diversity of subsites .................................... 34 3.3.4. Accessibility and geographical position .................................... 34 3.3.5. Costs of usage and services ................................................... 35 3.3.6. Civil and/or military infrastructure background ......................... 35 iv 3.3.7. Capability and permission for BVLOS tests ............................... 36 3.4. Consolidated summary of 42 UAS test areas worldwide ................... 37 4. Test Requirements of Austrian UAS Developers ............................ 49 4.1. Selected UAS stakeholders and developments in Austria ................. 49 4.1.1. Major Enterprises and Industry (OEM) ..................................... 50 4.1.2. Major Enterprises (Tier-1) ...................................................... 53 4.1.3. Small or Micro Enterprises and Startups (OEM & Tier-1) ............ 55 4.1.4. Universities, Other Teaching Facilities, and Research Institutions 57 4.1.5. Operators (Institutional & Private) .......................................... 58 4.1.6. Other Stakeholders Including Authorities ................................. 59 4.2. Actual practice of UAS flight testing in Austria ................................ 61 4.2.1. Civil airspace below 150kg MTOM ........................................... 62 4.2.2. Civil airspace above 150kg MTOM ........................................... 62 4.2.3. Military airspace ................................................................... 62 4.3. Advanced and additional test Requirements in the future ................ 64 4.4. Summary of Austrian developers’ practical needs ........................... 65 5. Rankings: Austrian Developer Needs vs. Existing UAS Test Sites . 68 5.1. Airspace and population density ................................................... 68 5.2. Surface and topography .............................................................. 71 5.3. Segmentation and diversity of subsites ......................................... 73 5.4. Accessibility and geographical position .......................................... 75 5.5. Costs of usage and services ......................................................... 77 5.6. Civil and / or military background ................................................. 78 5.7. Capability and permission for BVLOS tests ..................................... 80 5.8. Overall test area ranking according to Austrian requirements ........... 81 6. Conclusions and Outlook ............................................................... 82 6.1. Conclusions ............................................................................... 82 6.2. Outlook ..................................................................................... 84 7. References .................................................................................... 85 v Abstract Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are increasingly used not only in the defense area but also in the civil sector for manifold purposes, including geosciences and agricultural optimization, film production, various rescue operations, or surveillance tasks, such as power line inspections. Due to their increasing complexity and functionality, detailed tests of UAS are necessary before bringing them into operation. New challenges are the current developments in the area of BVLOS-UAS, (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) and (partial) autonomy (including certified sense-and-avoid systems). Therefore, not only multiple countries in Europe (e.g., Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, or Norway) but also the USA, Canada, Australia, and others have established UAS test sites for the various needs of developers. For this thesis, a study was performed, and certain conditions and features of selected test facilities (e.g., size, services, costs, or the regulation of the designated airspace) are summarized and analyzed in this paper. A key result of this thesis (performed at the Austrian Aeronautics Industries Group – AAI – during the study of UAS test areas (UAST) is a consolidated overview of 42 international UAS test areas worldwide, including sites in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Africa, and Asia. Consequently, the researched test areas are ranked according to not only specific Austrian test requirements but also to their total suitability for Austrian UAS tests, resulting in a Top 10 ranking of UAS test areas worldwide according to Austrian UAS developers' needs. In particular, U.S. test areas are capable of fulfilling Austrian testing needs best –