The Journey to FAA Approval for Commercial Drone Delivery
By: Jim O'Sullivan , Matternet Vice President of Regulatory Strategy and Special Projects
Overview
In the United States, before flying any aircraft commercially, there are key regulatory achievements that a company must satisfy. Whether you’re a large commercial airliner carrying hundreds of passengers or a small drone carrying a five-pound package, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires approvals for both manned and unmanned aviation.
In both manned and unmanned aviation, there are typically two major categories of approval required: equipment and operational approvals. The equipment approval ensures that the aircraft and its associated support equipment are safe for flight. The most rigorous form of equipment approval is Type Certification . Equally important for advanced operations is how the equipment will be operated to safely complete the intended operations. These Operational Authorizations can take many forms, ranging from a Part 107 waiver up to Part 135 certification in the US, to a SORA approval in other countries. Matternet’s M2 drone has received all of the following approvals .
Aircraft Airworthiness Approval
To permit operations over populated areas for commercial purposes, the aircraft and associated support equipment must undergo a certification or approval process by the FAA. The traditional pathway for such approval is Type Certification. Through this process, a “type” of aircraft (whether a small drone or a large plane) undergoes a rigorous multi-year process of examination and testing with close FAA involvement and scrutiny. A related certification is Production Certification , through which the manufacturing facility and methodology is examined and certified - this ensures that the aircraft system can be reliably and consistently manufactured. Due to the close level of FAA involvement in the certification process, not only does the manufacturer have to produce the required deliverables, but also must have rigorous procedures and methodologies for design, test, and manufacturing.
For smaller unmanned aircraft, the FAA has developed an alternative pathway to proving safety and reliability called the Criteria for Making Determinations (CMD) approval. The CMD approval is a self-verification process in which the manufacturer complies with the requirements and attests to the FAA that they're compliant. Although the CMD pathway is significantly faster than Type Certification, Type and Production Certification forces a higher level of rigor in design and manufacturing due in large part to the close level of involvement of the FAA.
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US VLOS Operational Authorization
To fly over populated areas but within the visual line of sight (VLOS) of the pilot, an “Ops Over People ” waiver is required. Obtaining this waiver requires the operator to present a comprehensive safety case to the FAA describing how the operation will be conducted safely. It also requires the operator to show that the aircraft to be used has achieved a level of safety and reliability appropriate to the population density being overflown, either via Type Certification or the CMD approval.
US BVLOS Operational Authorization
To conduct commercial deliveries beyond the line of sight (BVLOS) of the pilot, the FAA requires the operator to obtain a “Part 135” certification. Part 135 is the set of regulations under which jet charters and on-demand cargo flights operate. Obtaining a Part 135 certification typically takes 2 to 3 years to complete, and requires rigorously-developed operations and maintenance manuals, a training program, a hazardous materials policy, and a drug-and-alcohol screening program. Part 135 certification also requires aircraft that have either a Type Certificate or a CMD approval.
Timeline of Approvals
The timelines vary greatly depending on the company’s ability to complete the required testing and documentation as well as the availability of FAA staff. Below is a chart that shows the U.S. approval types, typical length of time to obtain each approval, and year Matternet received the approval.
Learn more about Matternet here: https://www.mttr.net/
The Tom Joad of Drones - "You don't need the blue stuff, kid, you got talent!" Frank Sinatra
3 个月There are a few unspoken nuances to the process.
Director of Operations, UPS Flight Forward
4 个月Jim, Great Overview of FAA processes. Our partnership with Matternet has been fantastic as we have both learned and impacted things together. We have logged lore than 13,000 flights since we established our UPSFF part 135 air carrier operating certificate in 2019, utilizing the Matternet M2 platform.
Piloto Drone/Piloto RPA/Coordenador de Opera??es/Gerente Projeto/Treinamento/BR-UTM/THUET
4 个月Very informative
Aviation - Mechanical Technician - Granted Inventor/Owner US11753161 B2 UAV Recovery System - Proud Papa to 14 grandchildren and 5 children - Constructive Analyst- U.S. Army Veteran
4 个月Yeah, the FAA can start be categorizing the UAV drones as class 107 and not 135. It's just a loop hole allowing them to fly over people without a recovery system when all other operations over people require a waiver and parachute.