FAA Order 8130.34

Last updated
Airworthiness Certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
US-FederalAviationAdmin-Seal.svg
FAA Publication
AbbreviationFAA Order 8130.34
StatusActive
First published27 March 2008 (2008-03-27) [1]
Latest versionD
September 08, 2017 (September 08, 2017)
Organization Federal Aviation Administration AIR-600
Domain Airworthiness certification
Website Order 8130.34D

FAA Order 8130.34D, Airworthiness Certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, establishes procedures for issuing either special airworthiness certificates in the experimental category or special flight permits to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), optionally piloted aircraft (OPA), and aircraft intended to be flown as either a UAS or an OPA. [2]

Airworthiness Certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, establishes procedures for issuing this certification, and as such establishes guidance standards for certification aspects of development and operation, which may be addressed by adoption of such standards as ARP4754A, and DO-178C.

Obtaining an experimental airworthiness certificate for a particular UAS is currently the only way civil operators of unmanned aircraft are accessing the National Airspace System (NAS) of the United States. [3] Moreover, the Order establishes that such aircraft may enter the NAS only with a safety pilot monitoring its controls. [4]

Adoption of ARP4754, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-278, and other related guidance standards to UAS programs is rapidly growing because of the certification requirements established with this FAA Order. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned aerial vehicle</span> Aircraft without any human pilot or passengers on board

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.

The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety of activities are regulated, such as aircraft design and maintenance, typical airline flights, pilot training activities, hot-air ballooning, lighter-than-air aircraft, man-made structure heights, obstruction lighting and marking, model rocket launches, commercial space operations, model aircraft operations, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and kite flying. The rules are designed to promote safe aviation, protecting pilots, flight attendants, passengers and the general public from unnecessary risk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot certification in the United States</span> Pilot certification

Pilot certification in the United States is typically required for an individual to act as a pilot-in-command of an aircraft. It is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). A pilot may be certified under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61 or 14 CFR Part 141. Pilots may also be certified under 14 CFR Part 107 for commercial drone operations.

DO-178B, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is a guideline dealing with the safety of safety-critical software used in certain airborne systems. It was jointly developed by the safety-critical working group RTCA SC-167 of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) and WG-12 of the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE). RTCA published the document as RTCA/DO-178B, while EUROCAE published the document as ED-12B. Although technically a guideline, it was a de facto standard for developing avionics software systems until it was replaced in 2012 by DO-178C.

Access 5 was a national project run by NASA in collaboration with industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the United States Department of Defense (DoD), in order to introduce high altitude, long endurance (HALE) remotely operated aircraft (ROA) for routine flights in the National Airspace System (NAS). It was the first project in the United States to formally attempt to integrated unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system (NAS). The primary objective was to open up airspace for commercial unmanned aviation. Access 5 commenced in May 2004 and was slated to run for five years. The project received initial funding in the amount of $101M from NASA and guarantees of support from the ROA industry. It was managed out of Dryden Flight Research Center. The program was managed by Jeff Bauer out of NASA Dryden and R. Scott Dann, a General Atomics program manager who filled the role of industry director. R. Scott Dann was also the founder and first president of the UAV National Industry Team (UNITE). A good portion of the leadership on the Access 5 program were involved in the NASA ERAST program, another pioneering program in UAS development.

RTCA DO-254 / EUROCAE ED-80, Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware is a document providing guidance for the development of airborne electronic hardware, published by RTCA, Incorporated and EUROCAE. The DO-254/ED-80 standard was formally recognized by the FAA in 2005 via AC 20-152 as a means of compliance for the design assurance of electronic hardware in airborne systems. The guidance in this document is applicable, but not limited, to such electronic hardware items as

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airworthiness</span> Measure of an aircrafts suitability for safe flight

In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is registered, and continuing airworthiness is achieved by performing the required maintenance actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First-person view (radio control)</span> Controlling a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilots view point

First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or simply video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's view point. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraft or other type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as a military drone. The vehicle is either driven or piloted remotely from a first-person perspective via an onboard camera, fed wirelessly to video FPV goggles or a video monitor. More sophisticated setups include a pan-and-tilt gimbaled camera controlled by a gyroscope sensor in the pilot's goggles and with dual onboard cameras, enabling a true stereoscopic view.

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is an ongoing United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA began work on NextGen improvements in 2007 and plans to finish the final implementation segment by 2030. The goals of the modernization include using new technologies and procedures to increase the safety, efficiency, capacity, access, flexibility, predictability, and resilience of the NAS while reducing the environmental impact of aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Flight Sciences</span>

Aurora Flight Sciences is an American aviation and aeronautics research subsidiary of Boeing which primarily specializes in the design and construction of special-purpose Unmanned aerial vehicles. Aurora has been established for 20+ years and their headquarters is at the Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, Virginia.

DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is the primary document by which the certification authorities such as FAA, EASA and Transport Canada approve all commercial software-based aerospace systems. The document is published by RTCA, Incorporated, in a joint effort with EUROCAE, and replaces DO-178B. The new document is called DO-178C/ED-12C and was completed in November 2011 and approved by the RTCA in December 2011. It became available for sale and use in January 2012.

Advisory circular (AC) refers to a type of publication offered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide guidance for compliance with airworthiness regulations, pilot certification, operational standards, training standards, and any other rules within the 14 CFR Aeronautics and Space Title. They define acceptable means, but not the only means, of accomplishing or showing compliance with airworthiness regulations. Generally informative in nature, Advisory Circulars are neither binding nor regulatory; yet some have the effect of de facto standards or regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC 25.1309-1</span> American aviation regulatory document

AC 25.1309–1 is an FAA Advisory Circular (AC) that identifies acceptable means for showing compliance with the airworthiness requirements of § 25.1309 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Revision A was releases in 1988. In 2002, work was done on Revision B, but it was not formally released; the result is the Rulemaking Advisory Committee-recommended revision B-Arsenal Draft (2002). The Arsenal Draft is "considered to exist as a relatively mature draft". The FAA and EASA have subsequently accepted proposals by type certificate applicants to use the Arsenal Draft on development programs.

Unmanned aircraft system simulation focuses on training pilots to control an unmanned aircraft or its payload from a control station. Flight simulation involves a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of flight controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has adopted the name small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) to describe aircraft systems without a flight crew on board weighing less than 55 pounds. More common names include UAV, drone, remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), and remotely operated aircraft (ROA). These unmanned aircraft flown in the USA's National Airspace System must operate under the rules of a Community Based Organization for recreational purposes or 14 CFR Part 107 for commercial operations. All UAVs weighing more than 250 grams flown for any purpose must be registered with the FAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles</span>

Regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) involves setting safety requirements, outlining regulations for the safe flying of drones, and enforcing action against errant users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial UAS Modernization Act</span>

The Commercial UAS Modernization Act is a bill introduced in the 114th Congress by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Hoeven (R-ND) that would create temporary guidelines for the use of unmanned aircraft systems and regulations for the commercial drone industry. Most commercial use of drones in the U.S. is currently banned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC 20-115</span>

The Advisory Circular AC 20-115( ), Airborne Software Development Assurance Using EUROCAE ED-12( ) and RTCA DO-178( ), identifies the RTCA published standard DO-178 as defining a suitable means for demonstrating compliance for the use of software within aircraft systems. The present revision D of the circular identifies ED-12/DO-178 Revision C as the active revision of that standard and particularly acknowledges the synchronization of ED-12 and DO-178 at that revision.

NATO STANAG 4671 is the NATO Standardized Agreement 4671 which is the UAV SYSTEM Airworthiness REQUIREMENTS (USAR). It is intended to allow military Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate in other NATO members airspace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAST-15</span>

CAST-15, Merging High-Level and Low-Level Requirements is a Certification Authorities Software Team (CAST) Position Paper. It is an FAA publication that "does not constitute official policy or guidance from any of the authorities", but is provided to applicants for software and hardware certification for educational and informational purposes only.

References

  1. "FAA Order 8110.34". Date Issued March 27, 2008
  2. 1 2 "Transitioning to DO-178C and ARP4754A for UAV software development using model-based design". Military Embedded Systems. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2022. he FAA and its European equivalent, EASA, provide guidance using standards such as ARP4754 for aircraft systems and DO-178B for flight software. These standards are often used outside of civil aviation, in whole or in part, for applications including military aircraft and land vehicles. Adoption for UAV programs is rapidly growing because of the FAA's recent decision to require UAS and OPA certification via FAA Order 8130.34A. UAV systems are heterogeneous, and not restricted just to flight software. Therefore, other standards are used such as DO-254 for hardware and DO-278 for ground and space software.
  3. "Fact Sheet – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)". Federal Aviation Administration. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  4. S.L. Fuller (December 26, 2017). "5 Companies Bringing Futuristic Aircraft Concepts to Reality". Rotor & Wing International. Retrieved 2022-03-05. Aurora said the latest certification under FAA Order 8130.34 permits optionally piloted aircraft operation with only a safety pilot required to monitor the controls.