[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53432-53433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24866]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 53432]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 21

[Docket No. FAA-2017-1058]


Airworthiness Criteria: Special Class Airworthiness Criteria for 
the FlightScan Corporation Camcopter S-100

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed interim airworthiness criteria.

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces the availability of and requests comments on 
proposed airworthiness criteria for the Unmanned Aircraft System, 
FlightScan Corporation, Camcopter S-100. This document provides 
proposed policy for airworthiness criteria to address the designation 
of applicable regulations and other criteria for special classes of 
aircraft. In addition to the proposed airworthiness criteria presented 
in this document, we are also referencing operational considerations 
that have been used to support the development of the airworthiness 
criteria. We consider these proposed criteria to be interim because we 
anticipate the evolution of new operational criteria will necessitate 
additional airworthiness criteria in order to allow for the operation 
of the Camcopter S-100 in the National Airspace System. When those 
additional operational criteria are further established, we will again 
provide public notice of proposed policy with additional airworthiness 
criteria along with changes incorporated to these criteria based on the 
public comments received.

DATES: Send comments on or before December 18, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2017-1058 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery of Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m., and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://regulations.gov, including any personal information 
the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket Web 
site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all comments 
received into any FAA docket, including the name of the individual 
sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can 
be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140 
of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m., and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Raymond Johnston, AIR-692, Federal 
Aviation Administration, Policy & Innovation Division, Small Airplane 
Standards Branch, Aircraft Certification Service, 901 Locust, Room 301, 
Kansas City, MO 64106, telephone (816) 329-4159, facsimile (816) 329-
4090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited

    We invite interested people to take part in the development of this 
policy by sending written comments, data, or views. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the airworthiness criteria, 
explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting 
data. We ask that you send us two copies of written comments.
    We will consider all comments received on or before the closing 
date for comments. We will consider comments filed late if it is 
possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. We may change 
these airworthiness criteria based on received comments or based on 
evolving operational criteria.

Background

    FlightScan Corporation (FlightScan) applied to the Federal Aviation 
Administration on June 1, 2015 for special class type certification 
under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17(b) for the 
Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
    The Camcopter S-100 UAS (S-100) consists of the unmanned aircraft 
(UA) and its associated elements (including communication links and the 
components that control the unmanned aircraft). The S-100 is a vertical 
take-off UAS that is of the traditional main/tail rotor helicopter 
design. The fuselage is made of carbon fiber and titanium. The S-100 is 
powered by a liquid cooled rotary engine and has a maximum take-off 
weight of 440 pounds which can include a maximum payload of up to 110 
pounds. The main rotor diameter is approximately 134 inches. The UAS is 
intended to be used to conduct airborne surveying of power transmission 
infrastructure using aerial photogrammetry.

Risk Classes

    To facilitate the establishment of an initial risk class for UAS, 
the FAA proposes a scale of risk based on kinetic energy.\1\ These 
proposed risk classes are based on logical break points between data 
clusters that parallel the existing classes of aircraft defined in AC 
23.1309-1E,\2\ the size boundaries for Light-Sport Aircraft, and the 
size boundaries in 14 CFR part 107. These energy based classifications 
for UAS are given in the definitions section of the Airworthiness 
Criteria for the FlightScan

[[Page 53433]]

Camcopter S-100, which has been placed in the docket. The S-100 would 
be considered Risk Class 3.
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    \1\ Within these risk categories, the FAA recognizes the 
opportunity to further define risk classes based on UAS operational 
considerations in the National Airspace System.
    \2\ http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/719E41E1D26099108625795D005D5302?OpenDocument&Highlight=ac%2023.1309-1e.
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Operational Considerations

    The following operational considerations were evaluated during the 
development of this document:
    1. The S-100 would be used for power transmission line survey 
operations. It operates in a designated corridor and area within the 
right-of-way of the power transmission lines and is operationally 
limited to 100 feet above and laterally within 100 feet of the power 
line it would be surveying.
    2. While there is minimal population exposure within the power 
transmission line right-of-way, the mission path would cross several 
public highways and pass in close proximity to several neighborhoods 
with population densities of less than 950 people per square mile.
    3. The S-100 would operate Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). 
BVLOS for this UAS is defined as those operations that do not conform 
to the definition of Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) in 14 CFR part 107.31 
at amendment 107-1.
    4. The radio control uplink and downlink would operate within 
frequencies approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
    5. This S-100 is designed to operate both autonomously and manually 
by the pilot-in-command (PIC).
    6. Minimum crew includes one PIC, one mission specialist, and one 
mission flight director.
    7. The minimum crew would operate only one S-100 at any time.
    8. The aircraft would remain within Radio Line of Sight (RLOS) of 
the control station. RLOS refers to the straight and unobstructed path 
between the transmitting and receiving antennas.
    9. The control station would be ground based.
    10. All crew would be FAA certified airmen with current and 
applicable medical credentials.
    11. All crew would successfully complete required crew training.
    12. Maintenance personnel would hold appropriate FAA maintenance 
certificates.
    13. Maintenance personnel would complete required maintenance 
training.

Unresolved Criteria

    The FAA's ongoing development of operational criteria will 
necessitate the incorporation of additional airworthiness criteria into 
the S-100 and may also necessitate future clarity of the airworthiness 
criteria published in the Airworthiness Criteria for the FlightScan 
Camcopter S-100, available in the docket. These may include but are not 
necessarily limited to the following--
    1. Command and Control (*) \3\--UAS control and communications link 
security is a key safety and interoperability requirement in 
integrating civil UAS into the National Airspace System NAS;
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    \3\ Criteria that have not yet been developed are identified 
with an asterisk (*).
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    2. Sense and Avoid (SAA) Equipage (*)--SAA systems could serve as a 
means of compliance with 14 CFR 91.113 right-of-way rules and others. 
Issues associated with the use of SAA systems to comply with 14 CFR 91 
requirements and others, if any, must be identified; and
    3. Noise Act Finding (*)--Noise standards have not been developed 
for UAS.

Proposed Airworthiness Criteria

    The FAA has not previously published airworthiness criteria for 
UAS. The FAA proposes new type certification airworthiness criteria for 
the FlightScan Camcopter S-100 as found in Airworthiness Criteria for 
the FlightScan Camcopter S-100, Revision 0, dated November 3, 2017. 
Locate the document at http://www.regulations.gov using docket number 
FAA-2017-1058.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 8, 2017.
Pat Mullen,
Manager, Small Airplane Standards Branch, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-24866 Filed 11-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


