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Transport Canada’s new rules for the visual line-of-sight operation of UAVs weighing 25 kilograms or less are expected to be released next spring. Mike Reyno Photo

Transport Canada working to reform UAV regs

By Chris Thatcher | December 1, 2016

Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 10 seconds.

Transport Canada is expected to issue new regulations for visual-line-of-sight operations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the late spring of 2017.

Transport Canada's new rules for the visual line-of-sight operation of UAVs weighing 25 kilograms or less are expected to be released next spring. Mike Reyno Photo
Transport Canada’s new rules for the visual-line-of-sight operation of UAVs weighing 25 kilograms or less are expected to be released next spring. Mike Reyno Photo

The regulations would replace the current system of Special Flight Operations Certificates (SFOCs) for which commercial operators of small aircraft must apply on a case-by-case basis.

The use of unmanned aircraft for recreational and non-recreation purposes has taken off in recent years, significantly increasing the workload for Transport Canada regulators. In 2010, the department received 66 applications for SFOCs; last year that number jumped to almost 2,500, and was already over 3,100 by September 2016.

The new rules, which will apply to operators of UAVs weighing 25 kilograms or less, will closely follow the notice of proposed amendments (NPA) issued by Transport Canada in May 2015.

Based in part on feedback from the NPA, the department has adopted a risk-based approach that reflects both current operations and the types of aircraft on the market.

“The NPA outlines really well where we are going,” said Aaron McCrorie, director general of Civil Aviation for Transport Canada, which is aiming to publish in Canada Gazette 1 before summer 2017.

“The bulk of the regulations will apply to UAVs from one to 25 kilograms. If they are operating in a more remote area, there will be fewer regulatory requirements. If they are operating in a more complex environment–in a built-up area, near an aerodrome–there will be more stringent requirements.”

Small aircraft between 250 grams and 1 kg will have less rigorous knowledge and operating requirements, while those below 250 grams will be exempt.

The SFOC process will be retained for higher risk operations, including aircraft over 25 kilograms, and those flying beyond visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS).

McCrorie said the regulations would more clearly define for recreational users how and when they can operate UAVs, especially for the growing numbers that are not part of modelling clubs with well-established rules of flight.

And since the regulations build off the requirements of the SFOC process, they should alleviate paperwork and “open things up considerably for the commercial operators,” he said.

What is in the regulations, however, might not be as important as how they are implemented, according to Unmanned Systems Canada (USC).

The advocacy association has been part of the process to develop rules for UAV operators since 2003. Mark Aruja, a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and USC chairman, welcomed the new regulations, which he said are based on current line-of-sight best practices. But he cautioned that without careful implementation, Transport could encounter “unintended consequences” that might disrupt the sector’s economic growth curve.

“Transport’s mandate is safety but industry frames this in the context of economics, creating jobs, value added, advancing technology, and whatever we do has to be viewed through that lens,” he said. “We have developed a wealth of expertise in a business sense. Folks are actually out there generating money doing really interesting things.”

All of which makes progress on BVLOS essential. Much of the real economic opportunity lies in a range of applications from pipeline and hydro monitoring to forestry, wildlife and oceanic surveys that require aircraft to operate at significant distances from their pilots.

Transport Canada intends to release a working group report shortly that will help shape future BVLOS regulations. In parallel, it is also “developing a path” that would allow operators to conduct BVLOS flights under an SFOC that would credit past performance with visual line-of-sight operations, McCrorie said.

That might not be fast enough for many commercial operators.

“We have a great industrial demand to get out there and do what out geography and natural resources are crying out for,” said Aruja. “We have operators with extensive experience now and they need to move forward. We have energy companies clamouring to understand how these technologies can help them.”

Prior to its November conference in Edmonton, USC published a 100-page best practices guide for small aircraft operating BVLOS. It builds on members’ visual-line-of-sight experience and conforms to general aviation regulations. Transport Canada has reviewed the guide and “it is not out of line with our own thinking,” said McCrorie.

Last month, the department approved Foremost UAS Range in Southern Alberta as the first test range in Canada for BVLOS operations. The range has 700 square nautical miles of restricted airspace up to 18,000 feet above sea level, and should be a magnet for both Canadian and international companies and academic institutions seeking to test aircraft, sense-and-avoid technology, and operating procedures.

It should also help Transport gather data to inform “our regulatory development,” said McCrorie. The department is working with the Unmanned Aerial System Centre of Excellence in Alma, Que., to establish a similar test range.

Technology proving grounds and pilot training centres could be a niche industry for Canada in a global UAV market that PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a 2016 report, Clarity from Above, estimates to be worth around $127 billion.

During the USC conference, a delegation from Mexico outlined their plans to kick-start a nascent unmanned systems industry, possibly through training development programs with Canadian companies, Aruja said.

“We are absolutely focused on the global market. And that is the key reason why Transport Canada needs to start approving SFOCs early in the New Year.”

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