Tailored airworthiness standards for unmanned aircraft systems

As the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) has increased, so has the desire to integrate them into the National Airspace System (NAS). UAS possess unique airworthiness characteristics in a variety of technical disciplines. Therefore, a key area of focus must be the development and validation of airworthiness standards for UAS-unique considerations. This paper examines a UAS-specific tailoring of a manned aircraft airworthiness standard to bring to light some of the key technical areas that must be addressed in tailoring airworthiness standards. By understanding some of the ways in which these requirements are tailored for UAS, development of civil airworthiness standards for UAS can be advanced.