ASTM Publishes White Paper On UAS Airworthiness Standards

Originally published at: ASTM Publishes White Paper on UAS Airworthiness Standards - AVweb

Paper targets better understanding of pilot and flight crew expectations.

I’ve been with AVweb since 1998. For years, the comment section felt like a hangar full of familiar voices, sharp minds, real pilots, real-time reactions. Some of those voices have flown west, and what remains feels cordoned off. The new setup may be cleaner, but it’s also colder.

Moving comments to a separate page cuts off that immediate back-and-forth. It may improve load times, but it’s draining the energy from the reader community, and likely the metrics too. People don’t linger when the conversation feels buried or disconnected.

AVweb always stood out because it felt like it belonged to us. I hope that spirit isn’t getting engineered out.

Respectfully,

Raf

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You’re remarks are well founded and spot on. Please return to the previous format Russ.

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I strongly suspect it has less to do with Russ and much more to do with corporate Flying Media Group, which sure isn’t Belvoir.

Do UAS require Annual Inspections by AMTs? Do they require type certificates and are they maintained to any particular standard?

I presume Russ is being addressed because he can (probably) funnel our concerns up the chain.

“UAS” is a rather large category which includes everything from tiny UAS up to manned-aircraft-sized UAS. It would be silly to require an AMT to inspect the tiny ones, but would make complete sense to have them inspect the larger ones.

Just an FYI: here’s a link to the white paper at ASTM’s website: https://www.astm.org/v3/assets/blt5eb0a2cb04534832/blte61e0a414555fda3/682b5f90c66571b8a8be54d2/AC377-Safety-Intent-White-Paper.pdf

Silly yes, but so is requiring a TSO on a nav light bulb. If inspections are in the public interest to protect those exposed to those aircraft, then why not require any UAV subject to FAR to comply with maintenance and inspection requirements?

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