Today the UAV market is currently 98% government and military, serviced by 50 + manufacturers with over 150 aircraft designs. All of the UAV industry is poised to enter the commercial UAV market. However, their aircraft designs either do not meet expected commercial market needs or do not meet FAA waiver restrictions for use in commercial / civil applications.

FAA restrictions, guidelines, and a lack of FAA "issued regulations" governing civil / commercial UAV aircraft and operations are "not" the primary barriers to UAV commercial / civil market expansion. Current industry UAV designs are driven by military / government requirements, which do not address the FAA’s civil / commercial design concerns, nor the anticipated commercial market requirements.

The FAA's expected future UAV specific regulations and their current commercial / civil UAV waiver requirements drive the HOVTOL UAV's unique design. These concepts were specifically conceived to meet or exceed "future" FAA requirements for commercial UAV operations "as well as the current" FAA waiver restrictions for such applications. For a draft copy of initial FAA attempts to draft FAA regulations for UAVs, click here: (DRAFT.PDF 149K Download).  This draft is for reference purposes only - this document has been recalled and is not currently applicable.

The HOVTOL UAV was specifically invented to address the unique requirements that the FAA UAV working group has identified as needing changes in present industry UAV designs for commercial / civil applications. The concept is designed to meet current FAA UAV commercial / civil waiver restrictions. Additionally, the invention address the lessons learned from military / government flight operations over the past several decades.

KNOWN FAA UAV WAIVER RESTRICTION CRITERIAS FOR COMMERCIAL / CIVIL APPLICATIONS:

• SAFETY TO BE DEMONSTRATED TO FAA’S SATISFACTION FOR APPROVALS
• ADDRESS LOST CONTROL LINK
• ADDRESS EASE OF OPERATION AND USE
• ADDRESS AIRCRAFT FUNCTIONAL FAILURE CONTINGENCY
• NO EXPOSED ROTOR BLADES
• AIRCRAFT OVER 500 POUNDS MEET FAR 91 (AIRWORTHY)
• FLIGHT OPERATIONS BELOW 500 AGL
• FLOWN WITHIN LINE OF SIGHT OF GCS
• NOT FLOWN IN RESTRICTED AIRSPACE WITHOUT WAIVER
• NOT FLOWN OVER POPULATED AREAS WITHOUT WAIVER

FUTURE FAA UAV REQUIREMENTS:

• EXPECT - SOME DEGREE OF PERSONNEL CERTIFICATION FOR PILOTS, MAINTENANCE, GROUND CREWS, GCS, ETC. - CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO FAA REGULATIONS
• EXPECT - AIR SPACE AND CORRIDOR RESERVATIONS SPECIFIC FOR UAV’S - CURRENTLY NONE EXISTS BEYOND 500 FEET AGL AND NO OPERATION IN RESTRICTED AIR SPACE OR IN POPULATED AREAS WITHOUT WAIVER
• EXPECT - PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS LESS THAN FOR MANNED AIRCRAFT BUT GREATER THAN CURRENT REQUIREMENTS
• EXPECT - SOME DEGREE OF FACILITY / PROCESS CERTIFICATION LESS THAN FOR MANNED AIRCRAFT BUT MORE THAN CURRENT WHICH IS NOTHING AS OF THIS DATE
• EXPECT - DESIGNATED UAV FLIGHT ZONES SUCH AS EXEMPT AREAS, TRANSPORT CORRIDORS, UAV RESERVED AND RESTRICTED AIR SPACE
• EXPECT - WAIVER ALLOWANCES TO CONTINUE IN SPECIAL CASES AND APPLICATIONS ESPECIALLY WHERE THE BENEFITS TO THE PUBLIC OUT WEIGH THE RISKS

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