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Sharing airspace with Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Views of the General Aviation (GA) community

Sharing airspace with Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Views of the General Aviation (GA) community
Sharing airspace with Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Views of the General Aviation (GA) community
Operations of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) are expanding, leading to competition for airspace with other users such as the General Aviation (GA) community, i.e., sports and leisure airspace users, particularly in uncontrolled airspace. As a result, there is an increasingly urgent need for a shared airspace resolution, whereby drones become integrated harmoniously in unsegregated operations with crewed aircraft, providing equitable airspace access for all. The purpose of the study was to engage with the GA community and elicit concerns and issues regarding the shared airspace concept as an initial step in the co-development of the future form of airspace. The method used was an online, interactive workshop with participants (n~80) recruited from the GA community in the United Kingdom (UK). Data captured (verbal and written) were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis, producing findings that summarised the issues identified on a range of different topics, grouped together under three over-arching themes: (1) operational environment; (2) technical and regulatory environment; and (3) equity and wider society. Almost a quarter of participants’ comments (27%) were related to the opinion that shared airspace would only be possible if aircraft were fitted with Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) systems for de-confliction, based on onboard Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices. Findings suggested that airspace management policies that establish equitable regulatory and technology environments regarding shared airspace are needed, and that those policies should be inclusive, having as a key aim the involvement of the GA community (and all other stakeholders) in the development process. The study represents a first step in the involvement of the wider aviation community in the co-design of shared airspace to include drones.
Shared airspace; drone; UAV; general aviation; integrated; equitable airspace access
0969-6997
Grote, Matthew
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Pilko, Aliaksei
862c6e08-d848-49f9-ae61-d222751d6422
Scanlan, James
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Cherrett, Thomas
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Dickinson, Janet
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Smith, Angela
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Oakey, Andy
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Marsden, Greg
0a1e2b6e-fc19-42e5-8354-cc0796fa7f0a
Grote, Matthew
f29566f9-42a7-498a-9671-8661a4287754
Pilko, Aliaksei
862c6e08-d848-49f9-ae61-d222751d6422
Scanlan, James
7ad738f2-d732-423f-a322-31fa4695529d
Cherrett, Thomas
e5929951-e97c-4720-96a8-3e586f2d5f95
Dickinson, Janet
0d382d4e-a720-4b88-afd0-b4f1bb0a34e8
Smith, Angela
ad7d3dfe-2c8d-4778-b07d-cccc5885f00a
Oakey, Andy
dfd6e317-1e6d-429c-a3e0-bc80e92787d1
Marsden, Greg
0a1e2b6e-fc19-42e5-8354-cc0796fa7f0a

Grote, Matthew, Pilko, Aliaksei, Scanlan, James, Cherrett, Thomas, Dickinson, Janet, Smith, Angela, Oakey, Andy and Marsden, Greg (2022) Sharing airspace with Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Views of the General Aviation (GA) community. Journal of Air Transport Management, 102, [102218]. (doi:10.1016/j.jairtraman.2022.102218).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Operations of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) are expanding, leading to competition for airspace with other users such as the General Aviation (GA) community, i.e., sports and leisure airspace users, particularly in uncontrolled airspace. As a result, there is an increasingly urgent need for a shared airspace resolution, whereby drones become integrated harmoniously in unsegregated operations with crewed aircraft, providing equitable airspace access for all. The purpose of the study was to engage with the GA community and elicit concerns and issues regarding the shared airspace concept as an initial step in the co-development of the future form of airspace. The method used was an online, interactive workshop with participants (n~80) recruited from the GA community in the United Kingdom (UK). Data captured (verbal and written) were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis, producing findings that summarised the issues identified on a range of different topics, grouped together under three over-arching themes: (1) operational environment; (2) technical and regulatory environment; and (3) equity and wider society. Almost a quarter of participants’ comments (27%) were related to the opinion that shared airspace would only be possible if aircraft were fitted with Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) systems for de-confliction, based on onboard Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices. Findings suggested that airspace management policies that establish equitable regulatory and technology environments regarding shared airspace are needed, and that those policies should be inclusive, having as a key aim the involvement of the GA community (and all other stakeholders) in the development process. The study represents a first step in the involvement of the wider aviation community in the co-design of shared airspace to include drones.

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Accepted/In Press date: 10 April 2022
Published date: July 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was supported by the EPSRC [grant number EP/V002619/1 ]. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors
Keywords: Shared airspace; drone; UAV; general aviation; integrated; equitable airspace access

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 456872
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456872
ISSN: 0969-6997
PURE UUID: 2b4e6439-954d-4a54-94da-a263c22bdae4
ORCID for Matthew Grote: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5590-7150
ORCID for Aliaksei Pilko: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0023-0300
ORCID for Thomas Cherrett: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0394-5459
ORCID for Andy Oakey: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1796-5485

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 May 2022 16:41
Last modified: 23 Mar 2024 03:06

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Contributors

Author: Matthew Grote ORCID iD
Author: Aliaksei Pilko ORCID iD
Author: James Scanlan
Author: Thomas Cherrett ORCID iD
Author: Janet Dickinson
Author: Angela Smith
Author: Andy Oakey ORCID iD
Author: Greg Marsden

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