An overview on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Related EASA activities
UAS exist since 1930. They are also known as drones by the general public. The word "drone" refer to the noise of the engine of the first generation of UAS. From these days, as example, the De Havilland Queen Bee derived from the Tiger Moth had already remote controls installed at the place occupied by the back seat.
For quite a long time, UAS were used for military purposes as target aircraft or for reconnaissance and lately for precision attacks. The latter gave them a bad image.
Here some current facts:
• A very fast civil development in Europe and elsewhere occurred since 2010. This is due to the emergence Multi-copter which has made UAS affordable for professional but also for leisure activities.
• UAS are characterised by a great variety of external configurations:
a) You may find rotorcraft, fixed wings, flapping wings, tilt rotor, airship and configurations that are mixing the previous ones.
b) Their mode of propulsion is also very variable: piston, turbine or electric engines (using batteries, fuel cells or solar cells) are commonly found.
c) Some are remotely piloted; some use a high degree of automation and in the future may be fully autonomous (e.g. the ability to learn and to decide)
d) Finally the range of mass and size is very wide: the so called nano-drones have a weight of 10/20 grams or less. The heaviest UAS is the Global Hawk.
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