1st 1 t INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION FOR THE LATIN AMERICAN UAS COMMUNITY UAS Latin America 2011

Parque Tecnolgico Tecnolgico, Sao Paulo, Brazil 25-27 October 2011

UAS legal framework in Mexico: a status report
Adrian Pea Cervantes
Associate R&D Manager. Impacto Areo SA de CV.

COMPANY PROFILE PROFILE.

Impacto Aereo S.A. de C.V. is a Mexican company specialized in aerial advertising. advertising We are part of the group Impacto Publicitario S A de C V, Impacto S.A. C.V with 25 years of experience in the advertising market. Currently we operate hot air balloons, RC blimps, paramotor airplanes, ultralight airplanes and the one and only certified hot-air airship in Mexico and Central America. y p For R&D projects we have a highly professional design bureau including engineers, technicians and professionals in unmanned aerial systems and airship technology.

AUTHOR PAPER
ADRIAN PEA CERVANTES: * Member of the International Airship Association. * Member of AUVSI - Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. * UAS and G N & C researcher for AFOLU programs in Mexico and Latin American Region.

ABSTRACT

UAS are becoming an acceptable part of the military inventory in Mexico as well as the civilian projects are developing ways of introducing more applications to key industry y y , p sectors of the countrys economy. However, there is considerable public debate about their operation on segregated and no segregated airspace airworthiness approved by the national air authority. This paper provides a report of the author in recent activities with UAV equipment and UAS design in Mexico. It reviews the current situation with regard to a o airworthiness regulatory developments and indicates what progress has been made in the ess egu a o y de e op e s a d d ca es a p og ess as bee ade e development of operational regulations for UAS legal framework in Mexico.

Mexican Air Authority.

Ministry of Communications and Transports SCT (Maximum Air Authority)

Directorate General of Civil Aviation - DGAC -

Mexican Airspace Navigation Service SENEAM

LEGAL INSTRUMENTS FOR UAS AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATION

Form DGAC-18-E Obligatory Circular CO AV-23/10

Categories available for the UAS Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category:

Research and Development Flight Crew training Aircraft Demonstration Aircraft Surveillance and Patrolling

Mandatory use of ATC Transponder mode C or mode S

ICAO Cir328
Recent publication in 2011 of Circular Cir328 has offered new concepts in the issue of UAS airworthiness to be considered by Mexiacn Air Authority.

CONCLUSIONS
Integrating a UAS, which has no pilot in the cockpit to participate directly in the ATC voice communication network, is a relevant challenge for Mexican Air Authority. Manned aircraft are very well understood by Mexican air authority, but UAS equipment needs to build an urgent experience roadmap to be integrated to civil operations. Military UAS projects have been operating in the Mexican air space since years ago, but they not necessary attend f d formal airworthiness certification i l i hi ifi i issuance b because needs and d d procedures of homeland security operations. Finally, new technology knowledge is required by manufacturers and operators in Mexico M i to validate and certify d lid d if domestic and f i i d foreign UAS equipment b f i before these reach h h the Mexican Airspace field. It is then expected to prepare and integrate more specialized human resources in UAS technology through academic and aviation industry efforts in the next years.

CONTACT

Adrian Pea a.p.cervantes@impactoaereo.com Javier Merino jme@impactoaereo.com Impacto Areo SA de CV www.impactoaereo.com p Mexico City, Mexico.