The airworthiness and protocol development for night flying missions for small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs)

Night time flights are a relatively untouched field of application for small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs) in part due to the risks associated. However, there are many opportunities for agricultural, environmental or surveillance applications when night flying missions can be valuable or necessary. Undoubtedly, there are many risks associated with flying a sUAS at night that must be thoroughly addressed to ensure the safety to the public and property. While the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently has severe restrictions for night flying missions, it is necessary to investigate methods to enable them in a safe manner. This paper, for the first time, introduces the development of a lighting system for a sUAS operating within line of sight and the development of mission protocols to address the human factors. The paper is based on the developments in night flying airworthiness and efforts in obtaining an FAA COA for night flying operations.