The Drone Rules 2021, which superseded the earlier Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Rules 2021, abolished various restrictive norms. Recently, the Indian government introduced an amendment which further simplified the new rules and said that certain types of drones will not need a license to legally fly, but instead will need certification from one of the 12 DGCA-recognised drone schools using the Digital Sky platform. The flight test is a crucial part of the certification process. Here is a look at the various requirements for a drone flight test, according to a recent notification issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Flight test has to be pre-scheduled and conducted according to plan According to the document, a flight test for drones is to be conducted as per the flight test schedule and their respective activities. “All tests and verifications/validations are to be conducted as per their respective test plans/test cases. The given test stages may or may not be conducted in a single go. If endurance of the UAS or duration of flight is not sufficient to conduct all the planned tests as per schedule, additional flights should be planned,” the Ministry said. Here's a brief look at what a flight schedule consists of — [caption id="attachment_156218" align="alignnone" width="798"] Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation[/caption] Pre-flight assessment: As part of this evaluation, a drone’s communication link will have to be checked, whether its active and working, the ministry said. Its GPS location will also have to be checked, it added. Other features…
