Drone authorization
You are a drone operator and you want to perform drone operations that come out of the "open" category? You are a drone manufacturer and want to improve the reliability and security of your system for the "specific" category see "certified"?
Säfeli is your Swiss partner for the design of drones up to their operation.
SORA
In the event that you wish to carry out an operation that falls outside the "open" category, you will then be obliged to request special authorization from Federal Office of Civil Aviation.
The latter will then ask you to carry out a "specific operations risk assessment" which will enable it to assess the risks of your operation and to authorize it according to the measures you have taken.
In this analysis, it is necessary to take into account the aerial risks (collisions) and the risks on the ground (crash). Depending on these risks, you will then have to put in place measures on your drone or on the operation in order to guarantee the safety of the operation.
Drone Laws and Regulations
Switzerland has not yet adopted the various European drone regulations. You will find more information on the regulations in force on the OFAC page.
In the event that your drone or operation falls outside the regulations, it is possible to make a special flight request to OFAC by carrying out a SORA and its technical file.
In Europe since 2021, new drone regulations are applied.
Flight operations are classified into 3 categories:
Open category
Specific category
Certified category
The categories can also be separated into sub-categories A1, A2 and A3.
Drones will be classified into 5 classes:
Class C0 , drone less than 250g, speed < 19m/s
Class C1 , drone less than 900g, speed < 19m/s
Class C2 , drone under 4kg, height < 120m
Class C3 , drone under 25kg, height < 120m
Class C4 , drone under 25kg without control equipment
CE marking for drone
Like any electronic device sold in Europe, drones must be provided with a CE marking and a declaration of conformity .
What is the CE marking of a drone? Before being placed on the market, it must comply with various European directives, of which here is an extract:
RED Directive: 2014/53/EU
RoHS Recast Directive: 2011/65/EU
WEEE Directive: 2012/19/EU
REACH Regulation: 2006/1907/EU
In addition to the standard guidelines for electronic devices, the drone must follow specific drone regulations.
Each of these European directives requires a technical file to be compiled and laboratory tests to be carried out in order to have the right to sell a product on the market.
Failure mode and effects analysis
To be compliant, a product must follow the essential safety requirements of the various directives that apply. Examples include the following directives for machinery:
206/42/EC Machinery directive
2014/35/EC Low Voltage Directive
2014/30/EC EMC Directive
2011/65/EU RoHS Directive
2014/53/EC RED
The directives give objectives to be achieved, but they do not say how to achieve them. To do this, harmonized standards can be used as proof of conformity for a given directive. The following standards can be cited as an example:
ISO 12100:2010 Risk analysis
ISO 13849:2015 Safety functions
ISO 13850:2015 Emergency stops
ISO 14120:2015 Protectors
Technical testing
Even more than for other products on the market, it is essential to test drones to ensure their performance and reliability.
Different types of tests can be performed:
Wind resistance test
Protection index test (water, dust)
Stability test (regulation)
Impact test
Vibration test
UV resistance test
EMC testing
Radio testing
Mechanical test
Endurance test
Each of these tests makes it possible to evaluate and quantify the performance of a drone before putting it on the market. Thanks to this kind of test, it is possible to quantify improvements made to drones.
A DRONE PROJECT?
Do you have a project in the field of machinery? Do not hesitate to contact our drone expert:
Christopher Heckel
+41 78 635 71 38