Mixed-methodology investigation into the societal and economic benefits of systematically integrating beyond visual line of sight uncrewed aircraft systems operations into complex airspaces

The aviation industry is perhaps the single-most complex socioeconomic sector in existence today. Similarly, the United States domestic airspace is perhaps the most complex in the world. These complexities were compounded on September 28, 2005 when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the first airworthiness certificate for a civil uncrewed aerial vehicle. The increase in multiplicity continued with the introduction of FAA Part 107 in June of 2016 and the issuance of the first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver on April 1, 2019. The utilization of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) has catalyzed the expedited evolution of economic sectors and forever altered the innate structure of the FAA. As a result of regulatory ambiguity and political intricacies, the uncrewed industry has become overly and unnecessarily complex. The goal of this study was to explore ways of furthering societal and economic growth through systematically integrating BVLOS UAS operations into complex environments, such as smart cities. It is proposed that the current waiver-based system be utilized as a stepping stone, rather than an end-all-be-all solution; regulatory simplification will occur as a result of transitioning to a rules-based system. This mixed-methods study exploited instruments to include in-depth interviews of subject matter experts (SME) and a comprehensive survey to acquire a thorough understanding of how uncrewed aircraft can continue to be utilized in a manner capable of catalyzing future domestic social and economic growth. A purposeful sample of SMEs was utilized for the interview segment of this study. A mixed-methods survey was distributed to 385 individuals via multistage quota sampling wherein one city (Philadelphia, PA) was randomly selected from a list of the 19 U.S. cities that appear on the IESE Cities in Motion Index using the Stat Trek random number generator. A representative quota sample (n=385) of male and female individuals aged 20-60 was selected from Philadelphia in order to glean a more comprehensive understanding of how BVLOS UAS operations are viewed in the eyes of industry experts and the individuals who will be living in cities where the proposed Internet of Drones (IoD) BVLOS infrastructure is to be implemented. The results of the interviews and surveys were collated and analyzed through a gap analysis to achieve the ultimate goal of understanding the benefits of systematic UAS integration. This research study aimed to be crucial in furthering understanding of how uncrewed aircraft can push the boundaries of the aviation sector and related industries while maintaining the ultimate level of safety to which the aviation industry is accustomed.