Quantum Trinity F90+, a fixed-wing VTOL UAS, has recently undergone the drone certification process for DR 2019/945. ALTER has been the first Notified Body to issue a C3 drone Class Label Certificate.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, commonly known as ‘drones’, have been in our lives for more than a decade. New regulation released by EASA in 2019 divides Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into different categories (EU 2019/945) depending on the operational risk (covered by EU 2019/947), which are ‘Open’, ‘Specific’ and ‘Certified’. All leisure and low-risk commercial UAVs will fly under the ‘Open’ category, which is divided into three subcategories regarding the Maximum Take-Off Mass (MTOM):
- A1: drones that fly over people but not over assemblies of people.
- C0: drones with MTOM below 250 grams.
- C1: drones with MTOM below 900 grams (or impact energy < 80 J).
- A2: drones that fly close to people (in low-speed mode).
- C2: drones with MTOM below 4 kilograms.
- A3: drones that fly far from people (150 m away from residential, commercial, or industrial areas).
- C3: drones with MTOM below 25 kilograms.
- C4: drones with MTOM below 25 kilograms with no automatic control modes.
All UAVs flying under the open category as of January 1st, 2024, must affix a Class Identification Label to comply with DR 2019/945.
C3 Class Label drone certification
Quantum Systems, leader in the UAS Market, and its Trinity F90+, a fixed-wing VTOL UAS, has recently undergone the certification process for DR 2019/945.
ALTER has been the first Notified Body to issue a C3 Class Label Certificate. To verify and certify that all requirements are met, the technical file review and all laboratory and flight tests have been performed. The test performed included MTOM, DRI, Maximum Attainable Height, Low-Level Battery, and Geo-awareness, among others.
Direct Remote Identification (DRI) and Geo-Awareness testing
Any C3-labelled UA shall operate with a Direct Remote Identification (DRI) system and be equipped with a geo-awareness function. These two requirements ensure that other airspace users can see the basic information of the UAVs in flight and, that pilots are aware of when they are about to breach no-fly zones.
Trinity F90+ is equipped with a Remote ID module so any interested party can access the Direct Remote ID (DRI) system information via a smartphone app (or any other compatible device) to acquire flight data about the drone (unique serial number), its operator (UAS operator registration number), current flight data (speed, altitude, geographical position), among others.
After being the first Notified Body for the DR 2019/945 and the first to issue a C3 Class Label Certificate, ALTER Technology now solidifies its position in the UAS Certification market. ALTER Technology’s expertise in aeronautics (including UAVs) gives our customers the confidence to ensure high-quality testing and certification processes.
