Flight Operations and Certification

NLR can support you in developing your Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) including certification. We can assist in designing and prototyping your RPAS/UAS, offer our platform as a testbed for your sensor equipment, autopilot integration, and develop sensors and systems specifically for RPAS/UAS applications. Additionally, our facilities enable us to perform environmental tests such as EMI/EMC, ESD, vibration, or shock tests on your RPAS/UAS, and conduct sensor calibration on components like IMU, airspeed, altitude and more.

NLR has a proven track record in supporting our customers in developing their
system in a realistic environment, from experimental to production stages (TRL 5-7), as well as qualifying and certifying your product for aeronautical use (TRL 7-9). We understand the process to be followed to reach a certified product, in compliance with the appropriate flight safety requirements. We can also assist in interpreting requirements, in designing aircraft modifications to integrate new capabilities, up to new aircraft types, and provide any necessary support in the airworthiness certification domain, helping you navigate the complex process of bringing your product to market.

Flight testing is a means to collect (evidence/research) data. All processes related to flight testing are covered within Flight test support: from defining requirements to preparing flight test plans, realisation of instrumentation suites and provisions and finally support of test flight execution and data analysis.

Dynamically scaled models are used for the validation of an aircraft design or aircraft technology, after it has been analysed and improved with numerical methods. Commonly known are the (static) wind tunnel tests on scale. The scaled testing reduce cost and risk of full-scale tests. Self-powered, free-flying dynamically scaled models can be used to discover the dynamic “realm”. For example, control, stability and upset conditions (like spin recovery, high angle of attack, stall). This is not possible with static test, and in most cases very risky when using a full-scale prototype.

Ensuring the safety and efficiency of flight procedures is crucial for modern air traffic management. When it comes to implementing Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures, such as RNAV/RNP, RNP APCH or RNP AR, a thorough validation process is essential. NLR's Flight Procedure Validation can support you in substantiating your decision to perform a Ground or Flight validation, conducting a 'desktop', simulator or in-flight validation of PBN procedures.