Cranfield – Unmanned Aerial Systems Chief Pilot

Cranfield Airport is a commercial and GA airport situated in Class G airspace situated between Bedford and the City of Milton Keynes with a 1799m runway which can accommodate business jets such as the Falcon, Gulfstream and Boeing Business Jet, which currently do not require runway slots.

The UAS Chief Pilot will be responsible to the UAS Manager for the safe and secure operation of all Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Drones and Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicles that are operated on behalf of Cranfield University within the Airport’s Air Traffic Zone or elsewhere.

The role will entail working with Airport staff, University staff, the CAA and University industry collaborators, in the creation and compliance of existing and new operational procedures and safety cases that enable enhanced (e.g. BVLOS) operations alongside normal Airport operations. Compliance with ANO 2016, CAP 393 and CAP 722 plus other existing and future relevant legislation will be a requirement.

We offer a challenging and varied working environment as part of a Global Research Airport with several large projects and upgrades in the pipeline.

Co-funded by Research England, an industry consortium of leading aviation organisations and Cranfield University, the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC) is a £67 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities that will leverage both the University’s own research airport and its newly opened autonomous vehicle research facility.

DARTeC Will Initially Focus On Five Primary Research Challenges Within An Organisational Resilience Framework That Individually Have Direct Relevance To The Digital Agenda, And Collectively Provide The Opportunity To Explore And Address Systems Integration Challenges Through Advances In Technology, Intelligence, Regulatory Frameworks And Business Models

• Connected Systems
• Unmanned Traffic Management
• Seamless Passenger Experience
• Distributed Airport/Airspace Management
• Conscious Aircraft

A major programme within DARTeC is the National BVLOS Experimentation Corridor (NBEC) is being established by a consortium of technology partners (Blue Bear Systems Research, Cranfield, Thales and Vodafone) to provide industry and academia with a facility to help solve the challenges that low altitude mixed (manned and unmanned) flight presents.

NQE/RAE full recommendation including Ground and Flight Test / BMFA Proficiency A / A2CoC / GVC or equivalent. Demonstrable experience in the competent operation of unmanned aircraft / drones (operating within a PfCO accredited organisation is strongly preferred). Strong aviation knowledge (i.e., Aviation law / meteorology, RT, Human Factors etc.)

Maintenance of airworthy technical systems is essential, such as mechanical structures, avionics, electronics, software, radio systems.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Alex Williamson, UAS Manager on (E); alex.a.williamson@cranfield.ac.uk

Organisation Cranfield Airport Operations Limited
School/Department Cranfield Airport Operations Limited
Based at Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Hours of work 37.5 hours per week
Contract type Permanent
Salary £40,000 to £45,000 per annum
Apply by 28/02/2021