Effects of communication and control latency on air traffic controller acceptance of unmanned aircraft operations

Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System will require UAS to meet the standards expected of conventional manned aircraft, including interactions with air traffic controllers (ATCo). To study the effect UAS delays have on ATCo acceptance of UAS operations eight ATCos managed traffic scenarios with conventional manned aircraft and one UAS. To mimic the potential latencies of UAS operations 1.5 or 5 second delays were added to the UAS pilot's verbal and execution initiation responses. Delays were either constant or variable within each scenario. While ATCos were tolerant of UAS delays, the duration and consistency of verbal and execution delays did affect communications and ATCos' experiences managing traffic. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.