Definition

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) as a broad spread of existing and potential uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations whose only common factor is the uncrewed aircraft (UA) being out of the direct visual line of sight of the remote pilot.

In the EU, BVLOS operation is defined in Regulation 2019/947 as "a type of UAS operation which is not conducted in VLOS", and VLOS means "a type of UAS operation in which, the remote pilot is able to maintain continuous unaided visual contact with the unmanned aircraft, allowing the remote pilot to control the flight path of the unmanned aircraft in relation to other aircraft, people and obstacles for the purpose of avoiding collisions".

Further Reading

• Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee Final Report, FAA BVLOS ARC, 10 March 2022.