Define Minimum Safe Operational Volume for Aerial Vehicles in Upper Class E Airspace

The variety of vehicle performance in upper Class E airspace requires a method that
can efficiently compute the minimum safe operational boundary between aircraft. This work
presents a mathematical method to define the minimum safe operational boundary needed
for aerial vehicles operating in upper Class E airspace. This method focuses on the extra
separation required by vehicle maneuverability, communication delay, and control/operator
response time. A sensitivity study is then performed to provide a general understanding of the
impact of these factors on the extra separation needed. Experiments with pairwise encounters
are conducted to verify the results generated by the proposed methods.