Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patrick Egan on June 12, 2008 at 5:37am

We do not exclude semi-autonomous flight, if you operate in VLOS to 400’ and at all times have PIC (pilot in command) capabilities. Anyone who thinks they’ll be doing anything beyond that (legally), for the foreseeable future is dreaming.

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Permalink Reply by wayne garris on June 12, 2008 at 8:11am

then please explain how it is i do what i do when the very people you claim are going to "bust" me are requesting flight demos ? please look at some of my blogs on my profile page . you will see one that has pictures of a demo we did for washington state DOT and flew under a COA and NOTAM ? as you can see by the pictures the airplane is very large and we use cloud caps AP . are you telling me this was not legal?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Myers on June 12, 2008 at 8:55am

I missed the part that he said the Wa State DOT was going to bust you. :-)
If you were flying under a COA, totally legal from what I know. We should leave legal/illegal for the courts... When it comes down to the current situation, it is authorized or not authorized. I think Patrick was speaking of smaller, somewhat unsupervised operations where you could just go out a do a flight without the paperwork. The average drone'er is not going to pick up a COA very easily. You would be one of the few in the US that has flown UAS with a COA.

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Permalink Reply by wayne garris on June 12, 2008 at 2:57pm

we were in direct satellite com with FAA officials during the entire operation notice the dish on top of the WSDOT aviation trailer.
BTW we were doing this as a study for avalanche control , they want to drop 30lb of explosives with a uav in a snow storm in the mountains . i suppose next im going to be told that thats not legal and im a terrorist ect..ect..
lets set aside opinion here , you can have a commercially viable UAV business right now, you just have to be smart . what patric said was dead wrong and i have proved that . call me a S.O.B. and say i am attacking anyone i dont care please but just try to disprove me .

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Permalink Reply by Joe Bennett on June 12, 2008 at 3:35pm

No one is calling you any names, nor attacking you or your opinion either. What I would love for you to do though is if you could post either a copy of the COA you flew under, or a link to it that can be viewed by the public. It could of course be obtained by using the FAA FOIA site, but would be easier if posted by you. Hope you can help everyone out who might be interested in what you had to do to obtain the COA, and how you went about accomplishing it. That type of information would be of immense help to others who might wish to do studies and research in co-operation with government entities as well. Thanks in advance for any assistance you might be able to provide regarding obtaining a COA from the FAA....

Joe Bennett
Editor in Chief - RCAPA Reporter
Director of Flight Standards - RCAPA

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on June 12, 2008 at 3:46pm

Great suggestion, Joe. Wayne, maybe a blog post on "getting a COA"? No need to give away more than you're comfortable with, but any advice you've got would be fascinating.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Bennett on June 12, 2008 at 3:51pm

Found the below informational synopsis' at the WSDOT site located at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Research/Current/ about halfway down the listings. Good information there about various projects and studies being undertaken....

Joe Bennett
Editor in Chief - RCAPA Reporter
Director of Flight Standards - RCAPA


Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) Test Flight (CSR & QR Funds)

Remote Operated AircraftBudget: $47,636
Technical Monitor: Traffic, Maintenance, & Aviation offices
Principal Investigator: Georgia Tech
Research Manager: Kim Willoughby

Remotely operated aircraft, or ROA’s can be used for avalanche control and search and rescue operations. This project is testing the ROA’s ability to carry cameras, operate in mountainous weather, and locate individuals in mountainous terrain. The flight operation, which took place on September 11, 2007, will demonstrate the performance on a specific ROA in mountainous terrain (Cascade Mountains adjacent to SR20).

What We Hope to Accomplish: Determine the ability of a ROA to carry cameras and remotely operate them, locate individuals (for search and rescue operations), and to operate in mountainous terrain and weather.

Transportation Applications of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (CSR) Budget: $70,000
Technical Monitor: Ted Trepanier
Principal Investigator: Ed McCormick, UW
Research Project Manager: Doug Brodin

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming smaller and less expensive. These aircraft are small enough to be launched from a pickup truck but still large enough to be equipped with cameras and sensors that can provide low-cost aerial information. This situation holds considerable promise for WSDOT since a UAV could be used for data collection and aerial surveillance in areas where geographic locations of potential transportation-related problems are only crudely known.

What We Hope to Accomplish: This project has two objectives. The first is to explore the utility of UAV for enhancing the avalanche control and search and rescue operations undertaken by WSDOT. The second objective is to explore the larger institutional issues behind the use of a UAV by WSDOT. The operational experience gained with UAVs will help all agencies involved (including WSDOT, FAA and USDOT) develop usable UAV policies for public transportation agencies. These policies will become increasingly necessary as UAV technology advances and more non-military organizations push to use UAVs.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Egan on June 13, 2008 at 10:54am

Wayne,

I was talking about non-COA/Experimental certed flying, so no need to get worked up.

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