I'm trying to:
1. Find the bill that Obama signed into law on Tuesday
2. Decipher the BS contained in the new law (there is sure to be some) and see what it says.
This may (or may not) be the bill in question:
http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/Media/file/112th/Aviation/2012-02-01-Conf-Draft-2.pdf
This is specifically the language in the bill (whether or not my link above is the correct bill) that I'm looking to read over and study:
- Requiring expedited access for public users, such as law enforcement, firefighters, emergency responders
- Allowing first responders to fly very small UAS (4.4lbs or less) within 90 days if they meet certain requirements. The goal is to get law enforcement and firefighters immediate access to start flying small systems to save lives and increase public safety. Although 4.4lbs doesn’t sound like a lot, there are numerous platforms available that meet this requirement.
- Requiring the FAA to study UAS human factors and causes of accidents
Reason: Under certain legal stipulations, and depending on contractual agreements, my company qualifies to provide services as a 'First Responder.'
James Pollock
Bulldog Investigations & Security
Replies
These ADS-B units seem almost a requirement for medium sized UAS that fly any significant distance from the GCS. It seems a little overkill for small UAS that operate in airspace not normally used by manned aircraft such as between buildings and at low altitude.
This (the FAA Reauthorization Bill) seems to permit privately owned small UAS to fly. I wonder if that means one could use it to monitor the fence along the perimeter of a large cow pasture that you own or if since the cows are part of a business that would be a commercial application.
I understand there is something coming from the FAA (regulations?) dealing with "small UAS." I guess we'll know more once that is published. I believe it is expected sometime this year. Anyone know more?
I'm not exactly sure what this is or what it's capabilities are, but it appears to be a small, low cost ADS-B receiver. (note: receiver only)
http://www.amazon.com/GNS-5890-ADS-B-Receiver-USB-Stick/dp/B006VI3WAK
My guess is that there is ground effect between the manufacturers such as Garmin, the aviation community, and the FAA. The manufacturers are not going to make a product that the community won't purchase, the FAA would probably like to see ADS-B, but the aviation community keeps pushing back over concerns of cost and convenience. Once that is overcome, I suspect making these devices is trivial and they will be as prevalent as automobile nav systems.
There are small, low cost ADS-B systems being developed. I'm unsure where these stand in commercial availability.
http://www.mitre.org/news/digest/aviation/06_08/av_uat.html
I too suspect it will be crucial in any solution implementation under the FAA Mandate for medium to large UAS. I'm curious if there is any sense of a formal demarcation line between the medium and small UAS with regard to requiring ADS-B. It would only stand to reason. I suspect the idea that "everything from ultra-lights to skydivers" is a slight exaggeration.
For “Now What”… as far as any immediate changes (or clarification) I agree with Hunter Parris. It appears that UAS for recreation or sport are permitted so long as you abide by community standards and regulations. I would guess that refers to Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA).
I think the end result of this is that the FAA is going to start making a lot of poorly thought out rules as fast as they can. Congress gave them very little time to do things right and the FAA has a long history of making poor rules.
IMHO the FAA will require ADSB on all drones. They've already said ADSB is going to be required on everything from ultralights to skydivers soon.
I'm working on a ground based ADSB system for drones. If the FAA allows ground based ADSB transponders AND they only require reception of signals then it should be pretty easy (just some coding and a $90 receiver). If they want ADSB out then it will be a fair bit harder. If they want the transponder to actually be on the plane then I don't see any way to do it for a reasonable cost. A 7 watt transponder on your UAV is going to take way too much power and be several thousands of dollars.
NOW would be the time for us to come up with an ADSB system. Then convince the FAA that it's good enough and we don't need a $5k+ commercial transponder on every drone.
Check out microadsb.com for receiver schematics.
-Jake
(Sec. 607)
Authorizes the FAA Administrator to:
(1) arrange with the NAS to assess unmanned aircraft systems; and
(2) establish three two-year cost-shared pilot projects in sparsely populated, low-density Class G air traffic airspace new test sites to conduct developmental work and service testing to improve unmanned aircraft for safe integration into the National Airspace System. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2011. Directs the FAA Administrator to make available on the FAA's website a five-year "roadmap" for introduction of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from promulgating rules or regulations on model aircraft flown strictly for recreational, sport, competition, or academic purposes, and meeting certain other criteria.
My interpretation is that the UAS pilots who do this for recreation or sport are in the clear from FAA-imposed regulations...for now. For the "other criteria," I hope they take into consideration low-level, close range aerial photography or geo-mapping for businesses. I definitely don't want to have to get ground clearance for snapping pictures for a real estate agent. I honestly can't see the FAA imposing regulations on flights below a certain altitude and within a certain range with small UAVs. I could be wrong, I've seen crazier things the government has done.
#1 - All the versions are here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h658/show
#2 - As for making sense of it, I'm afraid you'll need to 1) read it and 2) wait to see what the FAA does with it. I don't think there is a lot of "BS", per se, but a lot of the meat you might be after is not so much defined as it is put forward that certain things will be studied and defined.