On a day when the FAA is dealing with yet another computer glitch fouling up national operations, it is taking aim at a rapidly approaching issue: letting unmanned aircraft haveunrestricted access to regular civilian airspace.
While the number of permitted unmanned aircraft operations in commercial airspace has tripled since 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration says routine drone access to civilian airspace is years away.
WatchGuard ROI Calculator: Download now“While the [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] UAS is undoubtedly the way of the future, my concern must be on today, and right now, the era of the unmanned aircraft system in civilian airspace is just not here yet. The level of technical maturity isn’t where it needs to be for full operation in the National Airspace System,” FAA administrator J. Randolph Babbitt told a meeting of aerospace executives this week in Scottsdale, AZ.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about what is going in the US rule-making processes Patrick. It was highly informative, but also a bit scaring to listen to.
Amateurs at the demo wasn't my purview, plus there was no funding. My cost to fly to Virginia, car and hotel was paid out of pocket. We as a community really need to maximize on opportunities like the LUAS survey I posted a few months ago.
I am always curious why people freak out about little foam UAVs but never even mention ultralights! I always assume that the same type of rules apply to us that they use... stay out of controlled airspace and use the grey matter between your ears... other than that, there really arent any meaningful restrictions... you dont see the ultralight pilots giving 48 hours notice before a flight!
If I remember correctly, we had to have a field diameter the same size as the waver and some of the larger rockets drifted more than a mile away from the launch site. I guess those in charge of the regulations are more concerned about a 5 lb UAV flying a 30mph and at 400 ft than a 50lb Rocket flying at 200-300mph and several thousand feet. Gotta love those bloated government agencies.
Yes, there are some curious inequities in the regulatory process, for sure.
The lack of serious issue with balloons and rockets leads me to assume it is more to do with airspace "footprint" than size or altitude.
I had thought a large balloon would be more of a safety risk than a model aircraft, but the thinking seems to be it is usually more visible and slow, therefore easier to avoid...
Comments
On a day when the FAA is dealing with yet another computer glitch fouling up national operations, it is taking aim at a rapidly approaching issue: letting unmanned aircraft haveunrestricted access to regular civilian airspace.
While the number of permitted unmanned aircraft operations in commercial airspace has tripled since 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration says routine drone access to civilian airspace is years away.
WatchGuard ROI Calculator: Download now“While the [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] UAS is undoubtedly the way of the future, my concern must be on today, and right now, the era of the unmanned aircraft system in civilian airspace is just not here yet. The level of technical maturity isn’t where it needs to be for full operation in the National Airspace System,” FAA administrator J. Randolph Babbitt told a meeting of aerospace executives this week in Scottsdale, AZ.
brakar
The lack of serious issue with balloons and rockets leads me to assume it is more to do with airspace "footprint" than size or altitude.
I had thought a large balloon would be more of a safety risk than a model aircraft, but the thinking seems to be it is usually more visible and slow, therefore easier to avoid...
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