I wish my institute listed in this.. :-(
Some excerpts..
"It includes a number of universities from all over the country, including Cornell University, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State University and Eastern Gateway Community College. It makes sense for universities to have access to U.S. airspace to fly drones — after all, they are the ones doing a lot of the research on new drone technologies, so they might as well be able to test their own creations near campus"
"While it’s easy to balk at the idea of students at a small community college in eastern Ohio flying drones over the heads of our youth, remember that most drones aren’t the Hellfire missile-carrying behemoths we hear about flying over Afghanistan. Small, inexpensive drones are routinely used by filmmakers and amateur hobbyists, meaning students could learn a lot from drones without putting anybody in danger"
and the list: https://www.eff.org/document/faa-list-certificates-authorizations-coas
Comments
Oh, Robert, about the "fast track". A "simplified" process is used for AMA and MAAC members.
See the Staff Instruction for SFOC. You get to fill in "Form B", instead of "Form A".
Robert, not real F-16's. But maybe they can start a drone air force. And then then recruit RC flyers to join and fly model F-16 patrol missions.
Oh, I've got it, how about another requirement: Alert the Air Force so that they can have two F-16's circling the test field with radio comms to the flight crew for emergency shoot down should the test drone go rogue.
I probably shouldn't joke...
@Justin, what, you don't need to have an air ambulance at the field on standby as well? No personal approval from POTUS?
Holy crap.
@Ellison, where did you hear about this "fast track" for SFOC? I hadn't heard that before.
Individuals cannot hold a COA
At least in Canada you have to be a member of MAAC (AMA equiv.) to "fast tracked" for SFOC application. Isn't there such a thing in US for the COA application?
No University can fly commercially, what was amazing was how few COA's have been issued.
Also notice the "COA status" column on the right of the list... At least in my browser this was obscured from view and needs to be scrolled in.
Actually, no university use falls under hobbiest rules. As soon as you are flying for reasons other than your own personal enjoyment or personal activities it might as well be a reaper drone. Also the requirements that we are required to follow as stated in our COA are much stricter than anything hobbiests use. For instance we must have at least 2 observers with a class 2 medical (yearly renewal) and the pilot must also have a class 2 and have passed the ground school for a private pilot license. Also we are only allowed to fly at a specific flying site that is literally miles from anything else (university owned farm). Having a COA is nice, but it is not an open door to fly wherever and whenever we want. There are also technicalities such as filing a report with the FAA every month on our operations, including specific reports in cases of hard landings, crashes, or other events, as well as filing a NOTAM at least 24 hours before we fly.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next