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Press Release – FAA to Consider Exemptions for Commercial UAS Movie and TV Production

For Immediate Release

June 2, 2014
Contact: Les Dorr, Jr. or Alison Duquette 
Phone: (202) 267-3883

Seven Companies Petition to Fly Unmanned Aircraft before Rulemaking is Complete


WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today announced that seven aerial photo and video production companies have asked for regulatory exemptions that would allow the film and television industry to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with FAA approval for the first time.  

If the exemption requests are granted, there could be tangible economic benefits as the agency begins to address the demand for commercial UAS operations. However, all the associated safety issues must be carefully considered to make sure any hazards are appropriately mitigated. The petitioner must still obtain operational approval from the FAA.

The Motion Picture Association of America facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of their membership. The firms that filed the petitions are all independent aerial cinematography professionals who collectively developed the exemption requests as a requirement to satisfy the safety and public interest concerns of the FAA, MPAA and the public at large.

The FAA has been working for several months to implement the provisions of Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and move forward with UAS integration before proposing a small UAS rule. Companies from three industries besides film production have approached the FAA and are also considering filing exemption requests.  These industries include precision agriculture, power line and pipeline inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection.

The firms are asking the agency to grant exemptions from regulations that address general flight rules, pilot certificate requirements, manuals, maintenance and equipment mandates.  They are also asking for relief from airworthiness certification requirements as allowed under Section 333. Under that section of the law, certain airworthiness requirements can be waived to let specific UAS fly safely in narrowly-defined, controlled, low-risk situations.

To receive the exemptions, the firms must show that their UAS operations will not adversely affect safety, or provide at least an equal level of safety to the rules from which they seek the exemption.  They would also need to show why granting the exemption would be in the public interest. 

Currently, Certificates of Waiver or Authorization are available to public entities that want to fly a UAS in civil airspace. Common uses today include law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, disaster relief, search and rescue, military training, and other government operational missions. Commercial operations are authorized on a case-by-case basis. A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and operating approval. The exemption process under Section 333 provides an additional avenue for commercial UAS operations.

You can view the film & TV production company petitions at www.regulations.gov

For more information on the FAA and UAS, go to http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/

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Comments

  • Yep. Flying-cam has been in the R/C filming space for the last 10yrs (heck they gotten a technical oscar) and has the most to lose in the US market. Luckily most of they firms have a growing international client base.

    Reading the request shows a interesting things:

    Given the size of the sUAV, two-inch lettering will be impossible.
    The word “Experimental” will be placed on the fuselage in compliance with §45.29 (f).

    And that there's no mention of autopilots or INS aids and that it's purely a LOS manually piloted (by certified pilot) vehicle and following telemetry and a manual. Of course doesn't mention what happen when telemetry, LOS, or Radio control is lost/jammed/failed. Anyone have a copy of the manual?

  • They are considering exemptions because they are have already been and are being used for the last couple of decades.  I guess it is better than the scare tactics but it still gives the impression that they are able to control it and so they are allowing someone to do something they really have no legal authority over as the federal judge said in the Trappy case.

  • Ditto Quadrocopter. WTF? Out of all the uses for UAVs, this should be the lowest priority.

  • FYI, these are the film companies applying for exemption:

    • Snaproll Media LLC
    • Flying-Cam Inc.
    • Pictorvision Inc.
    • Astraeus Aerial (??)
    • RC Pro Productions Consulting LLC
    • HeliVideo Productions LLC

    Note their mainly gas powered single bladed vendors aside from HeliVideo (does multis). Also, Flying-cam has a long history in this space and has the most to lose from the current FAA 'restrictions'--makes sense for them to make the request.

  • The FAA has been working for several months to implement the provisions of Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and move forward with UAS integration before proposing a small UAS rule. Companies from three industries besides film production have approached the FAA and are also considering filing exemption requests. These industries include precision agriculture, power line and pipeline inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection.
  • Simon, read through the whole press release. This isn't just about film and television uses!
  • Dang, you beat me to it Quadrocopter, but we all know they can't mention that because of the law suit against them

     

    @Joshua - exactly

  • Finding missing persons, spotting fires, monitoring crops....

    NO none of that, Let's get our priorities right!

    Most importantly T.V and Movies. 

    LOL @ the FAA :-)

    Simon

  • Yes, the FAA realizes that this market is not going anywhere, and they also realize that it is beyond the scope of their current capabilities to manage it. As we know, sUAS is going to be bigger than manned flight as far as quantity of vehicles in operation.

    At this point it's just a matter of claiming ownership of our market, and the only way to do that is by going above and beyond when it comes to using best practices and incorporating standard aviation protocols and safety measures.

    Proactive and professional wins.

  • So as usual, the squeaky wheel with money gets the grease?

    I wonder if the FAA has realized that it's pretty much already been full steam ahead since the Pirker case?

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