FAA Issues More UAS Exemptions

The Trimble UX5.

In December, I wrote about the five new commercial UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) exemptions issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with one commercial exemption being issued to Trimble Navigation for its UX5 mapping UAS. The precedent was a major step towards integrating commercial UAS operations into the United States airspace. This month, the FAA issued two more commercial UAS exemptions, one of them opening a new world of commercial UAS operations.

Speaking of exemptions, there’s a pile of commercial UAS exemption requests awaiting review by the FAA. From Amazon.com, who garnered lots of UAS attention when television news magazine 60 Minutes interviewed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about its drone delivery concept, to Agribusiness giant Wilbur-Ellis Co. If you’d like to view the list of requestors as well as read their submissions, click here. How much time does it take from submission to a exemption approval? The FAA doesn’t provide that estimate, but I’ve spoken to several organizations that have been granted exemptions and Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The quickest timeline I’ve heard is three months.

The Phantom 2 Vision+ UAS

As I mentioned above, two new commercial UAS exemptions were issued earlier this month. One went to Advanced Aviation Solutions LLC, who was granted an exemption to fly the Swiss-made eBee Ag UAS for precision agriculture. At US$25,000 each, the eBee Ag is for the serious drone connoisseur.

The other commercial UAS exemption was issued to a realtor in Tucson, Arizona. This exemption is interesting because it’s the first one issued that makes use of the DJI Phantom II Vision+ quad copter UAS. The Phantom II Vision + sells for well under US$2,000 and is generally considered a consumer UAS rather than one purpose-built for commercial users. However, it clearly has the capability of being used by realtors, and thanks to support by Pix4D, a Swiss-based commercial UAS imagery software maker, it can be used for capturing imagery for mapping and generating 3D models.

At well under $2,000, the DJI Phantom II Vision+ price point is affordable for even the most basic commercial UAS application. The cost is relatively insignificant compared to the cost of image processing software from PIX4D, which at US$7,500 is more than five times the cost of the Phantom.

No matter which model UAS is being approved in the exemptions, the FAA expects all operators to adhere to many rules in common. One is that the Pilot in Command (PIC) must possess at least an FAA Private Pilot certificate. What does it take to qualify for an FAA Private Pilot Certificate? It’s not a small or inexpensive undertaking. Generally speaking, you need to:

1. Pass a written knowledge test after completing ground school.
2. Accumulate 40 hours of flight instruction and solo flight time.
3. Possess an FAA third-class medical certificate.
4. Pass a flight test administered by an FAA examiner.

In terms of cost, a typical small aircraft (Cessna 152) suitable for training will cost you upwards of $90/hour to rent (including fuel). Add all the other costs in and you’re looking at spending more than $10,000. This doesn’t include the time you will spend studying, and there’s a lot to study, from weather phenomena to instruments to aircraft performance to maps.

Now, the FAA exemptions don’t specify that the exemption holder must have a Private Pilot certificate. If you possess such an exemption, you can hire a Private Pilot to act as Pilot in Command (PIC) of the UAS, but costs start adding up quickly if you have to hire a PIC and also have a Visual Observer (VO) present, which the exemptions are requiring.

Things are certainly heating up in the commercial UAS world. I have to commend the FAA for stepping up to the plate and taking action to allow commercial UAS operations (however limited) well before the U.S. Congress-imposed deadline of September 2015 for releasing rules for integrating commercial UAS into the United States airspace.

Thanks, and see you next month.

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