Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The FAA is Taking Them Seriously, Should You?

March 9, 2012 - By Eric Gakstatter

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are making inroads as geospatial data collection devices (aerial photography). The laws governing the use of UAVs varies widely from country to country. In some countries, UAVs are being used, as we speak, for snapping aerial photographs for digital mapping (GIS). In the U.S., however, the commercial use of UAVs is prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

However, that is changing.

Current FAA UAV Policy

The FAA published a UAV Fact Sheet in July 2011. Summarized:

Recreational UAVs (model aircraft). Recreational use generally limits operations to below 400 feet above ground level and away from airports and air traffic.

Experimental UAVs. A Special Airworthiness Certificates in the Experimental Category (SAC-EC) is the only method available for civil users operate UAVs. While it allows for research and development, market surveys and crew training, it prohibits operating UAVs for profit-making entities.

Public UAVs. The Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) process is available to public entities, including military, law enforcement, and other governmental agencies who want to fly a UAS in civil airspace. Applicants apply online and the FAA evaluates the request. The FAA issues a COA generally based on the following principles:

The COA authorizes an operator to use defined airspace and includes special provisions unique to the proposed operation. For instance, a COA may include a requirement to operate only under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and/or only during daylight hours. Most COAs are issued for a specified time period (up to one year, in most cases).
Most COAs require coordination with an appropriate air traffic control facility and may require the UAS to have a transponder to operate in certain types of airspace.
Due to the inability of UAS to comply with “see and avoid” rules as manned aircraft operations do, a visual observer or an accompanying “chase” aircraft must maintain visual contact with the UAS and serve as its “eyes” when operating outside of airspace that is restricted from other users.

To read the entire FAA Fact Sheet, click here.

To see how UAVs might be used for digital mapping, click on the following image to display a video (~ 5 minutes).

Fast forward to 2012. The FAA is revising the rules governing the usage of UAVs, including commercial usage. Read a USA Today article about it by clicking here.

Last month, President Obama signed into law a bill that orders the FAA to figure out how to integrate commercial UAV usage into the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). This is exciting times for UAVs.

As a result, on March 7, 2012 the FAA issued a press release asking “for public input on the agency’s selection process for six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites. Once the pilot program is established, the agency expects it will provide valuable data to help the FAA safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the same airspace with manned airplanes”.

The FAA also posted, on the Federal Register, a Request for Public Comment regarding the selection of the six test sites. You can read a detailed discussion presented by the FAA by clicking here. You can view a March 2012 FAQ on this discussion, published by the FAA, by clicking here.

UAV technology is going to move forward very fast. As it’s clear the FAA will open up commercial usage of UAVs in the U.S., you should see a lot of really cool UAV techology developments continuing to surface. I think it’s so significant that I’ve invited some UAV experts to speak at our Field Technology Conference this September in Portland, Oregon and have made it part of our keynote session. Look for more details on registering for the Field Technology Conference in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, following is a short Youtube video of last years conference.