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Editorial: Drones, Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon
CEC Drone Hangar (Ed Downs)More and more, those of us in contemporary aviation, especially GA pilots, are likely to encounter drones. The passage of FAR 107 last year formalized the registration, pilot certification standards, and operational parameters of drones, eliminating the complex exemption process that had been in place. This has caused a near explosion in the use of these devices for what most would consider “commercial operations.” While hobbyists with model airplanes may still enjoy their passion without becoming involved in the federal bureaucracy, those using drones for any form of business or commercial operations (which are very broadly defined under FAR 107) must be certificated and follow strict rules of flight.
CEC new headquarters. (Ed Downs)Having acquired my own FAA UAS Certificate last year and teaching two UAS pilot classes (one for a municipal utility provider), it is becoming apparent that what we generically refer to as “drones” are entering the mainstream of legitimate aviation. At this point, let me be technically correct. While the term “drone” tends to refer to all machines that fly or hover without a pilot onboard, the true term that should be used is UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). “System” implies a pilot is constantly involved per FAR 107, while “vehicle” implies autonomous operation. For the sake of this editorial view, let’s just call them “drones.
Unmanned and Sunny Drone Education Event
Unmanned and Sunny Drone Education Event
Aerospace Center for Excellence will host Unmanned and Sunny on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 from 1 – 4 p.m. at Aerospace Discovery at the Florida Air Museum, located on the Sun ‘n Fun Expo Campus 4175 Medulla Rd., Lakeland, Fla.
Unmanned and Sunny is a free drone education and awareness event for the public to learn about safe drone operation and the upcoming career opportunities that exist in the drone industry.
Weeks after FAA Test Site Designation, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Conducts Drone Research Mission
Just weeks after its designation as one of six federally-approved test sites for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will conduct several test flights over South Texas ranchland to continue research and training on the RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) test site designation, announced Dec. 30, is expected to bring other UAS researchers to the University’s Lone Star UAS Center to expand research on new applications and safe integration of unmanned aerial technology into the national airspace.
A&M-Corpus Christi has an established UAS program, including extensive airspace authorized by the FAA for UAS operations. The University also has established a UAS Command and Control Center at the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center that will manage the 11 Texas test ranges. The University’s UAV, an RS-16, has participated in several missions since it arrived on campus in 2011.
Editorial: Sharing Airspace with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s)
By Ed Downs
First, the title of this editorial is technically wrong. While many (if not all) readers will recognize the acronym UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), with the immediate image of the lethal “Predator” coming to mind, such an image and use of the term “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle” simply demonstrates the same level of misunderstanding that was held by this writer – more on the acronym later. Fortunately, receipt of a NASA news release and a conversation with the pros at NASA came to my rescue.
But let’s go back to the beginning of this subject and take a look at why it attracted this writer’s attention. As a part time instructor for the well-known aviation school, Aviation Seminars (an immersion training organization that conducts weekend programs around the country), I am privileged to teach Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics (FIRCs). A Certified Flight Instructor must attend a FIRC every 24 months, often not a terribly fun experience, as the same material is often covered time and time again. The last FIRC I taught was different, having been updated to include a good deal of new material and visual aids. One of the key topics covered has to do with “pilot deviations,” or what most pilots refer to as mid-air collision and runway incursion avoidance. A new subject in this presentation deals with the increased use of “UAVs” in the National Airspace System. Basically, this two-slide subject suggests “heads up and watch out!” The presentation includes an actual video taken from a UAV operating in Afghanistan as it whizzes past an A-300 Airbus with less than 50 feet to spare. But that is the end of the presentation. No further discussion is included about what is really going on with UAV’s here in the States.