Recent court cases distract from timely and safe integration of small UAVs. 

The Small UAV Coalition is neither surprised nor disappointed by the recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ruling, which provides that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the authority to take enforcement action against operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the Coalition urges the FAA to focus its attention and resources on achievements that will allow for the timely and safe operation of small UAVs.

The FAA is already behind its deadline to integrate commercial UAVs into the national airspace, and we understand that the forthcoming draft rule for small UAS will not address the realities of today’s UAV technology, such as varying degrees of autonomy and the ability to perform operations beyond line of sight. Consumers and the industry would be better served if the FAA focused its limited resources on ways to bring the United States UAV industry up to speed with other countries, by allowing domestic manufacturers to conduct research and development on their own property, or by addressing the over 100 outstanding petitions for exemption under section 333. Critical time already has been wasted, costing US competitiveness in the global marketplace.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

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• Citing concerns about overreach, drone journalists comment on FAA model aircraft rule interpretation
• Does the Small UAV industry need its own coalition?
• While the cat’s away, the mice play: What the drone delivery biz is doing while FAA ruling is under appeal
• American news media coalition files brief in support of Pirker, First Amendment rights
• Commercial drone use legal in USA? Who’s willing to make bail?

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Ritewing Zephir – evidence in Pirker Case.

The FAA said Pirker had recklessly flown the small, unmanned aircraft “directly towards an individual standing on a … sidewalk, causing the individual to take immediate evasive maneuvers so as to avoid being struck.”

With the help of Mr. Brendan Schulman, a prominent ‘pro-drone’ lawyer, Mr. Pirker challenged the FAA fine, based on the fact that while the FAA can regulate “aircraft,” it has repeatedly excluded model aircraft from that definition. Judge Patrick Geraghty of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dismissed the $10,000 fine, agreeing that the FAA “has not issued an enforceable Federal Acquisition Regulation regulatory rule governing model aircraft operation; has historically exempted model aircraft from the statutory FAR definitions of ‘aircraft’ by relegating model aircraft operations to voluntary compliance with the guidance expressed in [the 2007 policy notice], Respondent’s model aircraft operation was not subject to FAR regulation and enforcement.”

On November 18th of this year the NTSB issued a decision saying that the current federal regulations applying to manned aircraft also apply to UAV or drones. Also, NTSB ruled that the FAA definition of aircraft as “any device … used for flight in the air” applies to “any aircraft, manned or unmanned, large or small.” In essence, this could mean that the flight in the air of a paper plane or a toy wood balsa glider could subject the operator to FAA penalties.

Although the FAA granted commercial drone licenses to oil giant BP and six Hollywood production companies, everyone else trying to make a living using drones for aerial filming could face fines.

As for the Pirker case, Mr. Pirker can appeal to the Court of Appeals. However, since the likelihood of the FAA publishing rules for drones in the foreseeable future is slim, it seems that it is Congress that will have to make the decision if it wants every model aircraft regardless of size to be regulated by the FAA’s rules for manned aircraft.

After the initial blow delivered by Mr. Pirker and Mr. Schulman, the FAA came back to win a major legal battle. The war for democratization of drone use is still on, however, and it is now up to drone community to mobilize and try to influence the decision-making of the administrative behemoth.

For further reading, check out the Forbes article and the FAA statement.

Image courtesy of Ritewing RC LLC.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• Small UAV Coalition urges FAA to focus on regulations that enable domestic UAV innovation
• Citing concerns about overreach, drone journalists comment on FAA model aircraft rule interpretation
• Does the Small UAV industry need its own coalition?
• While the cat’s away, the mice play: What the drone delivery biz is doing while FAA ruling is under appeal
• American news media coalition files brief in support of Pirker, First Amendment rights
• Commercial drone use legal in USA? Who’s willing to make bail?

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

BP, the oil and energy company, received the first FAA early-use approval to fly Puma UAVs in and around Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. 

Puma’s are small, weighing only 13 pounds. They are 4’7” long with a wingspan of 9’ and manufactured by AeroVironment. The battery version can fly for 3-1/2 hours while the solar-powered version can fly for more than 9 hours.

FastCompany reported:

BP says that their single Puma drone will be used for monitoring specific maintenance activities on roads, oil pipelines, and other infrastructure. Industry publication Oil & Gas Financial Journal added that the UAV is designed to aggregate data for BP, including integrating photographs and sensor information into 3-D models of roads, pads, and pipelines, along with precision volumetric measurement, and topographic analysis of the company’s gravel pits.

This is the first of what many expect to be a steady stream of approvals for the use of commercial UAVs in low-population areas of the U.S. Prudhoe Bay has little air traffic and fewer safety hazards.

This post is part of Robohub’s Jobs Focus.

Bottom line, a multibillion commercial market will quickly emerge in the United States with applications ranging from precision agriculture to precision medicine delivery, creating over 100,000 jobs by 2025 just in manufacturing of these new products.

Why UAS?
In the most basic sense, UAS allow for similar capabilities of manned aircraft except without the added weight and size of the pilot and related pilot protection equipment. Once that weight and space (up to several hundred pounds) is stripped, suddenly the platform can be operated in new safer, more accurate ways. For hobbyists, these vehicles are an end unto themselves. For commercial use the vehicles must justify their use through making existing operations cheaper, more effective or less risky. In the report, we focused on markets that have existing data (agriculture and public safety) and made our projections from this data. However, when it comes to new applications, soon the sky will no longer be the limit.

Legislative Barriers
Though the FAA will find safe, effective ways to integrate UAS in the nation’s airspace, lifting what is the only current hurdle to mass commercial adoption, new legislation is under development that will may hinder commercial adoption of UAS. Michael Toscano, President and CEO of AUVSI, recently testified before the US Senate on the matter. Looking purely at the economic implications, states or municipalities that limit UAS use will miss out on the benefits of such systems and will likely quickly change their ways after other states prove the potential of UAS and alleviate current concerns. However, it may be too late for states that adapt slowly, as companies will likely already be established in states without excess restrictions.

Get Ready
Once current FAA restrictions are safely lifted, expect companies to move quickly to capture a piece of the multibillion dollar market. We’re two and half years away and companies in the defense market are already developing new commercial vehicles and new companies are springing up, cutting their teeth in other countries waiting for the right time to enter the U.S. market. These are exciting times and I cannot wait until I don’t have to leave my doorstep to catch a piece of the action.

See all the posts in Robohub’s Jobs Focus.