WASHINGTON–As the Federal Aviation Administration considers a notice of proposed rulemaking on regulations governing the use of unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs), the News Media Alliance has published an extensive analysis of the proposals and how they might affect news organizations.

On Aug. 7, the FAA released an NPRM called “Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations.”

The NPRM does not specifically address news operations, stating simply that newsgathering falls into a category called “aerial surveying" that also includes videography and photography.

“This action proposes performance-based regulations to enable the design and operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at low altitudes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and for third-party services, including UAS Traffic Management (UTM), that support these operations. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the development of this proposed rule,” the FAA reported.

“This proposed rule is necessary to support the integration of UAS into the national airspace system (NAS),” it added. “This proposed rule is intended to provide a predictable and clear pathway for safe, routine, and scalable UAS operations that include package delivery, agriculture, aerial surveying, civic interest, operations training, demonstration, recreation, and flight testing. TSA proposes to make complementary changes to its regulations to ensure it can continue to impose security measures on these operations under its current regulatory structure for civil aviation.”

Comments on the NPRM are due Oct. 6.

NMA, which is backed by over 2,200 publishers in the U.S., has provided a detailed breakdown of the proposals here.

Highlights of that analysis include the fact that newsrooms must continue to seek permission to operate drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). Those permits would be valid for 24 months and have “less FAA surveillance,” than in the past, the NMA reported.

In addition newsrooms would not be permitted to have more than 25 active UAS in a fleet capable of BVLOS operations and the UAS could weight as much as 110 pounds, up from the current 55 pound limit.

More details about the impact and the proposals are available here.

BALTIMORE—The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has accepted Sinclair’s Declaration of Compliance for Operations Over People, making the company what is believed to be the first broadcaster authorized to fly drones over people and vehicles for newsgathering without a waiver from the government regulator.

“This approval represents a significant step forward in our ability to deliver high-quality, innovative journalism,” said Scott Livingston, senior vice president of news at Sinclair. “By incorporating expanded drone footage, we enhance our coverage of breaking news, local events, weather and community stories—offering our audiences more compelling and dynamic storytelling. Our ongoing partnership with Virginia Tech has been instrumental in ensuring the highest safety and training standards.”

All Sinclair drone pilots are trained at Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), an FAA-designated Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) test site. The training ensures pilots are equipped with advanced skills and knowledge in drone operations and safety procedures, Sinclair said.

“We have worked for years with Sinclair, helping to train their pilots, and I have always been impressed with their professionalism and commitment to safety. We were proud to build on that theme by using our FAA-approved test method to test a modified drone that allows Sinclair's pilots to meet the FAA's stringent safety requirements for operating over people or traffic,” said Tombo Jones, director for the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership.

The FAA’s authorization allows Sinclair to operate specially modified drones while adhering to strict safety protocols and procedures that meet federal requirements, the broadcaster said.

Sinclair launched its UAS program in 2016. The station group operates across 50 newsrooms nationwide and has completed over 40,000 logged flights to date. The program includes 148 FAA certified pilots and 540 trained visual observers, it said.

“Our dedication to safety is paramount and this achievement is the result of more than a year of extensive preparation, testing and collaboration with industry and government partners. We’ve also conducted community outreach meetings in each market where we operate drones, engaging with first responders, Homeland Security, education officials, local government agencies and the FAA,” said Jeff Rose, Sinclair’s UAS Chief Pilot.

More information is available on the Sinclair and MAAP websites.

WASHINGTON—a new report from two Washington D.C. think tanks is urging government agencies to reform the process of spectrum allocation, citing the recent dispute between C-Band operators and 5G providers that threatened air traffic in the U.S.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the leading research organization tank for science and technology policy, and the Eno Center for Transportation (Eno) says that the interagency dispute that stalled a long-planned rollout of 5G services in the prime “C band” of wireless spectrum and threatened flight cancellations underscores why policymakers must enact reforms to improve regulators’ understanding of device performance, increase data gathering and sharing, and clarify the spectrum allocation process.

“The existing U.S. spectrum allocation process contains vulnerabilities and weaknesses that will worsen as wireless bandwidth becomes more crowded and valuable,” said Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy at ITIF, who co-authored the report.

The report used the FCC allocation of C-Band airwaves to 5G as a case study to review the process for safely and responsibly allocating spectrum, identify gaps in the process, and propose policy solutions that would help identify and resolve issues before they become public safety or industry-wide problems in future allocations.

As the case study shows, the aviation industry disagreed with the FCC’s allocation of C-Band because of safety concerns. This disagreement came to a head in January 2022, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that, without changes to the rollout, planes would be grounded around the country. To avoid this outcome, wireless tech companies voluntarily agreed to postpone their deployment and worked with the aviation stakeholders on a modified rollout.

"The FCC and FAA were not well coordinated on the timing and sufficiency of information regarding the technical specifications of radio altimeter and protection requirements," the report said. "In addition, despite the complex, fast-moving, and safety-critical nature of wireless technology, government as a whole does not regularly update its standards for spectrum-using devices. The degradation of stable leadership and lack of working interagency relationships at many levels of government during this period served as another obstruction to amicable dispute resolution."

“While the immediate crisis was averted, it exposed critical and interrelated gaps and failures in the process and policies used for efficiently allocating spectrum,” said Robert Puentes, president and CEO of Eno, who co-authored the report.

To address these shortcomings, ITIF and Eno created a joint advisory group consisting of aviation and wireless spectrum experts, as well as those deeply familiar with federal spectrum allocation procedures. This group informed the research, evaluation, and development of specific, actionable recommendations to improve the process and avoid conflicts in the future. The report presents four recommendations:

• Agencies and standards-setting organizations should look to improve spectrum-using devices’ resiliency to interference.
• The federal government should invest in personnel that can properly operate and lead complex spectrum allocation processes.
• Final decisions on spectrum allocation need to be established based on clear testing, data, and definitions.
• The federal government should clarify and enforce jurisdictions and areas of expertise within the spectrum allocation process.

“The recent spectrum allocation conflict between aviation and telecommunications was not just a significant problem for both industries but for the nation itself—and it could have been prevented,” said Eno policy analyst Garett Shrode, who co-authored the report.”

“The federal government should not wait until the next conflict to act,” said ITIF research assistant Jessica Dine. “Targeted reforms to improve the quality of personal relationships and expertise of players in the process, and to enhance the technological capabilities of devices, will go a long way toward averting problems in the future.”

OTTAWA—Recent changes to Federal Aviation Administration rules governing flight authorizations for drones (aka unmanned aerial systems/UAS or unmanned aerial vehicles/UAVs) now allow for expanded missions with less red tape. These changes, along with other recent positive advances, illustrate the advances that have taken place over the past decade as the use of UASs for TV coverage has blossomed.

More Trust from Regulators 
The responsible, disciplined approach to UAS pilot training and operations pursued by U.S. broadcasters has paid off. Impressed by their willingness to embrace the spirit of the law as well as the letter, the FAA has revised their rules to give the industry more flexibility. 

The new rules, “Remote ID and Operations Over People,” which the FAA published in December 2020, required UAS operators to be in compliance by September 2023 and signal a pathway to expanded flight operations, according to Jeff Rose, UAS Chief Pilot with Sinclair Broadcast Group. 

“With these new rules we now also have the ability to obtain LAANC authorizations [Low Altitude Authorization Notification Authorization Capability] for flying at night in restricted airspace,” Rose said. “This automated service allows near instantaneous authorizations for night flying in restricted airspace, which is a big benefit for newsgathering.”

Scott Wilder, senior vice president of field and production operations at Fox News, describes the FAA’s improved LAANC authorization application process as “the best advance that I can speak to on the regulatory front. What used to take 60 days now takes 60 seconds. It is a true game changer. The FAA is doing a phenomenal job with it.”

That’s not all: “The FAA has been working to make it easier to fly and easier to obtain permissions to fly in locations not previously available,” Wilder added. “The FAA is also proving to be 24/7. When we have waiver requests on a Sunday evening, we hear back in an efficient manner.”

Another area where the FAA is providing more leeway to responsible UAS operators is the “Operations Over People” rule applying to pilots who fly under Part 107 of the FAA regulations, according to Dr. Shaun Passley, founder of ZenaTech, developer of the ZenaDrone 1000 totally autonomous (self-flying) UAS. “This rule allows UAV pilots to operate at night under specific conditions and provided that they complete certain training or pass knowledge tests,” he said.

Remote ID Makes the Difference
The FAA’s more expansive attitude towards UAS operations is built upon its requirement for these aircraft to be equipped with Standard Remote ID (SRID) transmitters.

“SRID enables the transmission of the drone serial number, brand, GPS, geometric altitude, geometric location, velocity, time of the day, emergency status, and more,” said Claudio Lisman, president, CEO and founder of ProximaVision, a consulting firm specializing in drone and nanosatellite technologies. “UAVs must have their SRIDs operational from the moment of takeoff to shut down, broadcasting message elements at 1Hz [once per second], no later than one second after the measurement of position. In fact, the vehicle will not be able to take off unless it has transmitted all of the required message elements.”

Requiring UASs to carry and use SRIDs at all times makes it possible to integrate them into air traffic control systems alongside manned aircraft. As such, “making SRIDs mandatory in manufactured drones will enable much better traffic management, security, and new applications, such as flying over areas that have been restricted up to now,” Lisman added. “It will also allow flying UAVs over people, which in the case of news and production, is almost always required.”

The SRID requirement simply expands options, according to Wilder. “The SRID rule allows us more opportunities to have a drone in the air; most recently during Hurricane Ian, hours before the heart of the storm impacted the west coast of Florida,” he said.

“Remote ID also lays the foundation of the safety and security groundwork needed for more complex drone operations,” said Dr. Passley. “The rule provides crucial information to our national security and law enforcement partners and other agencies charged with ensuring public safety.” 

A New, Better View for TV News
Anyone who has been watching TV news the past two years knows how integral drone footage has become for covering stories effectively. Small wonder: Overhead drone footage can provide a framing context to a story unavailable to ground-based cameras. As well, the motion associated with drone footage makes any news story look better: it’s just more exciting to watch. 

These capabilities have allowed Fox News to cover stories in entirely new ways. Take for example, the influx of undocument immigrants at the Texas/Mexico border, where Fox News has been flying drones like the DJI Matrice with thermal imaging for over a year. This kind of high-tech capability “allows us to fly at night and show what looks like high-quality surveillance images of the migrant crisis,” said Wilder. “Every day we capture the surge of migrants happening that you can’t see from the same location on the ground. Our drone coverage on the border has changed the way that story is being told.”

That being said, what really makes UASs so useful to TV news departments is their ability to deploy extremely quickly and start capturing memorable footage fast. “A drone will almost always be able to arrive on the scene faster than a car or mobile unit,” Lisman said. “That is why drones are ideal for coverage of fires, demonstrations, war zones, and sports events applications in TV news and broadcast.”

These advantages explain why UASs are proving to be as significant an enhancement to TV news production as video cameras were with their instant access to recorded footage (compared to film), and satellite trucks for getting coverage out of anywhere fast. 

The result: “Local TV newscasts are using drone video daily for expanded storytelling as well as breaking news coverage,” said Rose. “Our viewers love drone video and have come to expect it regularly whether it is a compelling news story or just beautiful weather shots.” This is why Sinclair now employs 133 pilots across its station, many of whom carry a UAS with them as part of their kit. “This leads to fresh drone content daily,” he said.

BVLOS: The Next Frontier
As far as TV news UASs have come, there is still one frontier to be conquered: “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” (BVLOS) flight allows the ability to send UASs beyond the view of their operators, navigating their path by using video feeds from their cameras plus any onboard self-flying (autonomous) capabilities.

“Currently, the FAA provides waivers to professional pilots and certain organizations so they can fly BVLOS,” said Lisman; “however, those waivers are hard to obtain. The main limitation is the communication and range between the drone and pilot control. In addition, the latency needs to be very low when flying long distances. This is important, as the pilot needs real-time awareness of the topography and the terrain below.”

Historically, broadcasters such as Fox News have been “very conservative” in the kinds of UAS flight profiles they choose, an approach that has won them trust from the FAA and public alike.

“Safety is our number one priority,” Wilder explained. “I recently denied a request after thinking long and hard about it because I knew what was being requested would look amazing. But I also knew that a lower altitude safer version would be almost as amazing. We aren’t looking to impress anyone, we are looking to offer visual advantages that didn’t previously exist in the safest possible manner.”

The challenges of safe BVLOS flight are being addressed by UAS manufacturers and operators today. And when they are sufficiently resolved by SRID, onboard aircraft avoidance detection systems, and autonomous drones, expect TV news organizations to cross the BVLOS frontier in record numbers.

“In the future, when drones are flying everywhere for package delivery, there will likely be drones used for news gathering flown both with a pilot in the field as we do now and also piloted remotely from beyond visual line of site,” Rose predicted. “These BVLOS drone operations could potentially be piloted remotely from the TV station or pre-deployed as a ‘drone in a box’ at strategic locations. 

Rose said Sinclair will even use ATSC 3.0 technology as it becomes incorporated into drone flights, for greater precision and more accuracy. “The use of ATSC is 100 times more precise than GPS alone, allowing for more accurate navigation [from 3 meters with GPS down to 3 centimeters using ATSC datacasting],” he said. 

“Every day it gets better and better,” Scott Wilder concluded. “I think within several years every photographer will be a Part 107 pilot and have their own drone. That will be a big change to expect that every story assigned has a Part 107 photographer shooting the story with the ability to have aerial imagery.” 

The broadcast industry is in the infancy stages of utilizing drones for sports, news, and production applications. Today, drones are increasingly being used for aerial shots of developing news stories and flyovers of sports stadiums, as their small size enables broadcasters to access tight spaces and fly at a low altitude at a fraction of the cost of using helicopters. Some drones are currently outfitted with 4K and 8K cameras, allowing them to deliver ultra-high-quality live video footage with embedded telemetry data. 

As the drone technology and its use cases evolve, it begs an important question. Can drones replace helicopters for producing aerial views? This article will examine some of the challenges and recent technology innovations for leveraging drones in the broadcast and other application environments, such as public safety and security.

Impacts of Beyond Visible Line of Sight on Long-Range Operations 
One of the greatest challenges broadcasters face is using drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) requirements mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The current license for commercially flying drones (i.e., FAA Part 107) mandates a maximum flying altitude of 500 feet and an all-flying time visual line of sight to the drone pilot.

In addition, the transmission of the drone controls and video must be within a certain distance to ensure superior video quality, reception, and preservation of command and control of the drone. 

Extending Visible Line of Sight With Wireless Networks and Nano Satellites
Broadcasters can overcome visible line of sight limitations with state-of-the-art technologies. Every drone has a transceiver that receives commands and sends video plus telemetry. If Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) pilots cannot physically see the drone, they are not compliant with current FAA rules, which are designed to prevent a drone from falling on a crowd or loss of control, due to failure of long-range communication with the drone.

Cellular networks and nanosatellites offer a solution. By using a cellular network or nanosatellite, broadcasters can create bidirectional communications with the drone beyond the line of sight and could therefore fly an unlimited distance as long as power and connectivity with cellular networks or nanosatellites are available. Achieving low latency rates, ideally of 50ms, is also extremely important, to ensure that the commands are received in near real time.

All that is required to accomplish long-range flying and controlling of the drone is maintaining a good connection between the drone and a cellular tower or nanosatellite constellation. In addition, to accomplish BVLOS flying distances requires using a more sophisticated small aperture antenna or a bonded cellular device onboard. Adding an antenna or built-in bonded cellular device will add weight to the drone. It’s important to note that FAA Part 107 currently limits the total weight at takeoff to 55 pounds. 

So why should broadcasters, public safety, and security forces use drones vs. a helicopter? The compact nature of drones enables them to fly over any type of event or terrain and provide live, almost real-time, coverage with highly accurate GPS and telemetry data that would be unavailable by other means. Moreover, there are technical, logistic, and economic advantages of using drones for video production and monitoring applications. 

To accomplish similar capabilities, helicopters require a tracking directional, or omnidirectional, antenna pointing toward a tower. The tower needs a receiver and a transmitter to act as a relay station to deliver the live feed to a receiving command and control facility. This is very costly, both from a hardware perspective and in terms of helicopter running costs. The expense of using drones is significantly less than helicopters, enabling broadcasters, public safety teams and security forces to deliver similar or better video quality at lower altitudes than helicopters are capable of. 

Conclusion
Wireless cellular networks and nanosatellites are transforming how the broadcast and public safety industries use drones for video monitoring and production beyond visual line of sight. In the future, the quality of video delivered by drones will keep improving, with 5G providing an outstanding amount of bandwidth and enabling clearer, more pristine pictures. 

As transmission solutions, camera equipment, and cellular networks continue to evolve, the result will be enhanced video quality, improved coverage, lower latency, increased bandwidth, reduced costs, and many more exciting capabilities for live monitoring and broadcast production.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that key players in the aviation and wireless industries have laid out a plan that will protect commercial air travel from disruption by 5G C-band interference while also enabling Verizon and AT&T to enhance service around certain airports.

“We believe we have identified a path that will continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen. “We appreciate the willingness of Verizon and AT&T to continue this important and productive collaboration with the aviation industry.”

The phased approach requires operators of regional aircraft with radio altimeters most susceptible to interference to retrofit them with radio frequency filters by the end of 2022. This work has already begun and will continue on an expedited basis.

At the same time, the FAA said it has been working with the wireless companies to identify airports around which their service can be enhanced with the least risk of disrupting flight schedules.

During initial negotiations in January, the wireless companies offered to keep mitigations in place until July 5, 2022, while they worked with the FAA to better understand the effects of 5G C-band signals on sensitive aviation instruments.

Based on progress achieved during a series of meetings, the wireless companies have offered to continue with some level of voluntary mitigations for another year, the FAA said. 

“We all agreed when we began these meetings that our goal was to make July 5, 2022, just another date on the calendar, and this plan makes that possible,” Nolen said.

Airlines and other operators of aircraft equipped with the affected radio altimeters must install filters or other enhancements as soon as possible, the FAA said. 

Filters and replacement units for the mainline commercial fleet should be available on a schedule that would permit the work to be largely completed by July 2023. After that time, the wireless companies expect to operate their networks in urban areas with minimal restrictions.

The FAA noted that radio-altimeter manufacturers are working with Embraer, Boeing, Airbus and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop and test filters and installation kits for these aircraft. Customers are receiving the first kits now. In most cases, the kits can be installed in a few hours at airline maintenance facilities.

Throughout this process, the FAA said it will work with both industries to track the pace of the radio altimeter retrofits while also working with the wireless companies to relax mitigations around key airports in carefully considered phases.

WASHINGTON—As more and more drones take to the sky, the Federal Aviation Administration has partnered with Kittyhawk on the B4UFLY app to instruct recreational drone operators where they can and cannot fly.

Based off of a previously existing app, this updated mobile app will provide situational awareness for recreational drone pilots. “As drone sales increase and out nation’s airspace becomes busier and more complex, it’s vital that we work smarter and partner with the private sector to develop innovative products that advance safety,” said Dan Elwell, acting FAA administrator.

The FAA and Kittyhawk plan to launch the new version of B4UFLY later this year. The current B4UFLY app will continue to be available to the public until the new app is deployed; data will continued to be updated but no new features will be added.

WASHINGTON—Keeping track of which drone is which may soon become a bit easier now that the Federal Aviation Administration has ruled that small unmanned aircraft must display official registration numbers on the outside of the aircraft.

Previously, owners of small unmanned aircraft were permitted to enclose its FAA-issued registration number in a compartment inside of the device, as long as the compartment could be opened without a special tool.

Starting Feb. 23, however, a new ruling issued by the FAA and the Department of Transportation stipulates that small unmanned aircraft owners must display the unique identifier — which is assigned by the FAA after registering the device — on the outside surface of an aircraft.

Public comments on the issue range from supportive to outraged. Some drone operators expressed concern (via the federal electronic rulemaking portal Regulations.gov) over government overreach. Others asked for more detailed descriptions from the FAA on exactly where a registration number should be affixed. Others pressed the FAA to modify that ruling so that it only applies to commercial drone operators.

According to the FAA, this rule change is necessary to enhance the safety and security of those on the ground seeking registration information from an unmanned aircraft. With this new ruling, the FAA said that individuals will now be able to view a unique identifier directly without needing to handle the aircraft.

Though the rules flip-flopped in 2017 and 2018, current FAA rules now dictate that unmanned aircraft systems must be registered if they weigh more than 0.55 pounds but less than 55 pounds. Commercial entities operating drones weighing more than 55 pounds must apply for special authority with the FAA.

Nearly two years ago, the Department of Homeland Security formally requested that the FAA change its rulemaking, saying small unmanned aircraft “can be a source of risk, a potential threat, and time consuming for the law enforcement officer to identify the owner/operator for law enforcement, security or safety purposes,” said DHS Director L. Eric Patterson in a letter to the FAA.

“Registration information that is external and does not require handling of the UAS would permit safe collection of registration information without having to access the battery compartment or another closed compartment and would facilitate rapid assessment of the threat,” he said.

The FAA is asking for comments on the ruling before March 15. Commenters should use Docket Number FAA-2018-1084.

Drones are here to stay. And that’s exciting news for the head of the National Association of Tower Erectors, who sees a bright future in terms of new applications and refined safety regulations surrounding the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Radio World spoke with Todd Schlekeway, executive director of NATE, about the organization’s connection to the Commercial Drone Alliance, his takeaway on the provisions in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and how drones are being put to use as broadcasters deal with tall tower work due to the repack.

Radio World:What is your organization’s take on the usage of drones in the broadcast tower space?

Todd Schlekeway: NATE has been an enthusiastic supporter of expanding commercial UASes for some time. We joined the Commercial Drone Alliance [an organization committed to growing the commercial drone industry] about a year and a half ago. It’s clear that our industry could be benefactors [of legislation surrounding drones] over the long term.

Radio World:What specifically were you pleased to see implemented specific in the recent FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018?

Schlekeway: The key areas we were interested in [seeing implanting] were more flexibility with the waiver process, remote identification, and changes to tower marking.

One of the highlights is that [the act] expands and makes the waiver process streamlined and easier to use. Previously, unless you are an organization or company with a waiver to fly at night, beyond visual line-of-sight or over people, you had to file [a waiver] and that process took a long time. This FAA Reauthorization Act will set in motion a streamlined approach [to getting waivers approved].

From the commercial UAS perspective, we were very happy to see [the removal] of a clause from the previous authorization that essentially exempted hobbyist users from any remote identification. So this act is going to set forth a [procedure by which] all users are going to have to have remote ID.

This is significant because any time there is a registered drone, there will be accountability. Accountability breeds safety. That’s significant. The hobbyist community is very passionate about drones.

There’s also a provision impacting the previous tower marking mandate that was part of a short-term extension in 2016 [that] mandated that all towers between 50 feet and 199 feet be marked. Of course those towers over 200 feet are already lit and marked.

We fought hard against that; we don’t have the work force to retroactively [mark those towers]. It was one of those things that went too far by sweeping in communication towers. The 2018 act walked that mandate back. Now, those towers just need to be entered into a database.

Radio World:What kinds of reports are you getting from tower companies about how broadcasters are using drones?

Schlekeway: I reached out to two prominent broadcast contractors that are heavily involved with the repack and both had said they were using drones extensively with their tall tower work — specifically related to the repack. It’s just a different animal from a technical and engineering point of view. Technicians need to have a different skill set. This is a really specialized skill that not every company is capability of doing.

Some of the use cases [these contractors] were using UASes for were for complex construction such as rigging candelabras. Or using them to monitor their equipment with video and photo footage to look at structural analysis. Drones are useful to determine a lot of rigging obstructions, going to spots technicians can’t get to. There’s no question [drones] are playing a role.

Radio World: What else should radio and TV facility managers know?

Schlekeway: The broadcast industry needs to stay attuned to the evolving regulatory landscape. It’s about to get more flexible but you have stay up to date on the regulatory side of the house.

Use of these drones is going to continue to increase year over year. But there’s now a higher level of training needed. At a recent UAS summit, reps from several industries said “if we’re going to go allow your contractor on our site, your guy better be trained higher than just the baseline.” There’s a need for graduated training requirements.

Radio World: What are your thoughts on the future role that drones will play in our industry?

Schlekeway: We are “all in” on what they can do for the broadcast side and for cellular sites. But they not a replacement for the workplace. [They are] a powerful supplemental tool for the team to work safely and more efficiently and to streamline their work process.

Drones are here to stay. As use cases continue to evolve, stay attuned to the regulatory landscape.

Radio World: It’s a time of immense change for the industry.

Schlekeway: It’s exciting to see. I envision the day when every contractor company has a drone as a part of their operation, as a part of their toolkit. We’re not too far from that reality.

The tower industry is applauding language in a measure that passed the House late last week that clarifies a tower marking issue that emerged over a year ago.

The passage of H.R. 4, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, in the U.S. House of Representatives included language offered by Representative David Rouzer (R-NC) that provided an important clarification to the 2016 FAA reauthorization related to the marking of certain telecommunications towers.

Specifically, the language clarifies that covered towers “shall be marked or entered into a de-identified database.” In a nutshell, the language clarifies that certain towers between 50 and 200 feet tall will not have to be marked if they are registered in an FAA location database.

[Watch: Working On A 1500-Foot TV Tower]

That amends the FAA’s Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016, which if implemented could have forced expensive retrofits to potentially 50,000 existing towers, according to a release from the FCC. Other observers said it also would raise tower prices for the next generation of wireless services, but with little gain to air safety.

An industry-wide coalition of partner organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters, lobbied for the revision, which will take effect not later than one year after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

“Absent changes made by this language in H.R. 4, our industry would have faced a tower marking mandate at a time when we are already experiencing a workforce shortage. This scenario would have had a significant economic impact on our industry and would have strained an already busy workforce with additional tower climbs required to mark towers,” said Todd Schlekeway, executive director of National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE).

Schlekeway said towers that are most dangerous – those that are temporary and difficult for pilots to see, such as Meteorological Evaluation Towers – would still require both marking and registration in the location database.

In addition to NATE and NAB, the Wireless Infrastructure Association, Competitive Carriers Association and CTIA were all on board with the wording change to the FAA’s tower rules.

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4) now goes to the Senate.

WASHINGTON—Six months after being chartered by the FAA, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee has submitted a report and recommendations on technologies available to identify and track drones in flight, as well as other associated issues.

The ARC’s recommendations covered issues related to existing and emerging technologies, law enforcement and security, and implementation of remote identification and tracking. Some of the highlights included:

· Direct broadcast (transmitting data in one direction with no specific destination or recipient) and network publishing (transmitting data to an internet service or group of services). Both methods would send the data to an FAA-approved internet-based database;

· The data must include a unique identifier—what drone provider DJI describes as “electronic license plate technology”—for unmanned aircraft, tracking information and drone owner and remote pilot identification;

· Promotion of fast-tracked development of industry standards while a final remote ID and tracking rule is developed, with potential incentives for early adopters;

· The FAA should implement a rule in three stages, with the goal that all drones manufactured and sold in the U.S. that comply with the rule must be so labeled. Should also allow a grace period to retrofit drones made or sold before final rule is effective;

· ID and tracking systems should be coordinated with the existing air traffic control system and ensure that it does not substantially increase workloads;

· The FAA should exempt drones operating under air traffic control or those operating under the agency’s discretion; and

· The FAA must review privacy considerations, in consultation with privacy experts and other Federal agencies, including developing a secure system that allows for segmented access to the ID and tracking information.

The ARC reached consensus on most issues, though there were some dissenting opinions, mostly on which drones the ID and tracking requirements should apply.

The ARC was made up of 74 members from aviation community and industry member organizations, law enforcement agencies and public safety organizations, manufacturers, researchers and standards entities involved with UAS.

DJI released its own statement in response to the ARC report:

“DJI supports many of the conclusions in the ARC report, understanding that its limited purpose was to describe the needs of security and law enforcement agencies and to recommend the technologies that could meet those needs,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI vice president for policy and legal affairs in the statement. “There is still an important discussion to come about how to balance government needs and desires with the burdens, costs and privacy invasions that could be faced by drone pilots depending on the actual technologies chosen and how they are implemented. Drone pilots and operators were not well-represented in terms of the number of ARC members, and we feel their interests will be expressed in the future rulemaking process that lies ahead.”

The full ARC report can be viewed here.

SHENZHEN, CHINA—Concerns about potential collisions between drones and aircrafts may have been overstated according to a new report from the FAA’s Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).

The report took a close look at drone collision risks using a DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter and a larger fixed-wing drone. Computer models were used to predict how they would collide with different surfaces of a passenger jet and a business jet.

The main findings indicated that the drones operated today have minimal impact on an aircraft. Tests showed that a quadcopter would not penetrate the windshield of an airplane or cause uncontained failure if ingested into an engine. At lower altitudes, the airplanes at moving at lower speeds and would produce the lowest level of damage.

ASSURE concluded that drone manufacturers should adopt sense-and-avoid and/or geofencing technologies to reduce the risk of drones colliding with aircrafts.

“ASSURE had done a great public service by rigorously analyzing the risks of collisions and providing a scientific basis for future research, product development and regulation,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI vice president of policy and legal affairs. “Drones provide great benefits to society—even saving lives—and ASSURE’s report shows why the growth of this technology should be guided by facts, not fears.”

The full ASSURE report is available here.

WASHINGTON—Drones are getting a presidential thumbs up, as President Donald Trump has directed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to launch the Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program. The new initiative will test and validate advance drone operations in partnership with state and local governments in select jurisdictions. The results will be used to accelerate the integration of drones into the national airspace and to realize their benefits in the economy, per the U.S. Department of Transportation’s official announcement.

The program is designed to provide regulatory certainty and stability to local governments and communities, drones owners and operators who are accepted into the program.

For the USDOT and the FAA, the program is seeking to develop a regulatory framework that will allow for more low-altitude operations; identify ways to balance local and national interests; improve communications with local, state and tribal jurisdictions; address security and privacy risks; and accelerate the approval of operations that currently require special authorizations.

Specific operations that are expected to be evaluated as part of the program include night operations, flights over people, flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies, counter-UAS security operations, and the reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft.

The USDOT will publish a Federal Register Notice with additional details on applications and how the program will work in the coming days. After evaluating all applications, USDOT will invite a minimum of five partnerships to take part in the program.

WASHINGTON—An FAA advisory panel on drone regulations is split on whether to implement rules on tracking and identifying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

According to the Wall Street Journal, the committee agreed that adequate tracking technology currently exists, or could be developed rapidly, but couldn’t agree on what categories of drones should be covered under remote monitoring rules. One sector of the panel recommended that all drones be covered under tracking requirements, while another part of the panel would exclude drones that fit in the “model airplane” category. A a third faction prefers requiring remote identification on larger drones used for advanced imaging and longer flights.

The committee, made up of more than 70 industry, labor and security experts, drafted and submitted its nonbinding report to the FAA, which has not been released to the public. Objections about the drone rules appear to stem from security officials concerns over the ability to track drones that could be used in potential terrorist attacks.

The use of drones in a variety of sectors, from agriculture to defense, and especially for emergency and relief efforts and newsgathering, has gained more traction in light of the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the hurricane response will be looked back upon as a landmark in the evolution of drone usage in this country,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in remarks to a drone conference in Las Vegas last month.

Huerta emphasized, however that regulations covering UAVs should not necessarily be the sole purview of the federal government. “Legally, the Federal Aviation Administration has regulatory authority over all U.S. airspace,” he said. “But successfully blending unmanned aircraft into busy airspace will require state, local, and tribal governments to build upon existing federal efforts to develop and enforce safety rules.”

Drones have become powerful tools for broadcast media, providing a safer and more cost-effective alternative to helicopters for gathering aerial footage and covering rapidly unfolding events. Whether it’s flying above the landscape of Texas after catastrophic floods, or recording a new perspective on architecture and infrastructure, drones are a reliable, efficient way for journalists to tell visual, data-informed stories. As The New York Times outlined in “5 Times Drones Told the Story,” drones have changed journalism by putting the aerial perspective in the hands of reporters.

The advantages of drones are obvious – they allow news crews to reach locations that would be hazardous or inaccessible to conventional ground transport or aviation, at a lower cost, and with a smaller footprint. But before media organizations implement a drone program in the U.S., they should understand Part 107, the FAA rules and regulations for commercial drones. Here are some of the most important things broadcasters need to know about using drones.

WHO SHOULD OPERATE DRONES?

Consider structuring your drone operations in a team—a drone operator, journalist and observer. Working together makes it easier to ensure that the drone flight is compliant with the rules and regulations of Part 107 and increases the quality of the news footage captured.

●The operator must obtain a Part 107 remote pilot certificate. Because the operator is responsible if there is an accident, they must be the final decision maker to ensure the flight is safe and legal.

●The journalist can contribute ideas to ensure the operator captures the desired images. They should be onsite to gain their own perspective of the situation; however, it’s important to create a detailed flight plan, including hazards and points of interest before takeoff so the flight team is on the same page and non-safety-related communication is minimized during flight.

●The observer aids the operator with safety and situational awareness. The observer should keep the pilot informed of any potential hazards and keep pedestrians from wandering into the flight area or distracting the pilot. 

WHEN CAN DRONES BE FLOWN? 

Per Part 107, drones can be flown under 400 feet, and at or below 100 mph, in Class G airspace, with three miles of visibility, and during daylight hours. Drones are not permitted to fly above people who are not part of the operation without a waiver from the FAA.

Planning flights using Skyward or another validated drone airspace map is the best way to ensure that compliance with Part 107 requirements and leveraging the benefits drones bring to the news organization.

WHERE ARE DRONES PROHIBITED?

Part 107 prohibits drones from being flown in a variety of situations, including at night, near airports or wildfires, and above people who aren’t part of the operation. In the news industry, the images that can best bring the story to life are often within those restricted areas. 

If the ideal flight plan is in controlled airspace, a regulatory waiver might allow the drone to fly, if the flight isn’t increasing risk to people or property on the ground or in the air. Approved waivers can last for up to 24 months, so a single waiver could greatly aid operations. However, the application process takes up to 90 days to process, so applying for waivers before they are needed is a good practice. The FAA’s new Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) system, due to go live in February 2018, will give operators faster, easier access to some controlled airspace areas. Operators will be able to request access to LAANC airspace from the Skyward map.

Though Part 107 specifies that drones cannot directly fly above any person not participating in an operation, it doesn’t stipulate a minimum distance. These tips can help broadcasters obtain relevant images and remain compliant to Part 107: 

●When a large group of people gather, a drone is an ideal tool to capture the size of a crowd and get the widest possible view. The best bet is to use side angles to get lateral shots of crowds. Take off and land at an adjacent location for a horizontal view of the crowd.

●Get permission to take off or land on private property. To avoid conflicts, contact the property owners in advance to request permission to use their land. Be sure to obtain their agreement in writing.

●Beware when flying in major cities. Airspace in major media hubs, such as New York City and Washington, D.C., is heavily controlled to protect busy airports and airstrips—airspace is often protected within a five-mile radius of an air traffic control tower. An airspace authorization waiver from the FAA can provide access to controlled airspace. Check flight plans against an airspace map, such as Skyward, to ensure the flight is within allowed airspace. 

COMPLYING WITH PART 107 

Traditional aviators rely on a series of checklists, including pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and emergency checklists, to mitigate risk and stay in compliance with regulations. Develop a strong general operating manual that establishes all the safety procedures and operational practices required for every drone flight, including a comprehensive set of checklists. 

Even though every newsroom is different and every news story requires a unique flight, knowing the requirements of Part 107 and understanding how to remain compliant can help ensure media drone programs don’t end up on the wrong side of the news.

Eric T. Ringer is senior product manager & co-founder at Skyward.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration is doing what it can to support the recovery efforts in Houston following the effects of Hurricane Harvey, by issuing a number of unmanned aircraft system authorizations for drone operators.

As of Aug. 31, the FAA had issued 43 authorizations to cover a range of activities by local, state and federal officials who are conducting damage assessments of critical infrastructures, homes and businesses to help with recovery efforts. Authorizations have also been provided to media companies reporting on the event.

Among those granted authorizations have been a local fire department and county emergency management officials; state environmental quality officials; insurance companies; a railroad company; and oil and energy companies.

To apply for drone operation in direct support of Hurricane Harvey response and recovery in an area covered by Temporary Flight Restriction, you must contact the FAA’s System Operation Security Center at 202-267-8276.

WASHINGTON—Dan Elwell was sworn in this week as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Deputy Administrator. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Elwell is the second highest-ranking official at the agency responsible for ensuring aviation safety and air traffic control services for the nation.

Elwell returns to the FAA during a historic period of safety and change as air traffic control reform is being considered to speed airspace modernization and new entrants like unmanned aerial vehicles and commercial spacecraft are integrated into the airspace system.

“Dan’s insight and experience will serve the FAA and public well,” said FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “He has a strong background as a military and civilian pilot, as well as holding key leadership positions within the aerospace industry.”

Elwell previously served as FAA Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and Environment from 2006 to 2008. Most recently, he has been serving as the Senior Advisor on Aviation to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

Before returning to public service, Elwell was president and managing partner of Elwell and Associates, an aviation consulting firm. Elwell also was senior vice president for Safety, Security and Operations at Airlines for America and vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association. Elwell graduated from the United States Air Force Academy.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration has set up a committee to devise rules for identifying operating drones.

“The FAA recognizes the potential value remote identification would have to public safety and the safety of the National Airspace System,” the committee charter states. “Accordingly,” it said the committee would “inform the FAA on available technologies for remote identification and tracking, shortfalls in available standards and make recommendations for how remote identification may be implemented.”

The group’s task is to come up with rules for identifying, categorizing and recommending technologies for remotely identifying and tracking drones—with the needs of public safety, law enforcement, national security and air-traffic controllers in mind.

The remote-ID effort is separate from the online drone registration requirement activated by the FAA in 2015 and recently struck down by by a federal court. (See “Court Strikes Down Drone Registration Rule,” May 19, 2017.)

The FAA created the registry on the recommendation of task force that included the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, which objected to the court’s decision. With regard to the remote-ID committee, the AUVSI said, “Developing standards for remotely identifying operators and owners of UAS builds upon earlier registration efforts with real-time tracking of UAS operators. These important security measures will pave the way for expanded UAS operations, including flights over people and beyond-line-of-sight operations.”

AVUSI has issued a call for papers on technologies applicable to remote drone identification.

In addition to the AVUSI, other parties with skin in the game are reflected in the committee membership roster, which includes Qualcomm, Verizon, AT&T, several municipal police departments, Northrup Grumman, drone maker DJI, Globalstar, several pilots’ groups, Intel, The Mitre Corp. among many others. 

“Eventually, the recommendations it produces could help pave the way for drone flights over people and beyond visual line of sight,” the FAA said.

The first meeting of the committee took place last week. The meetings are not open to the public. The committee charter runs through Halloween and estimates the government’s cost of the committee to be $2,500.

WASHINGTON—Last week’s court ruling vacating the federal drone registration requirement drew a mixed response from industry parties around the world. The world’s largest drone manufacturer instituted its own registration program, restricting access to full activation.

“If this activation process is not performed… Live camera streaming will be disabled, and flight will be limited to a 50-meter (164-foot) radius up to 30 meters (98 feet) high,” DJI announced over the weekend.

The drone-maker’s decision came two days after the ruling by U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit striking down the FAA’s registration requirement. DJI did not respond immediately to the ruling, but shared a statement from Drone Manufacturers Alliance Executive Director Kara Calvert:

"DMA is studying the implications of today’s registration-related court ruling, but believes the existing system has worked well to protect the interests of safe and responsible pilots as well as the interests of society at large.”

Model aircraft got swept up in the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone registration requirement process. The FAA made registration statutory in December, 2015, for all unmanned aircraft between 0.55 and 55 pounds, including model aircraft. It was a model aircraft enthusiast who challenged the statute and won.

The model aircraft lobby in Muncie, Ind., said its own registration program was working just fine.

“AMA is encouraged to see the court affirm the strength of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, otherwise known as Section 336, under which our members operate,” said Rich Hanson, president of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. “For decades, AMA members have registered their aircraft with AMA and have followed our community-based safety programming. It is our belief that a community-based program works better than a federally mandated program to manage the recreational community.”
More than 626,000 hobby drones were registered with the FAA at the end of last year. The agency estimated that there were another 474,000 that were not registered. Based on registrations and available data, the FAA forecast that “the hobbyist fleet will likely—base scenario—more than triple in size over the next five years, from 1.1 million units in 2016 to over 3.5 million units by 2021,” or as many as 4.5 million on the high side.
Drones registered for commercial operations numbered 44,000—around 1,000 per week since registration for those opened in April of 2016. The commercial fleet is expected to reach 420,000 by 2021. ~ FAA UAS Forecast

Registration was through the FAA’s web portal. It requires name, home address, email address, and generates a certification of registration and proof of ownership with a unique identifying number that had to be marked on the drone—like a license plate on a car. Total cost, $5. More than 626,000 were registered by the end of last year (See sidebar.)

For DJI, the No. 1 supplier of civilian drones worldwide, the registry was a practical way to manage what is shaping up to be an explosion of drones in U.S. airspace. The FAA has estimated that there could be as many as 4.5 million drones in U.S. airspace by 2021. The Consumer Technology Association also predicts that this will be the year drone sales blow past $1 billion, up 62 percent over 2016.

DJI’s drones are not like radio-controlled model aircraft of yore, but sophisticated, camera-equipped computers capable of 3D flight patterns, for a few hundred bucks. They have been employed for use in movies, newsgathering, infrastructure inspection and more. There is momentum to use them for making deliveries, most notably driven by Amazon, though Americans remain skeptical.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a D.C. lobby focused on commercial and scientific drone applications, said it was “disappointed” by the court’s decision, and on Tuesday, the organization’s president and CEO testified before a House subcommittee on clearing the way for drone deliveries.

“We need a new national imperative in unmanned systems that, like the air traffic control system and interstate highway system before it, creates greater capacity, reduces road congestion, fulfills consumer demand and facilitates the future of commerce,” Wynne said. “Industry is bringing the technology; government needs to do more to support it and advance innovations such as delivery services.”

Many commercial drone operations have waivers to operate beyond the FAA’s daylight-only, line-of-sight 400-foot ceiling—rules known as “Park 7.” The UAVSI says 314 have been issued, a majority of them for DJI drones.

SHENZHEN, CHINA—DJI has launched a mini-drone. The drone-maker describes the Spark as “an easy-to-use, fun-to-fly mini camera drone that lifts off from the palm of your hand.”

Spark is DJI’s first drone that can be controlled by hand gestures. When Spark takes off, it automatically enters “Gesture Mode.” This features new advanced gesture controls like PalmControl, which lets operators control Spark with hand movements. DJI recommends using Spark’s separately available “propeller guards” for hand launching.

Spark weighs 10.6 ounces– less than a can of soda—and can be operated by a remote controller, a mobile device, or hand gestures alone. Spark will be available in five different colors: “Alpine White,” “Sky Blue,” “Meadow Green,” “Lava Red” and “Sunrise Yellow.”
Spark comes with new flight options, e.g., QuickShot Intelligent Flight Mode activates a preset flight path for recording a short video and tracking a subject along the way, DJI said.
DC Drone Film Festival 2017 Now Accepting Submissions
WASHINGTON—The DC Drone Film Festival is returning to the National Drone Show and Government Video Expo for its second year and is now accepting entries. We are calling on drone videographers to share their work with the pilots, producers, equipment manufacturers, drone enthusiasts and other broadcast and AV professionals who will attend the 2017 National Drone Show and GV Expo, which will take place Nov. 29-30.
Submissions are accepted in any or all of the six categories: Narrative, Nature, Sports, Architecture, Corporate/Industrial/Business, and Shorts. Submission must not exceed five minutes—one minute for the Shorts category—and must consist of at least 50 percent drone footage. The entries are judged on originality, technical expertise and cinematography/visuals.
Each winner in the six categories will receive a $250 cash prize and have their video screened throughout the 2017 National Drone Show and across NewBay Media’s broadcast and video network of sites.
To submit your film, please visit DC Drone Film Festival, produced by the National Drone Show and NewBay Media.
Four QuickShots are available: Rocket, sending Spark straight up into the air with the camera pointed down; Dronie, flying up and away from your subject; Circle, rotating around the subject; and Helix, spiraling away from a subject as it flies upward. For each QuickShot, Spark will automatically create a 10-second video from the flight that is ready to share on social media.

Previously introduced Intelligent Flight Modes such as TapFly and ActiveTrack can also be found on Spark. Based on DJI’s vision technology, a new TapFly sub mode called “Coordinate” allows Spark to fly to a location the operator taps on a mobile device screen. TapFly’s Direction Mode allows the operator to keep the drone flying in the direction tapped on the screen. Using ActiveTrack, Spark will automatically recognize and track an object, keeping it at the center of the frame. Spark’s 3D Sensing System will actively sense obstacles in front of the aircraft.

With the remote controller accessory, operators can switch to Sport Mode and reach speeds of up to 31 mph. Sport Mode sets the gimbal to first-person view by default, so the camera moves with operator. Spark will also be compatible with DJI Goggles for an immersive first-person view perspective.

Spark houses a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor camera that captures 12-megapixel photos and shoots stabilized HD 1080p videos with the assistance of a 2-axis mechanical gimbal and “UltraSmooth” technology.

Spark includes many previous DJI drone shooting modes with two new additions: Pano and ShallowFocus. In Pano Mode, the camera creates horizontal or vertical panoramas by automatically adjusting its gimbal and heading, taking a series of pictures and stitching them together.

ShallowFocus creates photographs with a shallow depth-of-field shots. An array of filters and automatic editing templates available in the DJI GO 4 app enables operaters to quickly edit videos and share them directly to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

Spark’s FlightAutonomy system consists of the main camera, a downward-facing vision system, a forward-facing 3D Sensing System, dual-band GPS and GLONASS, a high-precision inertial measurement unit and 24 powerful computing cores. DJI says these features allow Spark to hover accurately with vision system assistance at up to 98 feet and sense obstacles from up to 16 feet away.

Like all recent DJI drones, Spark can return to its home point automatically with a sufficient GPS signal. While using the remote controller, if the battery gets too low, connection is lost, or the operator presses the return-to-home button, Spark flies back to the preset home point while sensing obstacles in its path. Spark also integrates DJI’s GEO System or NFZ geofencing to provide up-to-date guidance on areas where flight may be limited by regulations or raise safety or security concerns – helping you fly safely and responsibly.

Spark is powered by a high-energy density LiPo battery and has a maximum flight time of up to 16 minutes. When flying with the remote controller accessory, Spark allows for 720p real-time video transmission from up to 1.2 miles away.

The U.S. retail price of a DJI Spark, including aircraft, battery, USB charger and three pairs of propellers, is $499. The Spark Fly More Combo includes an aircraft, two batteries, four pairs of propellers, a remote controller, propeller guards, a charging hub, a shoulder bag and all necessary cables, with a U.S. retail price of $699. Pricing and availability of other accessories for Spark will be announced at a later date. Spark will be available for pre-order at DJI’s online store plus, four the DJI Flagship Stores as well as authorized dealers. Pre-orders will start shipping in mid-June.

(Updated 3:15 p.m.ET to include FAA statement.) WASHINGTON—A federal court has struck down the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone registration rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today ruled in favor of John Taylor, a Washington, D.C. model aircraft enthusiast who challenged the FAA’s registration requirement in court.

“The 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act provides that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft,’ yet the FAA’s 2015 Registration Rule is a ‘rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’ Statutory interpretation does not get much simpler. The registration rule is unlawful as applied to model aircraft,” the ruling stated.

The FAA first opened up the web-based registration for model unmanned aircraft owners on Dec. 21, 2015. More than 300,000 drones were registered within the first month. Registration required information on the manufacturer, model and serial number, in addition to the owner’s physical and email addresses. Each $5 registration covered a single aircraft for a period of three years.

The agency expanded the registry in March of 2016 to include commercial drone operators, who had previously been required to obtain special FAA authorization. It is not clear if the ruling covers commercial operations since it implicitly states that, “Unmanned aircraft operated for recreational purposes are known as ‘model aircraft,’ and we will use that term throughout this opinion.”

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the FAA said it was digesting the ruling:
“We are carefully reviewing the U.S. Court of Appeals decision as it relates to drone registrations. The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats. We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, or AUVSI, issued the following statement regarding the court’s determination:

“AUVSI is disappointed with the decision today by the U.S. Court of Appeals to reject the FAA’s rule for registering recreational unmanned aircraft systems. A UAS registration system is important to promote accountability and responsibility by users of the national airspace, and helps create a culture of safety that deters careless and reckless behavior. We plan to work with Congress on a legislative solution that will ensure continued accountability across the entire aviation community, both manned and unmanned.”

The drone registry was conceived of by a task force set up by the FAA and the Department of Transportation, in an ongoing effort to safely integrate unmanned aerial vehicles into national airspace since the little quadcopter types started swarming the consumer market. According to a January 2017 forecast from the Consumer Technology Association, “Total drone sales are expected to reach new heights in 2017, topping 3.4 million units—a 40 percent increase—and $1 billion in revenue for the first time—a 46 percent increase.

“CTA’s forecast also delineates U.S. drone sales for units below and above 250 grams, the FAA’s division for mandatory drone registration: Drones below 250 grams are expected to reach 2 million units, and drones above 250 grams will sell 1.3 million units.”

The FAA adopted rules for unmanned aerial vehicles last June. The rules went into effect Aug. 29.

WASHINGTON— Drone regulations are drawing scrutiny. The inspector general’s office of the U.S. Department of Transportation is auditing the waiver process used by the Federal Aviation Administration to allow operations now prohibited under the rules adopted last June for unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds. These include flying out line-of-sight, flying over people, and night-time operations.

“According to FAA, since the rule was implemented in August 2016, the Agency has received over 1,000 applications for waivers and granted over 300 of them to UAS operators,” the DOT audit memo stated. (Click memo image to bring up .pdf version.)

The IG noted in an audit report issued last December that the FAA needed to streamline its waiver process to keep pace with the requests, “especially for operations already considered to be a low safety risk by the agency.” The IG also found that the FAA provided limited oversight of exempted drone operators that did not have an “established risk-based safety oversight process.”

The memo, authored by Matthew E. Hampton, assistant inspector general for Aviation Audits, further said, “ It is still unclear what type of oversight FAA will provide for this new technology, as we found that FAA lacks a robust data reporting and tracking system for UAS activity, and aviation safety inspectors received limited training and guidance on UAS oversight. Given the significant safety implications of integrating UAS into the National Airspace System and the increasing number of both requested and approved UAS waivers, we are initiating an audit of FAA’s current approval and oversight processes for UAS waivers.”

The audit commenced this month and is being conducted out of FAA headquarters.

Current FAA rules restrict “flight over people,” with the exception of individuals in parked vehicles, and subject to waiver on a case-by-case basis. The agency intended to complete rules for flight over people by by now. (See, “FAA to Propose Drone Flight Over People Rule by Winter.)

Learn more at the upcoming National Drone Show, Nov. 29-30, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Also see...
Nov. 22, 2016
“FAA Tests Drone Zappers at Denver Int’l Airport”
The goal of the Denver tests was to punk the drone-detection systems using multiple drones flying during a variety of weather conditions both day and night.

Aug. 30, 2016
“FAA Issues CNN Waiver to Fly Drones Over People”
CNN announced this week that it became the first organization to be granted a waiver by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly unmanned aerial systems over people in the United States.

Aug. 29, 2016
“FAA Drone Rules Go Into Effect”
The regulations adopted on June 21, 2016 officially take effect today, Aug. 29.

Aug. 18, 2016
“CNN Creates Drone Unit”
CNN was selected by the FAA as one of the first three industry “Pathfinders” to develop safe uses of UAS in newsgathering. 

Aug. 3, 2016
“FAA to Propose Drone Flight Over People Rule by Winter”
Federal regulators will address drone flight over people in a proposal due out for comment this winter.

WASHINGTON—FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly thinks thousands of tower owners in the United States were caught up unintentionally in a rule change recently made by Congress. He thinks the change could cause expensive, unnecessary retrofits, so he is recommending tweaks.

In a blog post, O’Rielly said he believes Section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016, which requires improved physical markings and/or lighting on small to medium size towers (between 50 and 200 feet), is too broad and could cause unnecessary spending for communication industries.

“Generally, I have avoided critiquing legislation passed by Congress without invitation,” the commissioner wrote. “This is an attempt to highlight a potential unintended consequence, rather than criticism.”

He said that Section 2110 apparently was intended to address dangers to small, low-flying aircraft like crop dusters from structures like temporary meteorological testing towers; but he says language in the provision has far broader consequences.

“If implemented literally, the provision will force expensive retrofits to potentially 50,000 existing towers, such as wireless communications and certain broadcast towers, all new towers that meet the broad definition, and raise tower prices for the next generation of wireless services — all with little gain to air safety,” the commissioner wrote.

O’Rielly estimates that this could cost communications companies thousands of dollars per tower to come into compliance. In addition, the cost could impede development of 5G wireless services, the incentive spectrum auction and implementation of ATSC 3.0, especially in the rural areas where this provision would have the most effect.

He also called it “perplexing” that some technologies are exempted while permanent and non-moving communications towers appear not to be. “In particular, is there any data suggesting wireless or broadcast towers are more susceptible to be air safety hazards than towers used for electric utility transmission or wind turbines? It would seem appropriate that communications towers should be treated similarly to those structures,” he wrote.

While new marking and/or lighting burdens for certain temporary towers is a laudable goal, he concluded, the new provision may have been drafted more broadly than intended and unnecessarily affected communications towers that have little overall impact on agricultural air safety.

“Taken together, it would seem that a small legislative fix to clearly exempt these towers or require the FAA administrator to do so would be appropriate.”

WASHINGTON——The Federal Aviation Administration and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International will co-host the 2nd Annual FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium March 27-29, 2017 in Reston, Va.

The gathering will focus on the potential for UAS and what it takes to get to full integration into the National Airspace System. Attendees will hear directly from senior FAA officials about the UAS regulatory environment and will have an opportunity to talk face-to-face with FAA experts about the operational challenges facing UAS pilots today.

Speaker and workshop sessions will cover topics such as options for operating in the NAS, the future of airspace authorization, and how to address challenges around traffic management, infrastructure and security. Building on the 2016 event, this year’s has been expanded to three days and will include a Resource Center staffed by subject matter experts versed on everything from waivers and certifications to policies and regulations.

More information also is available at the event website. The FAA noted that stakeholder engagement remains a high priority, and invites those who can or cannot attend the symposium for input via a short survey.

WASHINGTON—Last month the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration finalized the first operational rules for routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems; otherwise known as UAS or “drones.” The regulations were created to ensure that commercial users—including news organizations and journalists—would have set guidelines on use and operation. The new rules are set to go in place later this summer.

“We fully expect the rules will go into effect in August, 60 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register,” said Alison Duquette, spokesperson for the FAA.

The newly released Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations should now clarify how the media are allowed to operate drones and make it easier for smaller news organizations and production companies to utilize these aircraft systems. The newly released Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) should now clarify how media are allowed to operate drones, and make it easier for smaller news organizations and production companies to utilize these aircraft systems.

“It is going to be easier than what existed with the previous rules,” said Robert Kirk, partner with Wilkinson, Baker, Knauer, LLP. “When people looked at the rules, they might have seen the restrictions that are placed on operators, but actually these new rules will make it a lot easier now.”

Previously, to use a drone in video production meant obtaining a 333 exemption to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA), which had granted the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate was required for a UAS to operate safely in the National Airspace System. Part 107 of the FAR removed the need for this exemption, and furthermore reduced restrictions on how drones could be operated and more importantly, by whom.

“With the 333 exemption you had to be a licensed manned aircraft pilot,” explained Matt Waite, professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska and founder of the school’s Drone Journalism Lab. “This meant that to use a drone, a news organization had to be well-funded and/or be a large market station that owned a helicopter and already employed a pilot.”

Under the new rule the drone pilot need only be at least 16 years of age, and have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, or be directly supervised by someone with such a certificate.

THE SKY ABOVE
The new rules include a number of specifications that include operational limitations; and the FAA has mandated that the UAS must weigh less than 55 pounds and the user must have a visual line-of-sight (VLOS). Under Part 107, one of the major changes has been that the ceiling for drones has been increased from 200 feet above ground to 400 feet. A more significant update to the rules is how drones can be used in respect to people on the ground.

“Under the old rules you couldn’t operate within 500 feet of people,” Kirk said. “The new rules specify that a UAS can’t operate over people directly. This meant that previously, to cover certain events, a news organization might have had to rent the roof of a garage to get this buffer—but now you can hover over a news vehicle or much smaller roped-off area.”

Matt Waite, professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska and founder of the school’s Drone Journalism Lab. However, exactly what the term “not directly over people” means is still open for debate, but one point that is clear is that this only means those not directly involved in a production. In other words, a news crew or film crew can be under the drone.

“You can fly a UAS over people that are involved in the activity, such as a news crew or when filming on a production set for example,” said Joanna Simon, aviation attorney with Morrison Foerster in Washington, D.C. “Everyone on set would be considered involved with a production.”

In sporting events the situation could be a bit more complicated, at least for now. Drones certainly couldn’t fly over spectators while even the field could remain a “no-fly” zone, but the peripheral areas that aren’t populated could be wide open for drone use.

“This means you probably won’t see drones being used in college football games anytime soon, as the stadium completely encircles the field,” noted Waite. “However, already in Australia drones can fly over the field in Australian Rules Football. In America there are other parts of the sports fields— especially in youth sports that are generally open that would be areas to operate a drone. I can see drones being used there in the not too distant future.”

Efforts would still need to be made to notify people on the ground that an area is restricted for drone use to ensure that people don’t walk under the drone’s flight area.

“Since you can’t fly over people directly this means that production teams will have to be creative,” said Waite. “You’re also going to be smart and find a legal location, but quite frankly you’re going to want to make sure you’ve photographed and documented what you’ve done to cordon off the area. So when the flight standards office asks you what efforts you made to ensure you didn’t fly over people you can show what you did.”

NIGHT AND DAY
One other significant change with the Part 107 update addresses the time of day that a UAS can now be used. Under the previous rules a drone could only be operated in “daylight” hours, which does not include sunrise or sunset—the time of day beloved by photographers as the “golden hour.” Under the new regulations drones cannot be used at night, at least not without a special waiver.

“This might seem like a minor issue, but to the FAA it isn’t,” added Waite. “Civil aviation is something that journalists have a hard time understanding, because it is highly regulated and there is frankly a rule for everything.”

The new Part 107 rules now allow for operation not only when the sun is overhead but what is essentially termed “civil twilight,” which to the FAA is a very specific time of day. To operate one hour before or after “daylight,” a drone will require lights or other illumination. “Under the new rules you can now fly during civil twilight, but you need the lights,” explained Kirk. “Previously those operations were prohibited entirely.”

Despite New UAS Rules, Hurdles Remain

UAS—much like GPS technology—were developed for the military and adapted for civilian use, so the commercial market has benefitted from reduced R&D costs associated with getting a product off the ground, which in this case was quite literally a large effort. At the same time, onboard equipment has greatly improved, thanks to development of low-cost durable cameras and sensors.

The new Part 107 rules could pave the way for more stations to begin utilizing the drones, and normally that could drive up prices. However, the large influx of hobbyist drones on the market has actually helped lower prices, even as the market for these devices has increased.

“The cost of producing drones has been steadily going down,” said Sean Windle, procurement research analyst at industry research firm IBIS World, Inc. “At the same time the prices of peripherals such as the cameras and sensors have also fallen. The price competition will continue to heat up as more suppliers enter the expanding market.”

Even with these falling costs, many stations may still take a wait and see approach— at least in the near future, due to some of the concerns over interpretation of some of the new rules.

In fact, a recent RTDNA survey found only a few stations have expressed interest in using drones, with fewer than 10 percent having actual plans to utilize these in news reporting.

“With the new regulations coming into play, that interest level will probably grow,” admitted Derrick Hinds, spokesperson for the Radio Television Digital News Association. But he cautiously added, “we’re also watching state legislatures and even some city councils around the country that have passed or may consider passing various other drone rules beyond the federal regulations.”

Those local rules could be the other sticking point that could keep stations from immediately taking to the sky.

“Before simply taking off you’re going to have to check to see if there are local or state laws that Part 107 doesn’t preempt,” said Joanna Simon, aviation attorney with Morrison Foerster in Washington, D.C. “One aspect to understand is that Part 107 doesn’t contain an express preemption over local regulations.”

Currently anything having to do with the air means that federal laws will preempt local and state laws, as it is the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that the airspace is safe—but since Part 107 doesn’t contain such express preemption, it could mean that those local laws will need to be followed. These laws and regulations may not be directly related to aircraft use however.

“These can include laws on privacy, and what you can or can’t capture with a drone,” explained Simon. “In California there are drone privacy laws that won’t be altered by Part 107, so when using a drone in California you still have to comply with those laws as well as the federal ones.”

One other issue that Simon addressed is what the Part 107 regulations actually failed to call out, namely insurance. “There is no insurance requirement,” she noted. “That is something for the industry to think about, especially if you are flying near structures or other property.”

Beyond the issues of privacy, with more drones in the air, safety will certainly be an issue, and common sense should prevail when it comes to using drones to get that perfect shot. “I would say that a good rule of thumb is that if you can’t do it on the ground,” said Windle, “you shouldn’t do it with a drone either.”

Peter Suciu

NEW RULE COULD SPUR ECONOMY
The FAA’s new rules will certainly help journalists, while at the same time it could spur more development into small commercial drones. According to a study by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the rule could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy, while creating at least 100,000 new jobs over the next decade. As noted, the new rules could allow more stations to take to the skies, which had been a problem because of the high cost of obtaining the waiver.

Broadcast network news organizations including ABC and NBC have been able to utilize drones via waivers. CNN also received special permission from the U.S. government, and the news channel even partnered with the Georgia Tech Research Institute to collect data for the program, which the FAA analyzed in developing its rules for on newsgathering.

“Smaller stations have had a hurdle to clear,” said Waite. “However, a few Cox stations around the country have been able to use drones.”

Last September Cox Media Group was granted a section 333 exemption—specifically for “aerial photography, videography, and cinematography to support newsgathering.” The station group has deployed drones in several markets including WFXT-TV FOX 25 News in Boston, WSB-TV 2 News in Atlanta and WFTV-Channel 9 in Central Florida. While Cox Media Group was able to get a 333 exemption, many other stations around the country have already utilized other means to get that view from an eye in the sky.

“A handful of stations have obtained footage from hobbyists who decided on their own to fly over and photograph news stories, which was permissible under the old rules,” said Derrick Hinds, spokesperson for the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). “In preparation, stations might buy a drone or two, get them registered and have some employees take the FAA’s certification test, so when the rules actually go into effect, they can start using them.”

This could allow smaller stations to use drones to provide coverage that has largely not been available before. “This can allow smaller outlets to expand the coverage of events like droughts, wild fires and other big events,” said Sean Windle, procurement research analyst at industry research firm IBIS World, Inc. “Under the old rules there was a discrepancy between big outlets like CNN—which could get pilots licenses— and smaller news outlets that didn’t have the muscle to pay for the license.”

For more information on the new rules, visit www.faa.gov/uas.

WASHINGTON—Commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems operators will soon be able to take to the air with the FAA’s blessing, as the administration has announced that it has finalized the first operational rules for routine commercial use of small UAS. Part 107, which will go into effect in August, offers safety regulations for UAS weighing less than 55 pounds that are conducting non-hobbyist operations.

The regulations will require pilots—who must be 16 years or older and have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, or supervised by someone with a certificate—to keep the aircraft within the visual line of sight. Operations must take place during daylight hours or twilight, providing the UAS has anti-collision lights. Other areas covered in the regulation include height and speed limitations, as well as prohibiting flights over unprotected people on the ground who are not participating in the UAS operation.

Some of these regulations can be waived by the FAA as long as an operator proves the proposed flight will be “conducted safely under a waiver.” The FAA will make an online portal available to operators to apply for these waivers in the coming months.

To earn the remote pilot certificate required to operate a UAS, an individual must either pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved testing center or have an existing non-student Part 61 pilot certificate. The latter also requires that the operator must have completed a flight review in the past 24 months and take a UAS online training course from the FAA. The TSA will conduct a security background check on all applicants.

The FAA is not requiring small UAS to comply with current airworthiness standards or aircraft certification, the operator only needs to perform a preflight visual and operational check on the UAS’ safety systems, including the communications link.

While the FAA does not regulate privacy issues with UAS, the new rule encourages operators to check local and state laws before gathering information with UAS technology. The agency will provide recommended privacy guidelines through its B4UFly mobile app and during pilot certifications.

Part 107 will not apply to model aircrafts.

To read a summary of the regulation from the FAA, click here.

WASHINGTON—One of the major concerns for the Federal Aviation Administration on the use of unmanned aircraft systems, aka drones, has been the use of such devices around major airports. The FAA says it has received a number of reports over the last two years from pilots and residents about the use of drones near airports. In response, the FAA and other government agencies are collaborating to evaluate drone detection technology at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. One such collaboration includes the FBI.

Per the FAA, as of May 2 the administration has been using a FBI UAS detection system to study its effectiveness in a commercial airport environment. Around 40 tests reportedly took place with five different rotorcraft and fixed wing UAS participants. These tests were an expansion on research that had previously taken place at the Atlantic City International Airport.

Other agencies took part in the research at JFK, including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Queens District Attorney’s Office, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Further tests on the detection of UAS in airport environments are mandated by the FY 2016 Appropriations Law. The FAA says it is currently working on additional inter-agency strategies to evaluate detection systems.

WATERTOWN, S.D.—The National Association of Tower Erectors has commended the U.S. Senate’s recent reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. NATE, in a recent press release, specifically points to the approval of new language that enhances education and safety in the use of unmanned aerial systems.

“NATE would like to thank Senators Thune, Ayotte, Nelson, and Cantwell and their colleagues in the United States Senate for passing this important FAA reauthorization legislation,” said Todd Schlekeway, executive director of NATE, in a statement. “The Association is extremely interested in the commercial application of Unmanned Aerial Systems technology. UAS can complement and enhance the safety and well-being of communication tower workers by minimizing the risks associated with climber fatigue, weather, and distractions, while reducing repetitive stress injuries.”

Schlekeway also noted NATE’s work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on other tower safety initiatives.

NATE Chairman Jim Tracy also commented on the Senate’s passage: “The bill’s emphasis on education and safety in the use of technology is consistent with NATE’s status as a national leader in developing and implementing tower safety programs.”

LOS ANGELES—The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Intuitive Aerial, makers of the Aerigon pro cinema UAV, a Section 333 exemption to operate any aircraft on the administration’s List of Approved Unmanned Aerial Systems. This exemption will allow customers who do not have their own FAA 333 exemption to temporarily operate an Aerigon under the Intuitive Aerial exemption by using an Intuitive Aerial-certified pilot.

One company to benefit from this recent announcement is Phoenix Air Unmanned LLC., who purchased an Aerigon Mark II in 2015. The company received its own N-number from the FAA, which allows it to operate the UAV system on open- and closed-set productions.

Intuitive Aerial will display the Aerigon UAV at the 2016 NAB Show at booth C2055DP in the Drone Pavilion.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration has raised the unmanned aircraft “blanket” altitude authorization for Sec. 333 exemption holders and government aircraft operators to 400 feet. Previously, the agency had put in place a nationwide Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for such flights up to 200 feet. In a separate item, the Associated Press is reporting that recommendations have been submitted to the FAA for rules allowing drone flight over people—something that is now prohibited.

The FAA can take or leave the recommendations, which are said to create four categories of regulation for flying drones over people. The first involves drones weighing less than one-half pounds. These small unmanned aerial vehicles would be allowed to fly in an unrestricted manor if manufacturers demonstrate that there would be no more than 1 percent chance of serious injury at maximum force impact.

A second category of most quadcopters would be subjected to FAA discretion, also with a threshold of 1 percent chance of serious injury. A third category of working drones would be allowed minimal flight over people—generally operators—and none over crowds, at a 30 percent injury threshold. The fourth category would provide for sustained flight over people with a 30 percent injury threshold. (See “APNewsBreak: Move to OK commercial drone flights over people.”)

The new Sec. 333 policy allows small unmanned aircraft—operated as other than model aircraft (i.e. commercial use)—to fly up to 400 feet anywhere in the country except restricted airspace and other areas, such as major cities, where the agency prohibits UAS operations.

The FAA expects the move will reduce the workload for COA applications for industry UAS operators, government agencies and the FAA’s own Air Traffic Organization. The agency also estimates the move will reduce the need for individual COAs by 30 to 40 percent. Other provisions of an FAA authorization, such as registering the UAS and making sure pilots have the proper certification, still apply.

Under the blanket COA, the FAA will permit flights at or below 400 feet for UAS operators with a Sec. 333 exemption for aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds and for government UAS operations. Operators must fly under daytime Visual Flight Rules, keep the UAS within visual line of sight of the pilot and stay certain distances away from airports or heliports:

• Five nautical miles from an airport having an operational control tower; or
• Three nautical mile from an airport with a published instrument flight procedure, but not an operational tower; or
• Two nautical mile from an airport without a published instrument flight procedure or an operational tower; or
• Two nautical mile from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration has opened up its drone registry for commercial users. As of March 31, the Web-based registry will be open to owners of small unmanned aircraft systems used for commercial, public and other non-model aircraft operations. Up until now, commercial drone users had to register had to use the FAA’s legacy registration system in Oklahoma City. The FAA said the Web-based process will speed up the process for commercial and public users. Registration is $5, the same fee that model aircraft owners pay.

“Registration is an important tool to help us educate aircraft owners and safely integrate this exciting new technology into the same airspace as other aircraft operations,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

Anyone using a drone for purposes other than as model aircraft must currently obtain a 333 exemption, a public certificate of authorization or other FAA authorization to legally operate, in addition to registering their aircraft.

The FAA said that those owners who already have registered in the legacy system do not have to re-register in the new system. However, the FAA is encouraging new owners who are registering for the first time to use the new, Web-based registration system. Owners who register under the new system can access the records for all of the aircraft they have registered by logging into their online account. Small UAS owners who have registered under the Web-based system who intend to use their aircraft for purposes other than as model aircraft will also need to re-register to provide aircraft specific information.

The FAA first opened up the Web-based registration for model unmanned aircraft owners on Dec. 21, 2015. The agency is expanding that existing Website to accommodate owners of aircraft used for commercial purposes. This registration process includes additional information on the manufacturer, model and serial number, in addition to the owner’s physical and email addresses. Like the model aircraft registration process, a certificate is good for three years, but each certificate covers only one aircraft.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration released an updated list of pilot, air traffic controller and citizen reports of possible encounters with unmanned aircraft systems, or drones. The latest report (an .xlxs download) covers Aug. 22, 2015 through Jan. 31, 2016 and includes 583 reported sightings.

The FAA said reports of unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically since 2014, and now stand at around 100 a month. Safely integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system is a top priority for the FAA, which is under pressure from Congress to produce a set of rules to regulate drones. The FAA reauthorization bill on its way to the full Senate includes several recommendations, including traffic management and classification systems for drones. (See “Drone Delivery, Unlicensed Spectrum Use, Sent to Senate Floor,” March 17, 2016)

Most of the sightings reported in the FAA’s latest list were near manned aircraft and airports. One dated Aug. 21, 2015, involved a helicopter spotting a drone flying between the Wynn and Trump hotels in Las Vegas at an altitude of approximately 500 feet. Another pilot flying at 7,000 feet off of Sandy Hook, N.J., that same day spotted a black and purple drone 30 feet off the right side of the aircraft. Drones are authorized only to 400 feet. On Jan. 31 of this year, a Reston, Va., man reported that a three- to four-foot white quadcopter drone was “sitting on the driveway of his home.” The FAA said it wants to send a “clear message that operating drones around airplanes and helicopters is dangerous and illegal.”

Unauthorized drone operation may be result in “stiff fines and criminal charges, including possible jail time,” the agency said.

“We have a number of educational initiatives with our government and industry partners to teach drone operators how to fly safely, including the drone registry we launched last December,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “But enforcement goes hand-in-hand with education, and we will take action against anyone who operates irresponsibly to the full extent of the law.”

More than 406,000 people have registered since the registry went live in late December, the FAA said.

For current information on where unmanned aircraft can be flown safely, the FAA has a free app, B4UFLY for iOS and Android smartphones, designed to provide current information on areas where drones are safe to fly.

DJI, the Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer that has thus for cornered the drone market released a statement following the FAA’s sighting report. “Keeping the skies safe is DJI’s top priority, and we firmly believe drones are a valuable addition to the airspace for both commercial and recreational purposes,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI’s vice president of Policy and Legal Affairs. “The FAA’s latest list of unverified reports includes many instances where pilots and people on the ground simply mentioned seeing drones in the air. We want to ensure the public and policymakers put these reports in context with the millions of flight hours that drones safely navigate through airspace for businesses, farms, hobbyists, photographers and government agencies. Many of those drones have helped save lives in situations involving fires, floods, and missing people.”

The FAA anticipates annual drones sales to reach 2.5 million this year and 7 million by 2020.

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers have agreed on rules that would open the door to package delivery and the potential use of unlicensed spectrum by drones. The Senate Commerce Committee this week passed its version of a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration through 2017.

The bill, S.2658, was passed out of the committee with 53 amendments. One from Chairman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) calls for the creation of a drone traffic management system, and directs several federal agencies to determine what spectrum drones should be allowed to use. The amendment instructs the agencies to establish if drones should be allowed to use frequencies on an “unlicensed, shared or exclusive basis” within the aviation band or elsewhere on the spectrum.

Another, submitted by Sens. Dean Heller, (R-Nev.) and Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), would authorize drone-based package delivery. The amendment gives the Secretary of Transportation two years to “issue a final rule authorizing the carriage of property by operators of small, unmanned aircraft systems for compensation or hire within the United States.”

The portion of the full bill that addresses unmanned aerial systems begins with a “sense of Congress” regarding privacy. A sense of Congress is otherwise considered a firm recommendation. In this case, the bill recommends that businesses using drones for commercial operations have “a written privacy policy” for any “collection, use, retention and dissemination of any data collected” during a drone operation, and that these policies be publicly available.

Any violation of this policy would fall under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission’s deceptive practices laws.

The bill directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration—an agency within the Commerce Department—to develop a report on best practices “developed through multi-stakeholder engagement” on “unmanned aircraft systems transparency and accountability” for commercial drone use. The NTIA report is to include recommendations for encouraging commercial drone users to adopt privacy policies. It would be due by the end of July.

The legislation also directs a multi-agency contingent led by the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a system for identifying drones within a year of the bill’s passage.

The FAA now has a system in place requiring the registration of all drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds, whereby each is assigned a number that must be displayed on the aircraft.

In addition, S.2658 calls for a classification system for both public and civil drones, and a searchable database “to further enable the immediate remote identification” of a drone by the general public. Commercial and government users also would be required to maintain records identifying “each person on whose behalf” the drone has been operated, for at least a year.

NIST also is directed to create airworthiness standards for drones within 60 days of the bill’s enactment. These are to include “means to prevent tampering” with mandated safety and identification systems, and ways to bring legacy drones into compliance. Shipment of drones that don’t meet national airworthiness standards will be prohibited.

The legislation also addresses testing, and recommends that the FAA develop a program using its current six drone test sites to ensure the “safe integration” of drones into national airspace. Parameters include development and enforcement of altitude limitations, classification of restricted airspace and related manufacturer warning systems. It also mentions developing technologies for sense-and-avoid, beyond line-of-sight and nighttime operations.

The FAA is directed to submit a progress report on the program every six months through a sunset date of Sept. 30, 2017.

The bill would create special geographic dispensation for permanent, 24/7, beyond line-of-sight drone operation in areas of the Artic, for “research and commercial purposes.”

It is left to the Secretary of Transportation to determine if drone operators will have to have an airman certificate, a medical certificate or a minimum number of hours piloting an aircraft. The FAA does not yet require this, but it also does not yet differentiate commercial and private use. Commercials users now obtain waivers for operating drones. The bill also would allow the FAA to create exemptions for the pilot requirements put in place by the Transportation Secretary.

The bill will next go to a full Senate vote and be resolved with the House version.


February 8, 2016
Drone Rules Wend Through Congress
The bill would create interim guidelines for the commercial drone use and testing, and it would create a deputy administrator responsible for integrating drones into National Air Space.

December 14, 2015
FAA Announces Small UAS Registration Rule
Registration will be a statutory requirement for all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to Dec. 21, 2015, must register no later than Feb. 19, 2016.

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are weighing in on drone rules as they consider the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. One is looking to keep drones away from airports. Another has introduced a bill to allow testing for commercial purposes and to create a deputy administrator of drones within the FAA.

The reauthorization bill itself—The Aviation Innovation Reform & Reauthorization Act—contains a section on unmanned aerial systems that reiterates its directive to the FAA to establish rules for the commercial testing and deployment of drones by Sept. 30, 2015. The FAA missed that deadline and continues to issue waivers for the commercial use of drones, including a blanket waiver for the operation of those weighing less than 55 pounds and operating below 200 feet. (See “FAA Eases Drone Rules, Opens Door for Newsgathering,” March 25, 2015.)

Lawmakers are pressuring the FAA to get on with it so that UAS research and development isn’t driven off shore. Earlier this month, Rep. Earl Blumenaeur (D-Ore.) introduced the “Commercial UA Modernization Act” to create an interim framework for drone development until the FAA finishes its rules.

“… Our laws and regulations are stifling innovation instead of encouraging it, forcing American companies to look overseas to test new technology,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “The ‘Commercial UAS Modernization Act’ provides a much-needed update to federal rules, making it clear that flying smartphones should not be regulated like Predator drones.”

The bill would create interim guidelines for the commercial drone use and testing, and it would create a deputy administrator responsible for integrating drones into National Air Space. The bill also directs the FAA to look into the type of drone delivery that Amazon has proposed.

Last Friday, Sen. Bill Nelsen (D-Fla.), said he would offer a measure in the current reauthorization bill to keep drones away from “sensitive areas, such as our nation’s airports.” Nelson is the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has oversight of the FAA.

“Right now, it seems no one in the federal government is willing to take the lead to bolster and install technologies that could protect airports from the threat posed by drones,” he said at a meeting with Florida airport directors in Orlando, one of the cities along with Miami that ranks highest for close calls between drones and manned aircraft.

The FAA draft reauthorization act currently wending its way through the House and Senate contains some language in addition to its original directive to establish drone rules. Namely, it directs that the FAA “expedites safe deployment of commercial UAS by creating a risk-based permitting process.”

This process is supposed to consider the “kinetic energy” of the drone, where and how it’s to be operated, any known hazards and their likelihood, known failure modes of the aircraft and its operational history.

The bill also encourages “greater utilization of UAS test ranges,” and the development of “sense-and-avoid” technologies. Other elements include the establishment of a streamlined process for permitting the operation of small drones for “certain uses,” and a pilot program to evaluate drone detection and mitigation technology. It further addresses the use of drones in firefighting, directs the Department of Transportation Inspector General to evaluate the FAA’s drone registration system—which went live last month—and conduct a study on the privacy implications of drone operations.

The FAA currently is funded on a six-month extension through the end of March.

Also see…
December 10, 2015
“Drone Flight Still Challenged by FAA”
The first thing to consider is that while anyone can purchase and operate a drone for hobby or recreational purposes, as soon as you start using the drone for production, newsgathering, or… tower inspections, it is no longer being operated in accordance with FAA rules for model aircraft operations. 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration has announced its aircraft registration process for unmanned aerial systems weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) including payloads.

“This action provides an alternative, streamlined and simple, Web-based aircraft registration process for the registration of small unmanned aircraft, including small unmanned aircraft operated as model aircraft, to facilitate compliance with the statutory requirement that all aircraft register prior to operation, ” the 211-page Interim Final Rule stated. The registration rule technically goes into effect Dec. 21, with the FAA accepting comments on it until 30 days out from publication in the Federal Register on Docket No. FAA-2015-7396.

The process incorporates many of the recommendations of the FAA’ s Drone Registration Task Force, delivered to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Nov. 21.

“Make no mistake: unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators, and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility,” Foxx said. “Registration gives us an opportunity to work with these users to operate their unmanned aircraft safely.”

Registration will be a statutory requirement for all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to Dec. 21, 2015, must register no later than Feb. 19, 2016. Owners of any other UAS purchased for use as a model aircraft after Dec. 21, 2015 must register before the first flight outdoors. Owners may use either the paper-based process or the new streamlined, Web-based system. Those registering online must be at least 13 years old.

Registrants will need to provide their name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.

Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation will only have to register once and may use the same identification number for all of their model UAS. The registration is valid for three years.

The normal registration fee is $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, the FAA is waiving this fee for the first 30 days from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan 20, 2016.

“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” Huerta said. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”

The online registration system now supports only hobby and recreation drones, the FAA said. The agency said it is “developing enhancements” to incude drones used for commercial purposes by the spring of 2016.

JOHNSTON, IOWA—I have been doing some research recently on unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) both for the Iowa Public Television production department and for use in engineering to do tower inspections. There is no doubt about it, drones can provide some amazing footage for a production. I happen to think they could also provide some value to IPTV in doing inspections of our towers.

Obviously it wouldn’t replace having a skilled and certified crew climbing the tower and making a true physical inspection but a stable drone with a high definition or even a UHD camera could provide a recording that could be used to look for obvious problems such as bent cross members and damaged antenna elements. It might even provide the tower crew with a look at what they will need to fix prior to climbing the tower.

Please note that I did specify that the drone needed to be a stable platform, especially if the recorded images are going to include surface details for evaluating the condition of an antenna or tower. This will entail a drone with enough mass to minimize being buffeted around by the wind and a skillful operator that can maneuver the UAV in close enough proximity to the tower to make the footage useful.

An image from Prairie Aerial's video of technician changing beacon bulbs on tower.

My inspiration for this idea was this video by Prairie Aerial from a year ago of a technician changing the beacon bulbs on a 1500 foot tower. If you watch the video you can see how stable and detailed the image is. My colleague Deborah McAdams interviewed Prairie Aerial’s principal and photographer Todd Thorin about this video earlier this year. The unit he used was modified to operate at the higher altitude and included a real time downlink from the camera that allows for live ground observation and adjustments.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of operator skills. At this year’s IBC, there was a new featured area called the Drone Zone that allowed attendees to observe and take a hand at flying a drone. I stopped by on a number of occasions to watch and was dismayed to see the number of crashes and damaged done to drones by operators not being familiar or comfortable with their operation. It is obviously not as easy as it looks.

But before you rush out and buy a drone and start using it to spice up productions or take a close look at your transmitting antenna, you need to consider what the Federal Aviation Administration has to say about UAVs and their operation. The first thing to consider is that while anyone can purchase and operate a drone for hobby or recreational purposes, as soon as you start using the drone for production, news gathering, or in the case I have described, tower inspections, it is no longer being operated in accordance with the rules for model aircraft operations. The FAA would classify these as commercial operations and their position on this is that all commercial operations are illegal unless specifically authorized. So while it may be tempting to take your drone out and get some great B-roll for a story or a program, don’t be surprised if you get a call from the FAA telling you to cease and desist. That is essentially what happened to Mr. Thorin when folks at the FAA got to see his video via YouTube.

Now all is not lost as the FAA is developing rules for commercial operations of drones. Until those rules are implemented they do have a procedure for gaining an exemption to the rules that apply to unmanned aircraft. You would need to file a petition for exemption under section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Instructions for what information needs to be included in the petition and the process can be found on the FAA’s website.

While the procedure is not particularly onerous, be aware that a granted exemption has limitations. For example, the UAV must weigh less than 55 pounds. This probably isn’t much of a concern but it is something to be aware of. Also, daylight only operations tied to local sunrise and sunset, so if you are planning to capture images of the city lights at nights, that would not be advisable.

The UAV’s maximum altitude is 500 feet. This was one of the primary reasons that Mr. Thorin was told to cease operations because his drone was over 1500 feet in the air for some of the shots. I have yet to have a conversation with the FAA about this limitation and any potential for higher operational ceilings for my tower inspection scenarios.

One limitation is the requirement for visual line-of-sight operation. The FAA’s proposes that the UAV must remain with the VLOS of the operator or visual observer. That got me thinking that if we had people over a wide area that were all in direct contact with the operator, we could greatly increase the operational area. Unfortunately, they also specify that the UAV also has to remain close enough for the operator to be able to see the drone without any special devices.

The final limitation that I will mention is that the UAV may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation. So again, if you are planning on a dramatic overhead crowd shot at an event, you are probably going to be in violation of the exemption.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in addition to the FAA, about half the states have passed legislation or resolutions to study and/or restrict UAV operations. Most of these have to do more with privacy but they are also focused on property damage and liability.

As I said at the beginning, this is a research project that I have just started on. At this point in time the rules are fluid and it is unclear what the final parameters and restrictions will be. As I get answers to my questions, I will update my readers and maybe I will be able to post a recording of a tower inspection done by a drone in compliance with the FAA.

WASHINGTON—Fill out a Web form, get a registration number and mark it on your drone. This was the verdict of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force Aviation Rulemaking Committee, released today. The Task Force, formed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation last month, agreed on a simplistic approach in part because that was where the confluence of agreement settled:

“Any registration steps more burdensome than these three simple steps may jeopardize the likelihood of widespread adoption and would undermine the overall registration philosophy that enabled the Task Force to come to consensus,” its report said.

The Task Force was charged with three main objectives: identify which drones need to be registered, how to register them and how to prove certification. Members came together for three days in early November to hammer out the recommendations. The report noted that three days wasn’t sufficient for the Task Force to drill down into how to set up a drone registry and what impact it would have on hobbyists.

Task Force members included Amazon, various pilots groups, robotics makers, consumer electronics representatives and retailers, GoogleX, GoPro, surveyors, the International Association of Police Chiefs and drone makers, including DJI of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, a “a pioneer in the nascent market for commercial unmanned aircraft,” according to The Economist.

DJI wasn’t all together pumped about drone registration in general.

“We share the concerns of many of the 4,700 people who filed comments that this process was initiated in response to sensational headlines rather than data-based risk assessments, and contradicts the provisions of several federal statutes. Nonetheless, we undertook in good faith the assignment, which was not to argue the law…,” DJI said in a statement.

The Consumer Technology Association—known for 90 years as the Consumer Electronics Association—tiptoed carefully between drone manufacturer agendas and the public safety concerns driving drone registration:

“This is a crucial time for public policy concerning drones,” CTA said in a statement. “For the U.S. to stay competitive, and for drone-related businesses and startups to thrive, we need regulatory as well as non-regulatory solutions that support both safety and innovation. Duplicative or conflicting federal, state and local policies will encumber innovators, confuse the public and limit growth.”

CTA said 400,000 consumer drones would be sold “this holiday season.” Registration would apply to those with a maximum takeoff weight of between 250 grams and 55 pounds, and operated outdoors in National Airspace. The Task Force recommended that registration be free, or “$0.001” if the law requies that the FAA charge. The registry system would pop out a number that owners would mark or affix on their drones, similar FAA “N” numbers for manned aircraft registered in the United States. A second option would be to register the drone by its serial number.

The report includes two-and-a-half pages of math on the velocity, size and probability of a drone falling on someone’s head and killing them. This is how the Task Force concluded that drones 250 grams (a little over half a pound) or less could be excluded from registration. The ground fatality probability of a drone weighing roughly half a pound or less is one for every 20 million hours of flight, or less than those for commercial and general aviation, the report said.

The group reached an uneasy concensus on the 250-gram threshold. Some felt there should be no exemptions, while others said it would diminish the credibiity of the effort to require registration of small drones “generally considered to be in the ‘toy’ category.”

Other recommendations in the report cover what information to collect for registration, drone types, citizenship status, proof of registration and age requirement. The Task Force recommended that owners 13 or older would need to register, and those under 13 would have to be supervised by an adult.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta thanked the Task Force members for their contribution and said the FAA would take it from there.

“I will work with my team at the FAA to review their recommendations, as well as public comments we received, as we present the recommendations to Secretary [Anthony] Foxx. We will work quickly and flexibly to move toward the next steps for registration,” he said.

See the full report here.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration is warning drone owners away from companies offering registration services. The FAA said it would announce the registration protocol within the next couple of weeks.

“Owners should wait until additional details about the forthcoming drone registration system are announced later this month before paying anyone to do the work for them,” the agency said.

The task force assigned to provide FAA Administrator Michael Huerta with recommendations on the registration process is still days away from delivering this information, the FAA said. It also said that at least one company had launched a drone registration service.

Huerta was said to have told the task force two weeks ago to provide guidance on a streamlined unmanned aircraft registration process, including which types of drones would need to be registered and which would not. The FAA said the task force was working on recommendations for a system similar to registering any newly purchased product with its manufacturer, as well as a minimum weight for unmanned aircraft that must be registered.

WASHINGTON – The heads of the U.S. agencies that govern land and air transportation have decreed a drone registry. Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced the creation of a task force to make recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS.

The task force will be composed of 25 to 30 diverse representatives from the UAS and manned aviation industries, the federal government, and other stakeholders. The group will advise Transportation on which aircraft should be exempt from registration due to a low safety risk, including toys and certain other small UAS. The task force also will explore options for a streamlined system that would make registration less burdensome for commercial UAS operators.

The task force may make additional safety recommendations as it deems appropriate. Secretary Foxx directed the group to deliver its report by Nov. 20.

“Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the U.S. aviation system,” Foxx said. “It will help protect public safety in the air and on the ground.”

It was noted that the FAA receives daily reports of potentially unsafe UAS operations. Pilot sightings of UAS doubled between 2014 and 2015. The reports ranged from incidents at major sporting events and flights near manned aircraft, to interference with wildfire operations.

“These reports signal a troubling trend,” Huerta said. “Registration will help make sure that operators know the rules and remain accountable to the public for flying their unmanned aircraft responsibly. When they don’t fly safely, they’ll know there will be consequences.”

While the task force does its work, the FAA will continue its aggressive education and outreach efforts, including the “Know Before You Fly” campaign and “No Drone Zone” initiatives with the nation’s busiest airports. The agency also will continue to take strong enforcement action against egregious violators. At the same time, it will continue working with stakeholders to improve safety to ensure further integration and innovation in this promising segment of aviation.

Secretary Foxx was joined by representatives from the following stakeholder groups:

• The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
• Academy of Model Aircraft
• Air Line Pilots Association
• American Association of Airport Executives
• Helicopter Association International
• PrecisionHawk
• AirMap/ Small UAV Coalition
• Consumer Electronics Association

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed rules for the commercial use of drones in February. Those remain out for comment.

See...February 17, 2015
“Non-Pilots Can Fly Drones Under Proposed Rules”
The proposal is counter to exemptions granted last year to several TV and movie production companies requiring unmanned aerial systems to be operated by a licensed pilot.

ARLINGTON, VA.—Many drone enthusiasts probably took some time this past Labor Day weekend flying their unmanned aircraft systems for recreation. Recreational use is the primary way for people to utilize UAS as the FAA makes people go through detailed processes to use them for anything else. Or so we thought.

CommLawBlog, which focuses on communication laws, recently posted a story detailing just how you can get FAA approval to use your UAS commercially. With the FAA still working on new rules for commercial UAS use, people can work their way to approval in three steps.

The first step is acquiring a Section 333 Exemption. The FAA’s 333 Exemption process is a temporary process until the agency issues permanent rules. It expedites the process by allowing would-be UAS operators to obtain both an Airworthiness Certificate and a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization in a single process. In a nutshell, the process requires that the user show that a UAS is airworthy and the proposed operation will satisfy the FAA’s temporary rules.

One thing that cannot be abbreviated, though, is the airman certification standards. All users operating commercial drones in the National Airspace System must have FAA airman certification. The FAA does, however, allow those with sport or recreation pilot certificates fly UAS commercially. In addition to a Section 333 Exemption and an airman certificate, users must register their UAS with the FAA.

Other requirements include that all UAS weigh less than 55 pounds and they do not fly within certain distances of airports, otherwise restricted airspace, or in certain densely populated areas.

This process is temporary, as the Section 333 Exemption will no longer be applicable as soon as the FAA passes its new rules. According to CommLawBlog, if you were to apply for a Section 333 Exemption now, you could be approved to operate a commercial UAS by early 2016.

You can read CommLawBlogs full post here.