Drone On: Will the FAA Open U.S. Skies to Unmanned Aircraft?

 

TAKING OFF: The FAA is expected to release a proposed rule governing the use of small UAS in the national airspace system as early as December, after which there would be a comment and review process that could last a few years. Image: Courtesy of Wutthichai Meepo, via iStockphoto.com

 

Scientific American
Drone strikes have proved an effective, if controversial, weapon in the hunt for al Qaeda operatives in the Middle East and beyond. The use of such unmanned aircraft systems  (UAS) domestically for civilian jobs such as U.S. border patrol, weather research, pipeline inspection or even real estate photography has lagged, however, because of a cumbersome Federal Aviation Administration​ (FAA) case-based approval process. This could change within the next few years as the FAA considers relaxing some restrictions on certain small UAS that would allow them to share the national airspace system with manned aircraft.

The FAA is expected to release a proposed rule governing the use of small UAS domestically as early as December, after which there would be a comment and review process that could last a few years before a final rule is administered. Whereas details about the proposed rule are not publicly available, it will be based at least in part on recommendations made by the Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which the FAA chartered in 2008 to examine UAS operational and safety issues and make recommendations on how to regulate them.
More >