Wing, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved UAS Service Supplier of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), made its drone flyer app, OpenSky, available for free in the Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The OpenSky app makes it easy for drone flyers to abide by FAA airspace rules and regulations and request authorization to fly in controlled airspace in near real-time.
The OpenSky app brings a level of simplicity, familiarity and accuracy for drone operators across the U.S. With OpenSky, recreational or commercial drone flyers can check FAA airspace information to see where they can and cannot fly, request an authorization from the FAA where it’s required, and manage and log their flights and permissions to their pilot profile.
OpenSky provides near real-time authorizations for drone flyers wishing to operate in LAANC-enabled controlled airspaces, which includes areas surrounding hundreds of airports throughout the U.S. Without FAA-approved service suppliers like Wing and apps, such as OpenSky, drone flyers would need to request manual authorization to fly in controlled airspace, which could take weeks to obtain. The OpenSky app can enable authorizations in seconds for operations like emergency response, commercial surveys, or film and photography sessions. OpenSky has been available in Australia since 2019 for recreational and commercial drone pilots and received positive feedback from drone flyers in Australia and from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Now the company has introduced two new updates that will open up access to new airspace for commercial and recreational flyers and allow for real-time authorization requests for night-time flying in controlled airspaces.
The updates to OpenSky are made possible by a new version of the FAA’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification (LAANC) program. This new version of LAANC includes a number of improvements and refinements that make drone flyer apps like OpenSky even more helpful for users.
The first update will open up new airspace that was previously unavailable to flyers by refining the airspace grids used in the app. With smaller quarter-mile grid sizes, restrictions can be more targeted to where they are needed. Since altitude and authorization limits are defined for an entire grid, the smaller grids will allow for more flexibility in how restrictions are defined. Previously, a limit in one part of an approximately one-square mile grid would prevent flyers from operating in the entire grid.
Users have been asking for a simpler way to request night time approvals in LAANC. In partnership with the FAA, the new update will enable Part 107 flyers to request near real-time authorization to fly at night, all through our OpenSky app.
With nearly two million drones registered in the U.S., the company is committed to help enable safe access to the shared resource above us.
Source: Press Release