UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
In its continuing effort to safely expand and support commercial unmanned aircraft operations in U.S. airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration has now granted more than 1,000 Section 333 exemption approvals. As of today, the agency has issued 1,008 such exemptions. Continue reading
The drone industry is diverse, innovative and international. It has an enormous potential for growth with the associated possibility to create jobs. To ensure a safe, secure and environmentally friendly development, and to respect the citizens’ legitimate concerns for privacy and data protection, EASA has been tasked by the European Commission — following the Riga Conference1 and its associated Declaration — to develop a regulatory framework for drone operations, as well as concrete proposals for the regulation of low-risk drone operations. Continue reading
The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) has launched a UAV safety campaign to raise awareness and prevent accidents between UAV operators and low-altitude manned aircraft. The first public outreach tool in the safety campaign is a UAV “safety stuffer” designed for aerial applicators to share with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders.
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) has published a paper calling for regulations on unmanned air vehicles proposed by EASA to focus on the safety of people and manned aviation, and not the rights of recreational operators to fly such aircraft. Continue reading
The US Air Line Pilots Association’s (ALPA) white paper published last week, A Flight Plan for Safe and Fair Skies, looks at, among other issues, the safe integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). Continue reading
Responding to recent incidents in which unmanned aircraft systems interfered with manned aircraft involved in wildland firefighting operations, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is supporting the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service in their simple message to drone operators: If you fly; we can’t.
International law firm Dentons named Jim Williams, formerly manager of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office, as a principal in its public policy and regulation practice. Based in McLean, Va., Williams will advise clients on “aviation technology, regulatory and compliance issues with particular emphasis on the military, consumer and commercial use of unmanned aircraft,” said Dentons on July 27. Continue reading
Swiss professional drone manufacturer, senseFly, has announced that its eBee has become the first fixed-wing system to be designated a ‘compliant small UAV’ by Transport Canada—a distinction that moves organisations that use this drone a critical step closer to achieving Compliant Operator status.