Category Archives: Regulatory Matters

GAO Says FAA Could Better Leverage Test Site Program to Advance Drone Integration

Example of UAS Flight Test Conducted at a Test Site

The Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination with industry, is working on safely integrating drones into the national airspace with manned aircraft. FAA has 7 designated drone test sites, which have facilitated about 15,000 drone research flights since 2015. Continue reading

FAA Should Improve Drone-Related Cost Information

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has undertaken actions to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or “drones”) into the national airspace and has developed plans to allow for increasingly complex operations, including operations over people and beyond visual-line-of-sight and—eventually—passenger operations (see figure). Continue reading

Aviation Groups Urge House and Senate Committees to Reject Drone Legislation

In a letter submitted last month to the chairmen and ranking members of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its aviation subcommittee, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and other aviation industry groups urged the panels to oppose the Drone Integration and Zoning Act, S.2607. Continue reading