At the Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport crews will begin installing a new kind of radar in June that will allow air traffic controllers to see a combination of planes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Air Force and the State of Ohio are footing the $5 million radar bill in first-of-its-kind testing that both parties hope will lead to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for beyond line of sight flight. Continue reading
Category Archives: Regulatory Matters
Congressional Hearing Discusses Drone Delivery
The Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), today held a hearing to discuss how businesses are adopting the latest trends in technology to transform the delivery process for consumers. Witnesses provided testimony about how their businesses are leveraging technology to provide same-day delivery services to consumers. Continue reading
Russia to Create Drone Flight Management System
Russia will create a system to control flights of small unmanned aerial systems (UAS), including small quadcopters, Mikhail Kirechko, the chief constructor of the system, developed by the Russian Space Systems holding, which belongs to the state-run Roscosmos space corporation, told Sputnik in an interview. Continue reading
FAA Drone Registration Rule Struck Down by Appeals Court
A U.S. Court of Appeals ruling sided with drone hobbyist John Taylor, who argued that the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t have jurisdiction over what the law classifies as model aircraft. Continue reading
Virginia Governor Flies in Autonomous Aircraft
The quest for un-piloted air taxi service took a step forward yesterday as Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe became the first sitting governor to fly in a fully automated aircraft. Continue reading
EASA Publishes NPA for Open and Specific Categories and Associated Regulatory Impact Assessment
On 5 May 2017 EASA published the Notice of Proposed Amendment 2017-05 (A).
And on 12 May 2017 EASA published the Notice of Proposed Amendment 2017-05 (B).
Both of these documents introduce a regulatory framework for the operation of civil drones and pertain to unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations in the “open” and “specific” category. Continue reading
EASA Publishes Proposal on sUAS Operations
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published a proposal to regulate the operation of small drones in Europe. All interested parties are welcome to comment this proposal from 12 May until 12 August 2017.
Small Drones Safer Near People than Previously Thought
Small drones are safer to operate near people than originally thought, according to research results presented today by the director of the Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to members of the U.S. Congress and industry representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Drone Advisory Council. Continue reading