Google & Amazon are cooperating on an airspace plan:

- 0-200' for (lower-speed) local delivery flights
- 200-400' for (higher-speed) transit flights
- 400-500' buffer
- >500' ... traditional aviation

Several drone/UAS presenters (univ & drone industry affiliated, not Google, not Amazon) repeatedly mentioned no-drone zones around "international airports." When I spoke with them afterwards ... they really did grasp the FAA/CBP notions of "international airports."

I kept prodding. One speaker retreated to "towered airports." What about when the towers are closed? He mistakenly believes that tower-closed = airport-closed = okay to operate drones/UAS.

I then reminded him of last year's near-miss with a med-evac helo when a couple of vendors decided to do ad-hoc demo flights at the county fairground and failed to notice the giant hospital w/heliport across the street. "Oh. Yeah. That, too."

The tech is becoming more capable. One commercial octo-copter claimed to be able to haul a 2.6# payload @ 40 knots for 88 minutes.

Another vendor claimed to have nationwide FAA approval to operate below 200' and >2 miles away from airports.

Wright State Univ is developing GoFlyZone.org for drone/UAS operators. Seems like a good idea.

Probably referring to the blanket COA rules defined here:

https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=82245

The Federal Aviation Administration has established an interim policy to speed up airspace authorizations for certain commercial unmanned aircraft (UAS) operators who obtain Section 333 exemptions. The new policy helps bridge the gap between the past process, which evaluated every UAS operation individually, and future operations after we publish a final version of the proposed small UAS rule.

Under the new policy, the FAA will grant a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for flights at or below 200 feet to any UAS operator with a Section 333 exemption for aircraft that weigh less than 55 pounds, operate during daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions, operate within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the pilots, and stay certain distances away from airports or heliports:

5 nautical miles (NM) from an airport having an operational control tower; or
3 NM from an airport with a published instrument flight procedure, but not an operational tower; or
2 NM from an airport without a published instrument flight procedure or an operational tower; or
2 NM from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure

The “blanket” 200-foot COA allows flights anywhere in the country except restricted airspace and other areas, such as major cities, where the FAA prohibits UAS operations. Previously, an operator had to apply for and receive a COA for a particular block of airspace, a process that can take 60 days. The agency expects the new policy will allow companies and individuals who want to use UAS within these limitations to start flying much more quickly than before.

Section 333 exemption holders will automatically receive a “blanket” 200 foot COA. For new exemption holders, the FAA will issue a COA at the time the exemption is approved. Anyone who wants to fly outside the blanket parameters must obtain a separate COA specific to the airspace required for that operation.

As you see, still requires a real pilot, day VFR, visual range, and back off distances from airports which vary between 2 and 5 nm depending.

Basically, ANY vendor with an existing 333 exemption has the same rules, so that vendor is nothing special. If they meant to give you the impression they can operate outside of pilot visual range, I think they are very mistaken. I am unaware of anyone who can do that presently.

Mike C.

Anybody want to bet what the first loss of life accident will be with a drone and a manned aircraft?

a. helo?
b. transport aircraft?
c. ga aircraft?
d. lighter than air?

Maybe it's time for a poll..

Gallows humor. Sorry.

Drones are so useful it's a shame some irresponsible yahoo is going to cause big trouble. How about required ADS-B based avoidance? Did anybody talk about that?

--paul

It's inevitable. I'm guessing "a."

ag aircraft would be my guess. They often operate "away" from "regular" airports. Almost always below 500 feet. Rural areas, someone assumes "no planes here".

How often are helos and AG aircraft downed by birds? That seems to be a decent real world proxy for drone risk.

Ag planes hit birds fairly frequently. Not usually large ones, but the smaller ones. makes a mess, occasionally dents up the wing. My *guess* is that a larger metal/plastic drone would make a bigger problem.

I've killed countless birds in helos. Fortunately none caused a serious accident (although a few caused A LOT of damage).

I'd rather hit the soft tissue of a bird anyway compared to a relatively hard UAS. Lots of metal, lots of sharp edges/points, and usually many high-rpm propulsion devices! Any drone capable of delivering commercial products (Google/Amazon) would rock my world if I hit it in a helo. Almost certain death.

Don't get me wrong- I love UAS.... I use them at work on a regular basis. The procedures we have in place are the main reason we can perform mixed UAS/aircraft operations with safety and success. "The devil is in the details" as they say... Those details will be the procedures we end adopting (in the civilian sector).

Aren't very many 55 lb birds out there... Especially made of metal and hard materials.

Agree size of drone is a huge issue. 55lb is a big issue. 10 probably less so. I'm assuming most drones would be mostly goose/buzzard size but maybe not.

I would think a major design consideration in a drone would be easy frangibility. Won't weight considerations drive them toward plastics and carbon fiber?

Small drone <100' are like the model airplanes kids have been flying for years with little concern from the aviation community.

Large commercial grade drones are a different animal. Is it unreasonable to register them and license their operators?

I don't know where the line should be drawn. Any opinions?

Drones have a different purpose. Nobody is complaining about the model airplane going roundy-round at the RC field. You also won't find drones there.

The reasons drones are purchased create the reasons for regulation.