Last Wednesday, July 9, Amazon officially submitted its petition to the FAA asking for an exemption from the agency's blanket 'no flying drones for commercial purposes' policy. We have yet to hear anything from the FAA, and if the status of the last such petition is any indication (seven film production companies filed a similar petition in early June and nothing has come of it … [Read more...] about Why The FAA Needs To Let Amazon Test Its Drones
FAA Roadmap
Australia Surpasses 100 Certified UAS Operators, Provides Model for FAA
The Australian Certified UAV Operators Inc. (ACUO) reported this weekend that the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA, basically the Australian equivalent of the FAA) has now certified more than 100 commercial UAV operators. To accompany the announcement of the milestone, the ACUO also published a report outlining exactly who has been obtaining government … [Read more...] about Australia Surpasses 100 Certified UAS Operators, Provides Model for FAA
Could Implementing Section 333 Expedite Takeoff of Commercial Drones?
On Thursday a the sUSB Expo in San Francisco, the FAA's Jim Williams gave a presentation 'updating' the unmanned aerial systems community about the progress the federal administration has made towards regulating the national airspace for commercial drones. The part of his speech that got the most attention was the revelation of a near collision between a drone and a commercial … [Read more...] about Could Implementing Section 333 Expedite Takeoff of Commercial Drones?
FAA Announces Second UAS Test Site Has Begun Operations in Alaska
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the University of Alaska’s unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test site is now the second site (of six) to become operational. The first official flights took place this morning. The FAA granted a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks to fly animal surveillance operations at … [Read more...] about FAA Announces Second UAS Test Site Has Begun Operations in Alaska
Who Owns the Sky Part II: The FAA’s Drone Integration Plan, Reloaded
This post is Part Two of Who Owns the Sky? and will address the major goals and timeline of the FAA's Integration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) Roadmap. For Part One, which is an examination of the problems created by the integration of UAS, go here. There is a lot to cover here so I'm just going to jump in. The one thing to … [Read more...] about Who Owns the Sky Part II: The FAA’s Drone Integration Plan, Reloaded
