Unmanned Aircraft on-line Seminar

[Jack Tyler]

If you've wondered about how the use of unmanned aircraft is safely managed in the same airspace where you fly, you might find this short on-line Air Safety Institute seminar to be helpful:
http://flash.aopa.org/asf/unmannedaircraft/index.cfm

The main things I found useful to learn when taking it were these:
-- the 'approved' term is UAS (Unmanned Aircraft *System*) rather than the commonly seen UAV (or sometimes, ROV). This is preferred because it includes the ground observers, ground stations & ground based controllers, which are included in the FAA regs
-- it was somewhat useful to understand the five UAS categories as this relates to their respective performance envelopes
-- the forecast for additional UAS activity, even in the next 3 years, is startling. One segment of the seminar shows (roughly) where these new activities are likely to be located. I found one of the new locations is apparently going to be in the Jacksonville area.
-- for those of you with a PPL and an interest in 'console flying' as a job, the qualifications for controllers and observers are laid out specifically...and many here would probably qualify if you took a Class 2 physical.
-- and finally, here is yet another example why all of us should be using ATC services ('flight following') when flying outside our local areas. UAS operations can legally be conducted adjacent to or in controlled airspace, in which cases ATC coordination for separation service is mandated. Who wouldn't want a bit of help avoiding a UAS?

One disappointment: As is typical of educational programs which teach us the way things are supposed to work, this seminar ignores altogether the current problems being experienced by the military & CIA, including a number of near-collisions with civil aircraft and crashes into populated areas. One leading cause of these events is that, like much else in our war-fighting activities, the actual flying is done by civilians (aka: contractors), and some of them are not properly vetted, poorly qualified and not necessarily current on the a/c they are (remotely) flying. The Washington Post just did an interesting lengthy report on this, an excellent orientation to the real world of UAS flights.

[zaitcev]

I wouldn't worry about these so much. It's the low-cost drones in <5 lbs class that concern me. Soon everyone is going to fly those, everywhere, and policing them is impossible. TV stations, real estage agents, vendettful ex-spouses, you name it. Envirocrazies and PETA already fly them to spy on cows. We're going to be hitting them like birds. In 10 years, expect up-armored airplanes starting to appear.

[designrs]

-- for those of you with a PPL and an interest in 'console flying' as a job, the qualifications for controllers and observers are laid out specifically...and many here would probably qualify if you took a Class 2 physical.

So a contractor (non-pilot) might not need a medical, but a pilot with an understanding of airspace and regulation needs a medical even though his/her feet never leave the ground?

[designrs]

It's the low-cost drones in <5 lbs class that concern me. Soon everyone is going to fly those, everywhere, and policing them is impossible. TV stations, real estage agents, vendettful ex-spouses, you name it. Envirocrazies and PETA already fly them to spy on cows. We're going to be hitting them like birds. In 10 years, expect up-armored airplanes starting to appear.

For real estate, personal photos, architectural photography, and probably even tabloid purposes, the optimal altitude is generally not over 100 feet AGL. In most cases the best vantage point is 30 to 60 feet AGL, and nowhere near any airport. So the big questions become where, how high, public or private property?

Also the higher the drone goes the greater chances of loss of control from wind, communication failure, power loss, or "pilot" disorientation. An amateur without any knowledge of how to check wind conditions will quickly see the results of a 7 knot gust on a 3 pound drone!

[gmohr]

I have RC Helicopters that will fly at speeds that are scary as well as weigh
more that 5lbs. They are small and hard to see at 50' let alone 100' or more.
I have seen a RC Airplane fly out of site when a controller failed. Was found
over a mile away.

I really can't imagine what it will be like if they fill the air with UAV's.

[designrs]

Check out the consumer AR drone 2.0. It has an amazing interface. Controlled by an iPad or iPhone it will attempt to hold position against wind via GPS, hold position in event of a control failure, auto-land upon command or very low battery. Limits can also be set for max altitude and also max response rates for operations. Bumpers protect the quad-copter blades from bumping (crashing). You see what the drone sees on the iPad/iPhone. Quite user friendly. If winds are below 3 knots, and altitude is limited to about 25 feet, a cautious beginner can do quite well.

... of course this is quite different than flying around in airspace shared with traditional aircraft!

[Jack Tyler]

Clarifications:
-- requirements for contractors are no different than those for DoD employees, public officials (e.g. police, fire), etc. The point being made in the Post article is that contractor oversight can't be 100% (whereas e.g. DoD oversight of its employees approaches 100%) and so a few inept contractors have created some very dangerous near-misses near civilian airports and by crashing into local communities. We aren't widely aware of this yet because it happens outside our own country.
-- yes, there are FAA-mandated requirements (qualifications) for UAS ground observers because, for use of certain portions of the U.S. Airspace which the FAA manages, the 'S' refers to 'System' and the ground observer may play a direct role in controlling the UAS via voice comms to the 'pilot' and the 'pilot' is required to rely on ground observations.
-- it's easy to imagine real estate brokers and suspicious wives chartering UAS operations but it's just that: imagination. If a UAS operation honors FAA requirements, the complexity & certification of skill sets required by the control system (and therefore the cost of the service) is going to provide its own throttle on such activities. And illegal use of UAS is not unlike the illegal use of laser lights. Once the danger was publicized and combined efforts were made to police the dimwits who chose to 'shoot' lasers into cockpits, most of that activity has waned.

I posted the below link in another thread. It's worth reading (very short letter to the FAA Acting Administrator) because it shows how widely held the concern is for UAS operations in our airspace, and it also illustrates how much pressure is already being brought to bear on controlling it. One of the main themes the on-line seminar communicates is that there already exists standards for all UAS operations except those which are military, occur in military-related SUA's and are in compliance with Title 10 USC. Let's not worry right now about the real estate brokers and jealous wives...but let's be sure we read the NOTAMs on UAS activity where we fly.

http://www.rotor.com/rotornews/Nov12/UASLetter.pdf