New FAA rules a green light for US companies to talk business with Aerialtronics
US regulators release long-awaited rules governing the commercial use of small UAVs and allowing US businesses to plan using drones.
Aerialtronics welcomes the new rules issued by the FAA which allows commercial drones to share the skies with all aircraft and gives a green light to US businesses to start planning using drones.
The proposed rules would permit small UAVs of less than 55 lbs to fly commercially up to 100 mph and 500 ft, providing operators keep them in the line of sight and they are flown in daylight hours.
This is encouraging news for businesses as it clears the way for widespread use of small UAVs for crop monitoring, mapping and the inspection of cell towers, wind turbines and infrastructure.
Lucas van Oostrum, chief technical officer and co-founder of Aerialtronics, said: “We are more than ready for this. We can start helping businesses to save money and do their work more efficiently. Our end-to-end solution will help them to create business information out of aerial data. It will have a major impact on our operations because it’s a real game changer.”
Although operators would have to pass an FAA test of aeronautical knowledge, key concessions achieved by industry experts, including the Small UAV Coalition, mean operators would not need a private pilot’s licence or an airworthiness certificate, as with manned aircraft and is now required in the 333 exemption process.
Major rules include:
– Operators can fly drones within line of sight
– Pilots do not need to take a medical exam
– Operators need no formal experience or training in flying a manned or unmanned aircraft – only a written knowledge test
– Drones are not required to have a FAA airworthiness certificate similar to those required for manned aircraft
– Flights prohibited within five miles of an airport unless ATC give permission
– Drones will need to be registered with the FAA and receive an “N number” for identification purposes similar to the numbers on aircraft tails
– Only one operator needed instead of an operator and spotter to watch for other aircraft.
– No requirement to have and follow the manufacturer’s manual
– No need to have an operations manual
– No requirement to have a maintenance and inspection programme
– No spectrum or radio communication requirement.
The FAA will accept comments for up to 60 days and continue to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis while working on the final rules. More than 300 requests are pending but it will have a huge impact on the 333 exemption process that is now in place.
Aerialtronics offers aerial and data solutions from wind turbine inspection, firefighting, drug and gas detection to surveying, mapping and capturing big data using a variety of applications from thermal and multi-spectral inspection to 2D mapping and 3D measurement.
Jeremy Wigmore, CEO of Aerialtronics, said: “This is a major step forward for us. As a member of the Small UAV Coalition, we have been directly involved in the rulemaking process. We share this knowledge with our customers and advise them how to integrate drones into their business. We are ready to fly on this.”
About Aerialtronics
Aerialtronics is a leading international manufacturer of state of the art, high quality unmanned aircraft systems for civilian purposes. The company sells multirotor Alturas for a wide variety of applications in numerous countries worldwide. Aerialtronics’ systems are designed and developed in-house according to aviation grade quality standards making the Altura systems consistently reliable as well as stable. Aerialtronics defines the future of unmanned aircraft systems!
