Monthly Archives: November 2014

UAV070 Preview of the FAA sUAS NPRM

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NAB Chernobyl Aerial VideoSneak peak at the FAA sUAS regulations, NZ drone regs, bioengineered drones, busting poachers, the threat to airliners, first amendment issues, and GoPro to enter the UAV market.

News

Drone Flights Face FAA Hit

The Wall Street Journal reports that “people familiar with the rule-making process” are talking about what we can expect in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the FAA for sUAS.

The expectation is that the FAA will:

  • Lump all sUAS under 55 pounds under the same regulations
  • Require sUAS operators to have a manned-flight pilots license
  • Limit flying to daytime hours, below 400 feet, line of sight.

The NPRM is still expected before year-end, followed by a public comment period.

New Zealand to introduce civil UAV regulations

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plans to issue New Zealand’s notice of proposed rulemaking for unmanned air vehicles on December 4. There are no details on what the proposal will contain, but the CAA had input from the UAVNZ industry group and Callaghan Innovation, an entity that promotes economic progress in New Zealand. The CAA says that certification will likely be required for operators of high risk UAVs.

NASA Is Working on Creating Bioengineered Drones Made of Mushrooms and Bacteria

NASA is supporting the Prototyping a Biological UAV project “to grow a mycelium-based chassis for [a] biological drone.” One motivation for this program is to create lightweight sensors that require no electrical energy.

Poachers Caught by ShadowView Drones

ShadowView Foundation drones were used during an anti-poaching operation in the Greater Kruger Area in South Africa.  Rhino poachers were apprehended as a result.

This is believed to be the first time drones were used for this purpose.

ShadowView used information from the drone to direct local rangers on the ground. “One of the rangers reported via radio the poachers were heavily armed and immediately engaged upon sight. During the ensuing firefight, the rangers unfortunately killed one of the poachers.”

Is The Small-UAV Threat To Airliners Overrated?

Regulatory agencies require that commercial aircraft withstand impact by birds. This article wonders if existing regulations for bird strikes can be extended to include small UAVs.

Up in the Air: The free-speech problems raised by regulating drones

Ferguson, Missouri has been the scene of protests and vandalism after a Ferguson Police Department officer fatally shot an 18-year-old man. The FAA granted no-fly zone requests, but there are indications that this was done to keep news helicopters out of the area. This article explores possible First Amendment issues associated with news gathering by drone.

WSJ: GoPro Is Going to Make Its Own Drones

Reportedly, GoPro is going to start making its own multi-rotor helicopters in the $500-1,000 range. Availability is said to be late 2015.

The 19 best drone photos of 2014

Mashable picks 19 awesome images that could only have been created from an aerial perspective.

Video of the Week

Chernobyl by Drone  

Eerie video of the Chernobyl Exclusion Area almost 30 years after the meltdown.

UAV069 NTSB on FAA v. Pirker: Remanded

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Stunt Sheep Don’t try this at home: Trappys $10k fine UVA videoThe NTSB issued its Opinion and Order in the FAA v. Raphael Pirker matter, reversing the Administrative Law Judge’s decisional order and remanding the matter for further proceedings.

Guest

Justine HarrisonJustine Harrison is an attorney whose practice includes corporate and aviation law. She’s a multi-engine instrument rated pilot, aircraft owner/operator, and an experimental aircraft builder.

Justine understands aviation issues, has experience in aviation transactions, as well as FAA and NTSB matters. Her aviation clientele includes companies which research, develop, manufacture, service, and test unmanned aircraft. Justine also defends individuals and companies in FAA enforcement actions.

Justine is also fresh from the first ever Unmanned Aircraft Systems Workshop organized by the American Association of Airport Executives. This was a great opportunity to hear concerns from airports, which are both anxious and nervous to get in on the unmanned action.

News

The FAA had assessed Pirker $10,000 based on “alleged careless or reckless operation of an unmanned aircraft.” Pirker’s appeal was heard by an NTSB Administrative Law Judge who terminated the enforcement proceeding and declared that Pirker’s Ritewing Zephyr was a “model aircraft,” not an “aircraft” for purposes of regulation. The FAA then appealed to the Board.

On November 17, 2014, the NTSB issued an Opinion and Order in the matter of the FAA v. Raphael Pirker reversing the Administrative Law Judge’s decisional order and remanding the matter for further proceedings.

In its November 18, 2014 Press Release, the NTSB says, “The National Transportation Safety Board announced today that it has served the FAA and respondent Raphael Pirker with its opinion and order regarding Mr. Pirker’s appeal in case CP-217, regarding the regulation of unmanned aircraft. In the opinion, the Board remanded the case to the administrative law judge to collect evidence and issue a finding concerning whether Pirker’s operation of his unmanned aircraft over the campus of the University of Virginia in 2011 was careless or reckless.”

In its appeal, the FAA argued two main points:

  1. The law judge erred in determining respondent’s Zephyr was not an “aircraft” under 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(6) and 14 C.F.R. § 1.1.

49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(6): “aircraft” means any contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, or fly in, the air.

14 C.F.R. § 1.1: Aircraft means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air.

  1. The law judge erred in determining Pirker’s aircraft was not subject to 14 C.F.R. § 91.13(a).

14 C.F.R. § 91.13: Careless or reckless operation.

(a) Aircraft operations for the purpose of air navigation. No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

On the definition of “aircraft,” the NTSB found that Pirker’s unmanned aircraft system is an “aircraft” for purposes of § 91.13(a). The NTSB relied on the plain English in the statutes, which doesn’t exclude model aircraft, and doesn’t differentiate between manned and unmanned aircraft. 

The NTSB says, “We acknowledge the definitions are as broad as they are clear, but they are clear nonetheless,” and, “In summary, the plain language of the statutory and regulatory definitions is clear: an ‘aircraft’ is any device used for flight in the air.” 

In summary, it doesn’t matter if Pirker’s Ritewing Zephyr is a model aircraft or not, and it doesn’t matter if it’s manned or unmanned, it’s still an aircraft under 14 C.F.R. § 91.13 which prohibits operation “of an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.” 

The NTSB concludes, “We therefore remand to the law judge for a full factual hearing to
determine whether respondent operated the aircraft ‘in a careless or reckless manner so as to
endanger the life or property of another,’ contrary to § 91.13(a).”

Video of the Week

Stunt Sheep Don’t try this at home: Trappys $10k fine UVA video

UAV068 A UAV Entrepreneur

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DJI Inspire 1

Opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs looking to develop a commercial UAV business.

This Episode

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle industry is in its infancy and presents many business opportunities to entrepreneurs. Some opportunities are obvious, like agriculture, real estate, emergency response, and package delivery. Others have not yet been imagined.

In this episode, we look at issues for UAV startups, with someone who is immersed in that process.

Guest

Don Toporowski is an advisor to clients of both the MaRS Discovery District, Canada’s largest centre for innovation and business acceleration, and with startups coming out of the Queen’s Innovation Connector.

Don has focused on the CleanTech sector for most of his career, but he recently shifted his focus to the UAV market. He hopes to find a few entrepreneurs with very good ideas for businesses developing or using UAV technologies, and to help them build winning sales strategies, raise capital, and become successful in their endeavors.

Don describes some UAV startup success stories, and the current roadblocks faced by entrepreneurs: regulatory uncertainty, funding issues, availability of business insurance, and reliability of UAVs.

Contact Don at don.toporowski@gmail.com, +1 416 722-2007, on Skype at dontoporowski, or search for Don Toporowski on LinkedIn.

News

The DJI Inspire One is the coolest drone I’ve ever seen

DJI just released the Inspire 1 quadcopter, intended to offer more professional level features than the Phantom, yet still remain relatively easy to fly.

The Inspire 1 has legs that fold to allow an unobstructed view, a ground-facing camera for stabilization when there is no GPS signal, and a 4K video camera. Price is set at $2,800.

The video of the launch event DJI Inspire launch – November 12, 2014 shows the new quadcopter. [Fast forward to 14:30.]

Videos of the Week

Mexico City International Airport from Above shows the airport from a different perspective.

Drone tour of Tower of London poppies came to us from longtime listener Mark. It shows the armistice poppies around the Tower of London. Nearly 900,000 hand made ceramic poppies represent the fallen British soldiers from World War I. Each poppy has been sold to raise money for service charities.

 

UAV067 ScanEagle 2 Launched

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Insitu ScanEagle 2A new ScanEagle from Insitu, an Ohio UAS test site is up and running, students learning about UAVs in a precision agriculture program, ABC creating drone journalism policies, and a drone on an urban rescue mission.

News

Insitu Launches New ScanEagle 2 UAS

The new Insitu ScanEagle 2 features a slightly longer fuselage, the same wingspan, and a new engine from Orbital. Endurance of this fixed-wing system grows to 24 hours from 16.

US Navy seeks information on sense and avoid radar for Triton UAS

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has been unable to develop sense and avoid radar for the Triton. They’ve issued an RFI (Request for Information) and NAVAIR wants a scaleable SAA box that is modular and deployable to other platforms.

The Triton is a naval version of the RQ-4A Global Hawk, with a different wing to handle higher stresses.

WSRI conducts its first test of UAS aircraft

Wright State Research Institute (WSRI) conducted its first UAS research flight at Wilmington Air Park using a senseFly eBee

3D Aerial Solutions piloted the eBee used to conduct modeling and simulation research, to gather terrain data for 3D flight simulation environments. The flight operated under a recently awarded certificate of authorization (COA) from the FAA.

Sinclair sees UAS payoff in future jobs

Sinclair Community College in Ohio sees a coming boom in unmanned aviation opportunities, and they’re investing millions to help train a UAS workforce. They’ve spent over $5 million on curriculum, flight simulators, and more than 50 UAVs. The college will use its field house to serve as the largest indoor unmanned aerial vehicle flying range in Ohio.

Sinclair plans to open a National UAS Training and Certification Center using $5 million of their money and $4 million from State funds. Sinclair has partnered with Ohio State University and additionally, has established partnerships with Wright State University, the University of Dayton, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and other educational institutions.

LRSC students study ag potential of UAS

Lake Region State College’s Precision Agriculture Center in North Dakota wants its graduates to have UAV skills. The program offers both theoretical and practical core courses and hands-on training.

The average North Dakota farmer spends about $1.3 million per year planting and harvesting crops. UAS and satellite mapping can cut those costs 6-16%.

Changes to aviation laws will give media more freedom to use drones for newsgathering

ABC in Australia has a project to develop and regulate their use of drones for journalism.

Proposed changes to Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) rules would allow “low risk” operations, making it easier for the media to use sUAS for newsgathering.

ABC has developed a 3-day training course for camera operators that covers air safety rules, privacy policies, and flight training using Phantom 2 RPAs. ABC policy will prohibit using small drones over bushfires because of the high winds, low visibility, and possible presence of water bombing aircraft.

Drone used to rescue window cleaner dangling from tower block

A window washer in Abu Dhabi had a tense situation when his scaffold failed. The man was clinging to one of the windows ten stories up in the air. Police brought in a drone equipped with video and a speaker, calmed the man down, and instructed him on how to affect a repair and lower himself down.

Simpler rules for small unmanned air vehicles

Transport Canada announced at the Unmanned Systems Canada conference in Montréal, two exemptions that simplify small unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operations and safely integrate UAVs into Canadian airspace.

Under the new exemptions, a Special Flight Operations Certificate will not be required for UAVs under 2 kilograms and certain operations involving UAVs under 25 kilograms. The new approach will apply to commercial operations and contribute to a strong safety regime for those on the ground and in the skies.

Once the changes come into effect later this month, operators must check on Transport Canada’s website to determine if the exemptions apply to them and respect specific safety conditions, including requirements to operate within visual line-of-sight, maximum altitudes and away from built-up areas and aerodromes. In addition, Transport Canada is simplifying the application process and reducing the time it takes to issue Special Flight Operations Certificates for larger UAV operators.

In October, Minister Raitt launched the Government of Canada’s national safety awareness campaign for UAVs, which aims to help Canadians better understand the risks and responsibilities of flying UAVs. For more information, visit www.tc.gc.ca/SafetyFirst.

Video of the Week

BIZZBY SKY – Drones On-Demand

BIZZBY SKY is an on-­demand drone service using a real-time smartphone technology platform. The fully autonomous drone is capable of picking up and delivering small items. Under this concept, drones can be summoned to arrive within minutes to the pickup location.