Unmanned Aircraft: Challenges and Opportunities

David Wallin Department of Environmental Sciences Huxley College of the Environment Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225-9181 [email protected] 360-650-7526

UAV, UAS, RPAS, Drone • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles • Unmanned Aircraft Systems: aircraft, sensors, ground control equipment • Remotely Piloted Aircraft System: term commonly used in Europe • Drone: unmanned target aircraft used by the military….or just any military or civilian UAS • All four terms tend to get used interchangeably • UAS are poised to become very widely used in the public and private sector over the next decade

• By 2017, project that UAS  integration will lead to the  creation of: $13.6 billion in  economic activity and the  creation of over 100,000  jobs nationally

• During this time frame, UAS  integration in Washington  state will generate $1.3 billion  in economic activity and the  creation of 6700 jobs • California is the only state that  is projected to have more UAS  activity than WA

http://www.auvsi.org/auvsiresources/economicreport

Applications • • • • • • •

Environmental monitoring Aerial imaging/mapping Wildfire mapping Agricultural monitoring Power line surveys Disaster management Law enforcement

• Telecommunications • Weather monitoring • Television news coverage,  sporting events,  moviemaking • Oil and gas exploration • Freight transport

$10‐100s of  millions

$100s 

UAS at WWU

• Aeryon Scout (aeryon.com) – ~25 minutes of flight time – ~2 ft in diameter – ~3‐4 lbs

• Aeromapper (aeromao.com) – ~50 minutes of flight time – ~6 foot wingspan – ~8‐9 lbs

Typical “Hobby” Drones $300-$1500

U.S. “Consumer” drone sales: 2014: 435,000 2015: ~700,000 (400,000-1,000,000 during 2015 Xmas)

Factors contributing to expansion of UAS • Huge technological developments over the past decade. Cost and size of these components has been dramatically reduced: – – – – – – –

GPS Accelerometers Magnetometers Very fast and cheap microprocessor Better batteries More powerful and light electric motors and electronic speed controllers More sophisticated autopilots (both hardware and software) •

In particular, quadcopters cannot be flown on pure manual control. The autopilot, using input from sensors listed above, makes thousands of corrections per second in speed of each rotor to maintain stable flight

– Miniature sensors: high megapixel digital sensors

•

Improvements in Cell phones and tablet computers (e.g. iPad) also have benefited from and stimulated the above developments.

Uncharted Legal Territory • Who owns the sky? • When the Wright Brothers first flew, this was uncharted territory • Ancient maxim- “he who owns the soil owns up to the sky…”

– If taken literally, this means that a pilot would need permission to fly over private property or face prosecution for “aerial trespass.” – Or, the federal government would need to compensate every private property owner for “taking” private airspace to enable the development of an aeronautics industry. – And, what about space flight??????

Aerial Trespass? • In the 1800s and early  1900s, Railroads made lots  of money by carrying mail • First real commercial use of  airplanes was to carry mail • In the early days of  airplanes, with no GPS, an  easy way to navigate  between major cities was to  simply fly along the rail line. • This was a threat to the  railroad’s business so they  sued for “aerial trespass.”

Uncharted Legal Territory • • •

Few people today realize that it took about 40 years after the invention of the airplane to decide who really owns the sky. Even fewer realize that the FAA “owns” (or at least has authority over) the airspace starting at the surface (the NAS). A 1946 Supreme Court decision determined that: – there is no private ownership of airspace, – however repeated “low-level” flights over private property were a violation of property rights. – What is “repetitive?” What is “low-level?”

•

Since then, we’ve had this uneasy truce. Manned aircraft can fly at >500’ AGL without interfering with property rights. Anything above 500’ is widely regarded as “public” airspace. The FAA now says that small UAS must stay below 400’ AGL

•

Does this interfere with property rights?

•

We don’t yet know. The law has not yet caught up with current technology.

•

Current FAA Regulations • Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2012; passed in response to interest in emerging civilian applications of UAS – Establishes 2015 deadline for integration of UASs into the National Airspace System (NAS); draft rules came out last spring; final rules anticipated June 2016

• Current FAA Regulations

– Certificate of Authorization (COA): only for “Public Agencies” (Federal, State, Local govt., including public universities) – Commercial Use: currently permitted ONLY with a “Section 333” exemption – Hobby Rules: Minimal restrictions, HOWEVER, As of Dec. 21, 2015 FAA is requiring registration of all hobby drones with a mass of >250 grams (~0.5 lbs) (https://www.faa.gov/uas/registration/)

Current Requirements for a COA (and similar for Section 333)

• • • • • • • • • •

UAS Pilot must pass the same written Airman’s Knowledge Exam (“ground school”) that is required to obtain a Private Pilot’s license Pilot and Observer must obtain an FAA Class 2 medical exam. Same that is required for a commercial pilot. Pilot must have training specific to UAV being used. Pilot must have “currency.” 3 takeoffs and 3 landings within the last 90 days. Airworthiness certification for the UAV. Flights only during daylight (night flights would require a regular private pilot’s license). Flights must remain 500’ AGL. Flights must remain within visual range of observer. However, you may use multiple observers located some distance from the pilot as long as observers are in direct radio contact with pilot. Flights only in Class G (“uncontrolled”) airspace and >5 miles from an airport. Flights in other than Class G airspace requires a private pilot’s license (all Section 333 users must hat a pilot’s lic).

Airspace • Class G (“uncontrolled”) airspace

Seatac Bellingham

Current “Hobby” Restriction • • • • • • •

•

All UAVs between 0.5-55 lbs. must be registered Don’t be “careless or reckless” Flights must remain