The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is examining the possibility of allowing the early integration of small unmanned aerial vehicles into national airspace on a limited basis and for specific commercial applications, the official overseeing the domestic use of the drones announced this week.
Jim Williams, the manager of unmanned aerial systems integration at the FAA, said at a conference in Orlando, Fla. that a section of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act allows for the early use in some circumstances and ahead of the FAA’s completion of comprehensive set of regulations. It would apply to aircraft less than 55 pounds, he said.
Williams said a notice of proposed rule making for small UAS is scheduled to be released to the public at the end of this year. In the meantime, the agency may grant licenses for limited use in the areas of film making, agriculture, power line and pipe line inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection, he said.
“I stress the word may, as we are still evaluating this option and developing our internal processes,” Williams said at the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) exposition.
The process for developing the rules is a “lengthy one,” and the proposal going out this year is “just the first step,” Williams said. He said the Arctic is the only area where a commercial license has been granted so far.
“It’s important to mention that until the small UAS rule is finalized, commercial operations are only authorized by the FAA on a case-by-case basis,” Williams said. “Currently, this has only happened once – in the Arctic.”
The Modernization and Reform Act calls on the FAA to develop a plan by 2015 for the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace. Created a domestic market for the aircraft could be a boon to the small UAV industry, which has seen the Pentagon spend less on the aircraft in recent years.
Williams emphasized the UAVs could do dangerous jobs currently performed by humans. But the safe integration into the airspace is also a top priority, he said.
A key step for moving forward was completed last year when the FAA announced the six test sites it would be using to experiment with UAVs. Two of those test sites have begun operations.