Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs) have been a popular topic among the aviation industry within the last
few years. What started out as a desire for an internet-based retail company to
expedite their shipping process has now transformed into a nation-wide desire
for commercial UAV implementation in multiple major commercial industries.
Drones serve several commercial purposes including search and rescue, wildlife
management surveying, 3-D mapping, and even real-estate marketing. Most, if not
all, of these sectors have already begun to see a boost in productivity and efficiency
through the use of drones.
The above commercial uses
of drones are now required to operate under the newly formed unmanned aircraft
rule or, 14 CFR PART 107. According to the FAA (2016) UAVs have specific
operating limitations to follow such as: “Unmanned aircraft must weigh less
than 55lbs. Maximum ground speed of 100 mph (87knots). Maximum altitude of 400
feet above ground level (AGL)” (p. 1).
While I do believe that there is a place
for UAVs inside the NAS, I firmly believe that as of now, those places are (and
should be) restricted in comparison to that of other aircraft operating inside
the controlled airspace environment. As per PART 107, UAV operators must receive
ATC permission to operate inside controlled airspace and still adhere to the other
operating limitations of PART 107 such as maintaining a visual line of sight
with the UAV and operating below 400 feet AGL. US Air Force Pilots Major
Stephen Maddox and Captain David Stuckenberg (2015) both concur that “these operational restrictions exist because of the
hazards drones pose to manned aircraft and the public” (para. 4).
The problems
that I foresee with UAVs operating in the NAS is the communication among the
manned aircraft, ATC, and the drone operators. Maddox and Stuckenberg highlighted
a safety report compiled by the FAA where the topic of safety was measured in
communication, collision avoidance and risk management were discussed. Maddox
and Stuckenberg (2015) reflected the need for more safety measures in place
with regards to UAV operation after “an American Airlines Group regional jet in
Florida nearly collided with a drone at 2,300 feet” (para. 8). Incidents likes these are
just some of the possible future problems the NAS faces with the implementation
of UAVs and sheds light on the fact that there is a clear need for continued safety
improvements.
With
regards to military applications, UAVs pose several positives and negatives from
financial and ethical standpoints. On the one hand, drones are much cheaper to
operate than manned aircraft. Furthermore, UAVs are not manned aircraft meaning
that we are minimizing the risk of death or injury to US military personnel
through the use of drones. There have been some ethical concerns with the use
of drones especially on the side of the drone operators themselves. Most US military
drone pilots are stationed stateside operating their UAV thousands of miles
away from the actual battlefield. Because of that separation of space between
the operator and immediate danger there is a sense of detachment from the
battlefield and the enemy. The popular concern with this detachment is that
without the feel of an immediate threat we are more likely to start new
conflicts. The antidote for such behavior would be to remember that military
UAV operations is not a video game. Real lives are being taken and real people
are being saved.
For those
qualified personnel looking into making a career out of the commercial UAV
operations, there are already several companies looking to hire drone pilots.
Many of the positions listed on the website below involve aerial photography,
aerial inspections, and even some drone technician positions as well. The following
link is where I located most of the positions: http://www.indeed.com/q-Uav-Pilot-jobs.html.
References
Federal Aviation
Administration. (2016). Summary of Small
Unmanned Aircraft Rule (PART
107). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf
Maddox, S., & Stuckenberg, D. (2015, Feb. 24).
Drones in the U.S. National Airspace System: A
Safety and Security
Assessment. Harvard Law School National
Security Journal.
Retrieved from http://harvardnsj.org/2015/02/drones-in-the-u-s-national-airspace-system-
a-safety-and-security-assessment/
When I looked online most of the positions I saw available were basically the aerial photography type. I haven't seen much else besides what Amazon has planned with small cargo. I would love to see what the industry figures out in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think as long as there is training provided to drone operators similar to the training that pilots receive about airspace and they adhere to the regulations there should not be a problem. They are coming up with all kinds of cool ideas for uses of drones. On of my favorite ideas was the burrito bomb. They deliver burritos to people via drones and release the burrito over a grid coordinate and it is dropped with a parachute.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that communication between drone operators and ATC/Other aircraft is one of the primary problems in intergrading small drones into the NAS. Drones are not currently equipped to maintain a reliable contact with ATC or other planes.
ReplyDeleteI too found most of my UAV jobs at www.indeed.com, mostly pertaining to some form of aerial photography.
For jobs, I have seen some data collection on using the drones and other construction jobs, such as looking at roofs and construction sites. Overall, the regulations right now limit the use of the drones. I feel though, in the future will be integrated, it's just how and when they will integrate them into the NAS. I feel another problem, would be when the public realizes that there are pilotless drones flying with them. This is a future problem with trying to integrate larger drones and changing the regulations to allow drones to fly higher and in the NAS.
ReplyDeleteI honestly didn't realize that UAV's are being used in search and rescue missions that was very interesting and new to me. I can understand how useful they could be in that way but haven't stumbled across it on the internet before. I also believe the biggest hurdle in the future will be communication between UAV operators, ATC and other manned aircraft. Especially because most UAV operators are not trained to talk on aviation frequencies.
ReplyDeleteCaleb,
ReplyDeleteI agree that communication can be a major issue when dealing with UAV operations within the NAS; however, the military already has a few UAVs operating within the airspace. For example, the Global Hawk is in contact with the operating controlling agency as is climbs up to and depends from its' cruising altitude of approximately 60,000 feet. There haven't been many problems with this, so currently the military is doing a good job showing that they are capable of operating UAVs around the NAS without issues.
Caleb, i agree with you that communication is what is holding back drones from being incorporated into the NAS. There has to be some way for aircraft and drones to communicate in order for their to be some sort of traffic separation. If it were to happen, the military should be looked as a stepping stone. They are able to keep manned aircraft and drones separated just like other aircraft. Once drone pilots are able to talk to controllers, i dont see there being an issue.
ReplyDelete