Friday, October 14, 2016

The Current Status of UAV's

UAV’s are getting more popular day by day and they are also getting more advanced. I remember when you just had the little remote control helicopters and you could barely get those off the ground. Now you have drone companies such as DJI, that have come out with drones that fly to 400 feet, fly by gps, able to hover and take amazing shots with the 720p or 4k cameras. UAV’s are currently being used in the civilian sector for Ariel photography for real estate, weddings, they are using UAV for drone racing and so much more.
UAVs are being highly regulated now, from registering your drone to the small UAS rule (14 CFR 107) if you want to fly commercially you have to get the FAA license. If flying for recreational then you have to fly in accordance with the FAA standards. (Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 2016)
Fly for Fun (knowbeforeyoufly)
Fly at or below 400 feet, keep your UAS within sight, never fly near other aircraft, especially near airports, never fly over groups of people, never fly over stadiums or sports events, never fly near emergency response efforts such as fires, never fly under the influence, be aware of airspace requirements, cannot weigh over 55lbs, and most importantly must be flown for Hobby or recreational use.

Small UAS rule 14 CFR part 107
Class G Airspace, LINE OF SIGHT, Must be flown under 400ft, Can only fly during the day, Cannot reach over 100mph, Must stay out of the way of other aircraft, and NO FLYING OVER PEOPLE

I do not think that UAVs will be integrated with NAS anytime soon, I mean maybe eventually it could be but for now, no. I believe it’s a no because with the limited range you have and how low altitude you have to be at, I think it would be more of a hassle to be trying to be in radio contact with ATC for the 20 minutes you’ll be flying your drone for. I think installing a transponder or ADS-B would be out of the question for now due to the operating system of the aircraft and the weight of the aircraft being 55lbs or under, unless they managed to integrate it inside the drone somehow and have it scaled down. I think the perception on drones is still 50/50 most people do not know the rules or regulations and they get nervous seeing it flying around or they think the government is spying on them.
When I was in the Army my unit had a few small UAS systems and we would train with them quite a bit. Some aspects they are used for are Security, Search and Rescue, Monitoring, communications, recon missions, and even munitions. With the military going into dangerous places like Iraq and Afghanistan and future deployment zones. UAS can help soldiers do recon missions and help them with their every day job and it will and has saved lives. So financially I believe it’s a smart move because you are saving cost down by saving soldier lives and they will also be able to get a job done quickly and be able to enter into areas in a safer secured way. So Ethical I believe that is does meet any ethical dilemmas.

UAS JOBS:
sUAS Commercial Pilot/Operator.: Aviation Unmanned
Position is for a UAS pilot position in Addison, TX
UAS Demonstration Pilot: Aviation Unmanned
UAS Operator: Airware
http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=87ba7c36fc7e7169&q=Uas&tk=1av2o4mq7av0sa2g&from=web

Refrences:
RECREATIONAL USERS. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2016, from http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-recreational-users/
By The Numbers Air Traffic Plans and Publications Environmental Reviews Flight Information. (n.d.). Fly for Fun. Retrieved October 14, 2016, from http://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/fly_for_fun/


3 comments:

  1. I agree with you UAV's have come a long way through the years. Yet the UAS are reluctant to accept them into airspace for obvious reasons. They still have alot of work that needs to be done to reduce liability on them. They are not ready for military use yet due to the lack of accuracy of having a pilot inside compared to a pilot operating it from the ground in a simulator.But the more they are tested and enhanced for safety, the more use they will have for missions that can save lives that will not have to be inside.

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  2. I also think UAVs will not be integrated into the NAS anytime soon. As you said, the hassle of maintaining some form of radio contact or having a transponder on-board doesn’t seem very realistic at the moment. The FAA will probably figure out something eventually, but considering the speed in which they’ve implemented other systems, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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  3. I also remember the days before on board stability censors. Before "drones" were commercialized and made affordable and quad copters were in every store you had to be a very skilled remote operator. The remote control helicopters were tough to learn and even harder to master back in the day. You had to have a very good understanding of aerodynamics to fly them well. Nowadays a toddler can learn to fly a drone in an our or two. I think this is why they're becoming so popular today.

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