FAA Welcomes Petitions ‘From Anyone’ to Operate Commercial Drones, Chief Says

That the FAA is willing to study petitions “for a wide variety of purposes” is “consistent with the UAS roadmap” the agency has published, Huerta said during Q&A. “This is a great way for us to develop additional information that will illuminate how we accomplish integration into the national airspace system. So if there are educational institutions, if there are sporting organizations, if there are any of a variety of commercial users, if they have a use that they want to consider, we have a road map and a process that they can follow to petition for us allow that to happen."

The exemptions granted to six MPAA-member filmmaking petitioners -- a seventh application is under review -- “are just the first of about 40 petitions that have been filed” at the FAA, Huerta said. “We will continue to review those requests on an ongoing basis and we expect that they will be addressed in the coming weeks and months.” The MPAA “facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of these seven members, helping to develop a standard safety manual and operating procedures that could be used by any television or motion picture member,” Huerta said. “We're encouraging other industry associations to develop similar procedures for their memberships to help facilitate petitions.”

MPAA CEO Chris Dodd praised the speed with which the FAA granted the exemptions, saying it took only 120 days for agency action after the petitions were filed. The movie industry for years has been free to use UAS overseas for moviemaking, Dodd said. The biggest impact of the exemptions is “now we're going to be able to do this at home” in the U.S., he said.

The “key thing” about the exemptions is that the filmmakers will be free to operate UAS, but only on “closed sets,” Huerta said. The drones must be operated by licensed private pilots within the pilots’ “line of sight” to a maximum height of 400 feet within those closed sets, he said. In addition to the safety measures the petitioners volunteered to follow, the FAA imposed the additional requirement that a UAS be inspected before each flight, he said. The exemptions also bar a UAS from being flown at night, though the agency has told the petitioners it’s willing to “revisit” night flights if they produce additional safety measures down the road, he said.

Little was said at the briefing about the FAA’s long-delayed rulemaking on small commercial drones. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx addressed it at the beginning of the briefing when he said the FAA “is working through the rulemaking process for small UAS for broader commercial use.” He added that “this is something that will be worked out over the longer term, but as of today, companies in any industry interested in using UAS for their business have a model for seeking approval from the DOT."

Wiley Rein Media Group co-chairwoman Kathleen Kirby said in an interview that the FAA’s release of an NPRM on small commercial drones is still expected late this year. “Our understanding is it is drafted and undergoing interagency review,” she said. An Obama executive order on privacy reportedly also has been drafted, Kirby said. “It’s up to the White House when to release it.”

The agreement with the movie companies is a “great, significant first step towards facilitating greater use of UAS technology by commercial operators,” Kirby said. “That will greatly benefit the public.” The film industry “worked very carefully and creatively with the FAA to establish operational and safety parameters,” she said. “That’s going to set a template for other folks to come in who wish to utilize small UAS while they're waiting for this long-anticipated rulemaking to happen."

The Aerospace Industries Association, which previously has teamed with CEA to urge the FAA to speed its rulemaking on small commercial UAS (CD March 28 p16), hailed the agency’s actions. “By granting these exemptions, the FAA is acknowledging that remotely piloted aircraft can be operated effectively while ensuring the safety of our airspace and … that of persons and property on the ground,” George Novak, AIA assistant vice president-civil aviation, told us Thursday in an emailed statement. The FAA’s actions mark “some of the first major steps in moving toward integration of UAS into civil airspace while encouraging continued research and development of UAS technologies,” Novak said. “These initial actions will hopefully lead to further opportunities for manufacturers and operators of these systems to demonstrate the safety and viability of unmanned systems. UAS have a long history of safe operations in both civil and military applications and these newly-approved operations will hopefully pave the way for additional services and industries to utilize UAS technologies."

CEA President Gary Shapiro hailed the FAA exemptions as “an important milestone as the agency develops rules to allow unmanned aircraft to operate safely in U.S. airspace.” CEA supports “the FAA’s action and related guidance that provides a model for other private businesses seeking approval to operate drones in populated areas under controlled environments,” Shapiro said in a statement. UAS “promises to revolutionize a wide array of consumer and commercial activities, creating new businesses and jobs,” Shapiro said. “We already see these devices being used to assist in a variety of innovative applications, from aerial coverage for sports and real estate to assistance in search and rescue and disaster relief missions to providing novel new camera angles to capture professional and personal video footage. I say firmly, with tongue slightly planted in cheek: when it comes to drones and unmanned aircraft, the sky is the limit."

CEA wants the FAA “to expedite an appropriate regulatory framework for this nascent category,” Shapiro said. “Time is of the essence. As the U.S. remains stuck on the ground developing rules for these robots-on-wings, the rest of the world is moving forward in putting these unmanned aircraft to work in life-altering ways. We will continue to work with our members and the FAA to develop a clear and straightforward policy framework that fosters innovation in this emerging market and enables these new devices -- and their resulting benefits -- to reach new heights in the U.S.” CEA forecasts the global market for consumer drones will approach $300 million by 2018 on factory-to-dealer sales of just under a million units, the group said. This marks a strong increase over CEA’s forecast for 2014 of $84 million in global revenue on sales of 250,000 units, it said. -- Paul Gluckman, Howard Buskirk (hbuskirk@warren-news.com)