The Current Status of UAVs

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been around for some time now, mainly used for military purposes.  In the more recent past, they have become smaller and smaller as they have been introduced into the civilian world as sUAVs or small unmanned aerial vehicles.  Since the sUAV has become more and more popular and the technology has grown to include automatic stabilization and high definition cameras, as well as some now having autopilot; there have been more civilian uses starting to develop.  From aerial photography to land surveying, real estate application and much more.

An article written by Joseph Dussault for Boston.com lists some of the new ways that drones are being used for commercial civilian purposes.  Included in the list: Delivery, by food companies such as dominos to beer delivery.  Internet services, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg is attempting to acquire Titan Aerospace, a company that creates solar-powered drones that can remain airborne for approximately 5 years to provide wireless internet to remote locations across the world.  Another interesting use is the news, replacing more expensive helicopters to cover such things as traffic and high-speed police chases.  Photography made the list as well as agriculture purposes.  Farmers can use drone technology to monitor crop growth.  These are only some of the uses that the commercial world is coming up with for drones.  One of the most important uses could be for public service such as police use.  "Drone-aided search and rescue missions have been adopted by law enforcement across the country.  Without pilots, aircraft like drones can survey and act in dangerous situations." (Dussault, 2014)

I think as more training becomes available to drone operators, there will be more activity in the NAS.  Currently, commercial sUAS operators need to apply for a section 333 exemption, which allows sUAS to operate in the National Airspace System until the final ruling is issued on the new FAA regulation regarding sUAS.

"By law, any aircraft operation in the national airspace requires a certificated and registered aircraft, a licensed pilot, and operational approval.  Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for a UAS to operate safely in the National Airspace System (NAS).  This authority is being levereged to grant case-by-case authorization for certian unmanned aircraft to perform commercial operations prior to the finalization to the small UAS rule, which will be the primary method for authorizing small UAS operations once it is complete. (FAA, 2016)

Not only are commercial operators required to file for this exception but they must also comply with Part 107 of the FAR/AIM which states that they must operate no higher than 400 feet above ground level, no more than 100 mph, between 30 minutes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes past sunset and the operator must be within unaided line of sight with the UAS at all times.

The cheaper they make these drones and the more capable they make them I see more and more operations by non-licensed and untrained pilots in the NAS.  For someone who simply goes to the store and buys one, they will not know the regulations, nor will they know about airspace or where the airspace lies.  This will cause problems that I think are going to be difficult for the FAA to manage.  There needs to be some sort of restriction to who can buy one and the training must be accomplished prior to the purchase of one.

Military applications of drones have been around since well before I joined the military and they are becoming more and more used on the battlefield.  Not only are they using smaller drones such as the Wasp for smaller squad sized elements to survey the immediate area to detect threats, but there are larger drones such as the MQ-1 Predator Drone that carry heat seeking missiles that are used for Offensive Air Support (OAS).  The use of these drones has done nothing but make the battlefield safer for troops and reduces the risk.  If something goes wrong and there is a crash the only compromise is the loss of a drone and possibly some intelligence, this is a big deal however, no lives are lost.  Reconnaissance drones are very beneficial for troops on the ground to scout where the enemy is as well as other threats that may be in the area.  I do not see an ethical issue with drones in the military since they do all the same missions as troop carrying aircraft only the person controlling the aircraft is not on board.  The only ethical issue that I would see and I do not condone would be drone attacks on American soil.

There are plenty of jobs being created by the drone push.  There are all sorts of jobs from software engineers to operators.  Here is a job posting for an operator to photograph areas for a real estate firm http://www.internships.com/real-estate/cinematographer-needed-to-shoot-video-of-community-including-ariel-shots-timelapse-people-etc.  Also a management type job as a software engineer, http://www.kespry.com/careers?gh_jid=50151#.V06IXfl97IU.

References:

By The Numbers Air Traffic Plans and Publications Environmental Reviews Flight Information. (n.d.). Section 333. Retrieved October 15, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/beyond_the_basics/section_333/
Dussault, J. (2014). 7 commercial uses for drones - Boston.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016, from http://archive.boston.com/business/2014/03/14/commercial-uses-for-drones/dscS47PsQdPneIB2UQeY0M/singlepage.html