Chao Says Drone Pilot Program a Success; FAA Still Looking at Need for Dedicated Spectrum
The FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program, which ends in October, has been a success and led to “some of the most advanced drone operations in the world,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday during a virtual conference sponsored by the agency and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. An FAA official downplayed the need for more spectrum for drones, which is being examined by the FCC.
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“It’s encouraging to see so much interest and collaboration in the work the department is doing on drones,” Chao said. “It’s clear that expansion of drones is a worldwide phenomenon.” DOT launched the IPP “to find out how drones operate in real-life conditions,” she said. The IPP “generated a lot of information about how to safely integrate drones into our national airspace,” she said: “Applications include drone flights that deliver medical supplies, support public safety missions and assess damage after natural disasters.”
The IPP provided “a great deal of insights into the best ways to engage local communities and secure their support for these innovative drone operations,” Chao said. Drones “have proven to be useful tools in meeting the challenges of COVID-19,” she said. DOT “quickly pivoted” to allow more use of drones to address the pandemic, she said. The end of the IPP isn’t the end of DOT’s collaboration with state, local and tribal governments, she said: “New partnership agreements may be created to address remaining challenges.” Chao said the IPP will help FAA develop further policy and rulemakings. Rules for flights beyond-visual-line-of-sight are “the next step in unlocking the full safety and economic potential” of drones, she said.
“The IPP has taught us what we do and don’t know and where we need to focus,” Jay Merkle, executive director of the FAA’s Office of UAS Integration, told reporters. A key focus will be making flights beyond line of sight “scalable and economically viable,” he said. The rules will be different depending on the use, he said. Requirements for pipeline or power line inspection have to be different than for delivery of packages in a city, he said. “We are forming new agreements,” which will be used to “inform our regulatory and other policy issues,” he said.
Merkle said the FAA isn’t focused now on spectrum for command and control. Last year, the FCC took comments on the use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by drones (see 1912270039). “At the moment, we’re less focused on trying to get spectrum than we are on what are our performance requirements are for any command and control system,” he said: “Once we understand that, we’ll understand the implications on spectrum.”
American Tower is using drones to inspect its towers safely, said Robert Clifford, a lawyer for the company. “Having highly accurate data is the foundation of our business,” he said: “As wireless communication evolves, so does the complexity of our sites.” American Tower embraced “aviation culture from the start” with its emphasis on safe flight.
“Prioritize safety whenever you’re developing your business case,” Clifford advised. “Develop a data recording database so you can track and record all your operational data and continually analyze that to drive safety,” he said. Companies also need to “appreciate” that they’re entering a new industry, he said: “You need to develop a new skill-hat to wear in your normal operations.”
Joel Murdock, FedEx Express Air Operations managing director-strategic projects, said the company is testing drones for aircraft inspection, to provide real-time security video and to deliver parts to aircraft during maintenance. “Being an airline, safety is number one,” he said.
The aviation industry was long ruled by “big name, big budget” companies, said Christopher Todd, executive director of the Airborne International Response Team, which works with first responders. Small drones “opened a new door for both startup companies and emerging tech firms to start developing a new set of aircraft, payloads, software and other technology for use by a wide range of industries,” he said.
Public safety agencies are growing more comfortable with using drones, said Rich Gatanis, public safety training director at Flymotion, a drone company. Training is critical, he said. “The FAA is working well with public safety agencies making the processes so much easier … to get through,” he said.
The technology evolves every six to 12 months, said DJ Smith, Virginia State Police surveillance agent: “We’re just trying to hold onto the edge.” Drone use “has met with a little bit of cynicism, ‘are you spying on me?’ that type of thing,” he said. “That’s a big concern for leadership,” he said: “You overcome that with transparency on scope and mission and you just let people know what you’re going to do.”
State legislators are starting to approve rules and protections for the public, Smith said. Funding is also an issue since drone programs can be costly, he said. “That becomes very difficult for large and small agencies,” he said. But drones are cheap relative to the $200 or more hourly cost for surveillance from a manned aircraft, he said.