Posted March 20, 2015
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to amend its regulations to allow the operation of small-unmanned aircraft systems in the National Airspace System, according to a Federal Register available here.
These changes would address the operation of unmanned aircraft systems, certification of their operators, registration, and display of registration markings, and find that airworthiness certification is not required for small unmanned aircraft system operations that would be subject to this proposed rule.
The proposed rule would also prohibit model aircraft from endangering the safety of the National Airspace System.
Wayne Woldt, a biological systems engineer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said he would be very surprised if the FAA relaxes the 500 feet visual line-of-sight requirement at this early stage, according to Brownfield Ag News.
“I don’t doubt that at some point in time in the future it will be relaxed as technology evolves and proven capabilities are brought on-line that can help with what’s called ‘de-conflicting the airspace’. In other words, avoiding collisions in the airspace,” said Woldt. “But for now, I think we’re going to be stuck with visual line-of-sight.”
To submit a comment, please see the FAA regulations herebefore April 24.
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