Updated on December 28, 2016 The FAA has approved a certificate of authorization (COA) for the Northern Plains UAS Test Site to oversee unmanned aircraft operations that go beyond the line of sight of the operator.
It appears the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ready to reconsider drone flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS).
According to UAS Magazine, the FAA is expected to this week approve BVLOS flights at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in North Dakota.
The test site will become the first in the United States to allow drones to fly BVLOS without a chase plane.
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D broke the news while speaking at roundtable at the new Northrop Grumman facility located at the Grand Sky UAS business and aviation park about how the state and FAA can work together on BVLOS operations. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site, the report says, has been trying for more than a year to secure approval for BVLOS operations.
“Right now the concept of operations that we have worked with the FAA on is for larger UAS, ideally being able to fly above 10,000 feet,” Nick Flom, director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, tells Robotics Trends. “With that said, we are hoping to collect data to determine if our concept will also work for lower altitude operations as well. Right now though, we would not be able to use small UAS.”
Those smaller drones could be drones that are used for drone delivery, for example. The Part 107 small commercial drones rules that went into effect in August 2016 banned BVLOS flights and essentially grounded drone delivery in the US. Part 107’s restriction on flying over crowded areas also severely restricts drone delivery.
In September 2016, PrecisionHawk received the first Part 107 waiver for BVLOS flights. PrecisionHawk has been working with the FAA to establish the safety case for BVLOS flight as part of the Pathfinder program, designed to help the FAA and NASA gather data on issues critical to drone innovation and regulation. The result of their experimental work is that the FAA has now given them permission to include BVLOS flight as part of their commercial operations.
In October 2016, the FAA and NASA tested BVLOS drone flights at the Reno-Stead Airport in Reno, Nevada. The test was part of the research that NASA is doing in partnership with the FAA to develop a comprehensive unmanned air traffic control system, which will allow for integration of drones into the NAS. Watch the video atop this page for simulations of the BVLOS flights that were conducted by the FAA and NASA.
Drone delivery will be a main topic during our “Delivery Robots Knocking at Your Door” panel at the CES Robotics Conference that will explore how drones and autonomous mobile robots are transforming home delivery and emergency medical response. Ahti Heinla of Starship Technologies, Helen Greiner of CyPhy Works and Steve Cousins of Savioke will discuss developments, the need for continued testing and how to overcome regulatory and technical challenges.
