Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/389791
EquipmentWorld.com | October 2014 19 IN THE SKY FAA's defi nition of model aircrafts as set forth in 2007. However, Congress also prohibited the FAA from establishing "any rule or regulation" in the future on model aircrafts as long as they meet the several requirements. December 30, 2013: FAA announces six sites across the country where teams will test and develop drones for safe commercial fl ight. February 26, 2014: FAA releases a post on its website titled "Busting Myths about the FAA and Unmanned Aircraft." In the post, the agency states "there are not shades of gray in FAA regulations. Anyone who wants to fl y an aircraft – manned or unmanned – in U.S. airspace needs some level of FAA approval." March 6, 2014: An administrative judge with the National Transportation Safety Board strikes down a $10,000 fi ne from the FAA issued to a man who fl ew a fl ying wing UAV over a Virginia hospital campus for a TV commercial. The judge ruled the agency has not yet set an "enforceable" legal rule applicable to model W hile liberating them from school, summer vacation also presents children with a challenge: fi nding something to do all day. For Rich- ard Evans, that was never the case. On most of those balmy summer days growing up on Merritt Island, Florida, Evans and his older brother found their way to the private airport a half-mile from their house. They'd lie down in the grass and wait, patiently looking to the bright blue sky until a plane would hum into their vision before landing on the runway nearby. Fast forward to today and Evans, 61, is still watching in wonder as aircraft fl y overhead. The only difference now is that he is in control. Long an avid model aircraft enthusiast, Evans has found a way to combine his favorite pastime with his career by fl ying quadricopters (small aircraft with four rotors) at the jobsites of his company, Houston-based contractor SpawGlass. Evans has been using the smallish aircraft mostly as an ex- periment to see the type of data it could one day provide the company. And though Evans' enthusiasm for the technol- ogy is evident whenever he talks about the oppor- tunities it represents for the construction industry, most people don't share his excitement. That's because most would classify the aircraft Evans and many other tinkerers are fl ying as a "drone." Despite this defi nition being technically incorrect (more on that in a bit) a recent joint study by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian mag- azine found that while 59 percent of Americans feel that most changes in technology are leading to a better future, 63 percent said that future would be worse if the U.S. opened airspace to personal and commercial drones. Despite the public's concerns, many in the construction industry are fi nding drones and UAVs can play a vital role in their work. Whether they're used for surveying, to show clients and potential clients an aerial overview of completed projects, to monitor jobsites to ensure safe practices or to inspect bridges and other structure, drones have the potential to become as important a tool to the industry as any piece of yellow iron. Beyond that, the Federal Aviation Agency prohib- its the use of all unmanned aircraft for commercial use without the agency's express approval. The agency lumps both UAVs and drones under the single category of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). However, they've done so with guidelines origi- nally designed for model aircraft and the defi nition of "commercial use" isn't always cut and dry. (See the sidebar below.) With the exception of a few experimental and academic research approvals granted by the agency, the result has been several UAV pilots receiving cease-and-desist letters and, in some cases, fi nes from the FAA, though at least one of those fi nes has been struck down by federal judges. Even drone schools, degree programs where students learn to pilot the aircraft, aren't allowed to fl y drones at all, forcing instructors to teach with simulators. (continued)