A majority of commenters support a set of draft regulations for integrating small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) weighing under 55lb (24.9kg), according to a review by Washington DC-based law firm Cooley.
The long-awaited draft rules published last February attracted more than 4,000 responses before the comment period closed on 24 April, says Anne Swanson, a partner in Cooley’s Regulatory Communications practice.
The US Federal Aviation Administration is unlikely to publish a set of final rules for small UAVs for at least 18-24 months, she adds.
Commenters who broadly support the rule include manufacturers Boeing and Northrop Grumman, lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association of America and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, says Jason Rademacher, a communications attorney for Cooley.
Those organisation joined several UAV groups, including AUVSI and the Small UAV Coalition, in supporting the FAA’s proposal to not require commercial UAV operators to also be rated pilots, Rademacher says.
But two key aviation lobbying groups – the Air Line Pilots Association and the Agricultural Aviation Association – want the FAA to continue restricting the national airspace to only pilots for commercial purposes, Rademacher says.
The FAA’s proposal to restrict small UAVs to operating with the line of sight of the operator is another major area of contention raised in the comments, Rademacher says.
A comment submitted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University attempts to propose a compromise, allowing rated commercial pilots to operate small UAVs beyond line of sight, Rademacher says.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
