By: Ben Gielow



On 16 July, AUVSI submitted official comments to the Federal Register
in support of the film and television industry’s bid to use UAS prior
to the finalization of a small UAS rule. The FAA should “promptly grant”
an exemption for filmmaking and movie production, AUVSI states in its
comments.



In an effort to accelerate the commercial use of UAS, the FAA announced
in May that it would consider granting exemptions for certain low-risk
commercial UAS applications under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization
and Reform Act of 2012, exemptions that would allow some industries to
fly before the finalization of the small UAS rule. Following the FAA
announcement, the agency received requests for exemptions from seven
production companies, including Astraeus Aerial. AUVSI wrote in its
comments:



“The FAA should promptly grant this exemption request, look for ways to
allow for more commercial use of very small UAS immediately, and get on
with rulemaking.”



“The seven production companies seeking exemptions have outlined at
least an equivalent level of safety over the use of a manned aircraft
and have adequately addressed the safety requirements in a number of
federal aviation regulations. In fact, the use of small UAS will likely
lead to increased safety over manned aircraft and allow production
companies to get new shots that have never before been possible.”



“Accelerating commercial UAS use will not only help businesses harness
the tremendous potential of UAS, they will also help unlock the economic
impact and job creation potential of the technology. AUVSI looks
forward to continuing to work with the FAA and other stakeholders to
ensure UAS are integrated safely and responsibly as quickly as
possible.”



“Although AUVSI applauds the FAA's efforts to consider UAS exemption
requests AUVSI remains concerned the FAA is more than three years late
in issuing safety regulations for the wide-spread commercial use of
small UAS. On April 8, 2014, AUVSI and 32 other associations
representing the manned aviation community, air traffic controllers, and
future users of UAS, including agriculture groups, realtors, media
organizations and public safety organizations, sent a letter to the FAA
strongly encouraging them to grant exemptions but to also expedite the
public notice and comment for small UAS rulemaking.”



The FAA announced that it will also consider regulatory exceptions for
other commercial applications including precision agriculture, power
line inspections and flare stack inspections. Amazon.com also recently
filed for an FAA exemption to test its announced UAS delivery service.