Lawmakers: Integration Goalposts to Shift, but FAA Should Move Faster

   
       
           
       
       
           
       
   

By Brett Davis



Congress will need to shift the integration goals for unmanned aircraft systems now that the Federal Aviation Administration isn’t going to meet them, but there are still things the agency can do now to relieve pent-up demand for commercial use.



That was the message from two congressional speakers on 13 May at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2014.



Rep. John R. Mica, R-Florida, chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and former chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the goal of integration in 2015 “will probably need to be revisited. We were optimistic that we would be able to meet certain guidelines. … Unfortunately, like many government programs, we are behind schedule. …”



He predicted that Congress “will probably have to put some new language in and some new deadlines in. … That’s not good news for you, because you want some certainty, you want some definition, and you want to begin the commercialization of these vehicles. Unfortunately, government doesn’t always work that way, as we’ve seen.”



Mica said safety and privacy have to be considered before the public will be fully comfortable with unmanned aircraft. He noted that it’s very difficult for government to keep up with technology, “and that’s what’s happening in your industry.”



He was followed on stage later that morning by Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-New Jersey, chairman of the Transportation Committee’s Aviation Subcommittee, who took a more forceful line on FAA regulations.



“We are looking to find ways to encourage the FAA to let you do what you can do,” LoBiondo said. “We’re not going to flick a switch and turn integration on at one time. But there are things we can do today, and I am desperate, as you are, to see that potential unleashed.”



He said things would be further behind if Congress hadn’t mandated the creation of six test sites for UAS testing, but that’s not enough.



“Sometimes government bureaucrats are too cautious in the way they hold people back,” he said. Lawmakers want to create jobs, and “here this is right in front of us. … We’re going to find ways to convince the FAA that they need to speed up the process. If we are too cautious through this whole process, we’re going to miss this whole opportunity that may never come back again.”



FAA Changes



The FAA, for its part, is already thinking along those lines, according to Jim Williams, the agency’s manager of UAS integration. Speaking not long after the lawmakers’ addresses, he said the FAA is working with several industries to expedite limited commercial operations before UAS flight rules are finalized.



Williams said the FAA is expected to allow limited commercial operations for filmmaking, power line inspection, agriculture and flare stack inspection.



“Limited commercial operations is a good first step, but we also need to begin the small UAS rulemaking immediately,” said Michael Toscano, president and CEO of AUVSI. “We look forward to continue working with the FAA to advance UAS integration safely and responsibly.”