WQAD-TV, which is based in Moline, Illinois, is using UAS as part of its newsgathering efforts.

The television station has 12 aircraft—one for every photographer and one to spare. The fleet is made up of “Big NED” (News Eight Drone), nine “Little NEDs,” and a Phantom UAS.

The station has found no shortage of uses for its UAS, including reaching locations that were previously unattainable, or difficult to access.

“Whenever I was shooting, I was looking for ways to get high — up on a parking garage or a wall or fence; anything,” explains Andy McKay, WQAD's chief photographer, via the Quad-City Times.

“The drones can go almost anywhere, and we use them in features, breaking news, general news.”

According to news director Alan Baker, videos obtained via UAS that have been posted online have been some of the station's most popular. One of the first videos that the station captured using a UAS was from a tornado that hit Ottawa, Illinois last year.  

“We had a bird's-eye view of the damage,” Baker says.

Other use cases include agriculture, breaking news of accidents, and instances where photographers can’t get close, including flooding, ice jams and bridge shots.

The UAS are designed so that if there is more than one of them the air at the same time, internal sensors prevent them from colliding. Additionally, when a pilot lets go of the controls, the UAS stops flying and “parks” in mid-air.

With certain operations still prohibited under current laws, WQAD has found itself applying for waivers from the FAA to operate its UAS under certain conditions. Recently, Doug Froehlich, a Creative Services Producer at WQAD, obtained a waiver that allowed him to fly in a half-mile radius of downtown Bettendorf, so that the station could collect video of Interstate 74 bridge construction, which is within the no-fly zone designation of the Quad-City International Airport.

It took the FAA four months to approve that waiver, but the days of long waiver processes are starting to become fewer and farther in between, thanks to the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC).

Under LAANC, pilots submit an access request through a cell-phone app, which then goes to the local air traffic control tower. Requests are checked against airspace data, including temporary flight restrictions.

This process has proved to be extremely timely, as Froehlich recently sought permission to use his UAS just west of the airport on the day the system went live. He received permission to do so “in less than 30 seconds.”

“Local authorities have established areas around the airport that are safe to fly for drone operations and qualify for automatic authorization,” an FAA spokesman said via the Quad-City Times.

“The local air traffic control facility creates gridded maps called UAS Facility Maps that define a maximum height for which an operation could be considered safe for automatic authorization. Also, as drone pilots plan their flights, they are reminded of restrictions in the area and notifications they should be aware of.”

​While WQAD-TV is excited to utilize its UAS for a variety of purposes, the station is mindful not to interfere in the operations of first responders and law enforcement.

“We don't want to get over the top of a fire where there's too much heat, or we can upset firefighters,” McKay says. “We've met with Medic EMS and the Illinois State Police, so they know what we're trying to do.

“Emergency responders are busy. They shouldn't have to worry about what's in the sky.”