The panel and audience at the hearing. Photo: Office of Rep. Bill Shuster

by Scott Kesselman

Today, the congressional subcommittee on aviation held a hearing on U.S. unmanned aircraft systems with a focus on integration, oversight and competitiveness.



Six industry experts provided written testimony before answering questions from committee members in the session that lasted just over two hours.



Despite significant hurdles facing UAS integration into the national airspace, there was overwhelming enthusiasm for the prospects of the technology. Rep. Bill Shuster mentioned that it was one of the few issues that have bipartisan support.



The primary concern among committee members and the witness panel was safety and the types of technology and legislation that can effectively handle the unique safety concerns of UAS.



The panel identified sense and avoid, frequency spectrum, lost link, and air traffic management as technological problems that need to be addressed moving forward. 



Dr. Nicholas Roy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of Google’s Project Wing noted that all countries will have to deal with these technical challenges when it comes to large-scale UAS airspace integration.



Roy also said that he does not believe the U.S. is currently lagging behind other nations in UAS progress. However, because of more favorable regulatory climates in other nations, “The rate at which the opportunities are growing in other countries possibly is going to lead to a lot more opportunities.” He has also seen an abundance of new businesses in the field with “more startups outside the U.S. than in the U.S.”



This addressed many committee members’ concerns about U.S. business going to other countries for research and development of UAS, like Amazon recently announced after frustration with the Section 333 commercial exemption process.



To alleviate these barriers to the air, the panel unanimously recommended opening up UAS regulations with a risk-based approach, similar to the regulation structures of Japan and Canada . 



Many committee members latched on quickly to this proposal and questioned FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Peggy Gilligan about the proposed rulemaking for small unmanned aircraft, scheduled to be released before the end of the year. Although she was unable to comment on the rule itself, she did assure the committee that the FAA is applying a risk-based approach to the rules.



For some clarification, a risk-based approach would allow loose restrictions on small UAS operating close to the ground in very rural areas because of low inherent risk. Larger aircraft operating in more populated areas would be subject to tighter restrictions.



The test sites were also addressed at length with Dr. Gerald Dillingham, director of civil aviation issues for the government accountability office, first broaching the subject in his testimony. After visiting three test sites and receiving feedback, he concluded that test site operators were confused by their role and the locations were not being utilized effectively.



Nevada Rep. Dina Titus noted three main issues her home state test site is having. The first was confusion about what information should be collected from fight operations. The FAA’s Gilligan acknowledged the deficiency and said that the FAA is identifying areas of research where they need data. 



Second, the test sites have been unhappy with the speed of the certificate of authorization process to allow flights. Gilligan discussed how designated airworthiness representatives, after training, will be able to approve COAs for test flights at each test site without businesses and public entities having to go through the FAA. She also briefly mentioned the FAA is working on “broad COA authorization,” which, despite the redundancy, should make the process more accessible. 



Finally, Titus mentioned that companies avoided the test sites because of intellectual property concerns, however the DAR processes should also allow companies to keep more of their data confidential.



Rep. Peter DeFazio from Oregon asked if it would make sense to have more test sites. He brought up the point, which the panel agreed with, that it makes no sense for a small startup to have to travel 1,000 miles to be able to test their system at a sanctioned test site. 



The consensus prevailed that there is a lot of work to be done if the U.S. is to stay on pace with other countries in UAS regulation.



“Our information suggests that in Canada, for example, they are ready to designate a very large airspace up to 18,000 feet for testing beyond visual line of sight,” says Dillingham.” With the busiest airspace in the world, extremes like this are unlikely, but it highlights the forward thinking needed for real innovation.



Dr. Roy and Jesse Kallman, head of business development and regulatory affairs for Airware, both said that many ambitious projects, such as Amazon Prime Air, will eventually require beyond-visual-line-of-sight testing and that with the right technology and safety precautions it would be possible to achieve in the U.S.



UAS integration poses an immense technological and intellectual challenge, but it can be done, and Congress showed that it is behind the industry.



Yesterday the appropriations committee released the proposed budget for FY 2015 and allotted nearly $15 million to UAS research, $6 million more than was requested. $4 million will go to the new center of excellence on unmanned aircraft systems for a total of $5 million. The other $2 million will help the FAA’s research goals of system safety and data gathering, aircraft certification, command and control link challenges, control station layouts and certification, sense and avoid, and environmental impacts, according to a committee report.



Capt. Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, was less enthusiastic about the impending UAS ubiquity. He shared images of aircraft damage from bird strikes and cited recent near misses of commercial aircraft and unmanned systems as reasons for better public education campaigns and a cautious approach to regulation. 



However, these cases are rare and include hobbyists who are unaware of their responsibility to respect the rules of the airspace. They are not a reason to hold UAS regulation back and restrict what can be accomplished with the disruptive technology including pushing many industries forward, improving the economy and saving lives, the panel concluded



“As we work towards safe integration of UAS, we cannot let a few irresponsible individuals jeopardize the safety of the many and set back a potentially promising technology,” says Shuster.

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