UAVs: A Commercial Future?

Referred to most commonly as drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), or UASs (unmanned aircraft systems) are a hot topic in today’s society. Mostly grabbing headlines about their military implications overseas, there are starting to be more commercial applications to unmanned aircraft at home. To clarify, a UAV is, according to theuav.com, “an aircraft with no pilot on board…can be remote controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot at a ground control station) or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic automation systems. UAVs are currently used for a number of missions, including reconnaissance and attack roles… and capable of controlled, sustained level flight and powered by a jet or reciprocating engine”. In this week’s blog post, I will focus mainly on the many uses they can serve in U.S. commercial aviation and their integration into the National Airspace System (NAS).

Because UAVs are relatively inexpensive and have to potential to explode onto the marketplace, the FAA is taking its time to implement them into the NAS by the Congress approved date of 2015. Requiring new regulations from training to airspace restrictions, the implantation of drones into the commercial industry will be daunting. According to Adams, “more is required to get there than one might think, including real-world operational data and work on sense-and-avoid, ground control station, and command and control (C2) technologies”. And, “ground control station (GCS). GCS issues may be the biggest challenge in the program since not very many people are working on them”. Currently the only way to obtain permission from the FAA to operate a UAS is, “to obtain an experimental airworthiness certificate for private sector (civil) aircraft to do research and development, training and flight demonstrations. The second is to obtain a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for public aircraft. Routine operation of UAS over densely-populated areas is prohibited” (Dorr & Duquette 2013). But with such an upcoming deadline and high demand, how and when will these UAVs really be implemented?

Because of their previously mentioned low cost (compared to their piloted counterparts), ease of use, and low maintenance, there is no doubt that there are probably, “about a million uses for civilian UAVs” (Gantenbein 2009). Because they are not burdened by the physiological limitations of humans, most current civilian applications of UAVs involve police surveillance, pipeline patrol, wildfire mapping, and other jobs deemed tedious and mundane. But because of restrictions on certification of current UAVs, the public demand for them greatly outweighs their legal ability to use them. “As of February 15, 2013, there were 327 active drone certifications. But once a regulatory framework is in place, the FAA estimates, 7,500 commercial drones will be viable within five years” (Haldane 2013). Once they are more open to the public, the applications of UAVs will be only limited by one’s imagination. Just some of the areas that would greatly benefit from UAVs would be aerial photography, weather surveillance, test beds for scientific research, crop monitoring, parcel delivery, and many other unexpected uses. An example of which would be when a UAV, “was used in the north Pacific to hunt for ghost nets—drift nets that have escaped from fishing vessels and then float with the current, devastating marine life” (Gantenbein 2009).  As for higher level duties, such as part 121 operations, time will only tell if UAVs will be the future in that sector as well. But in an industry that deals heavily in public perception, how will passengers respond to a plane with no pilot in the cockpit? If UAVs are to ever make that jump, there will most likely be drones in smaller cargo operations first before their implementation into the airlines.

References

Adams, C. (2013, August 1). Integrating uas in the nas. Retrieved from http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/military/Integrating-UAS-in-the-NAS_79730.html

Dorr, L., & Duquette, A. (2013, February 19). Fact sheet – unmanned aircraft systems (uas). Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=14153

Gantenbein, D. (2009, July). Unmanned traffic jam. Retrieved from http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/Unmanned-Traffic-Jam.html?c=y&page=3

Haldane, M. (2013, August 8). U.s. slowly opening up commercial drone industry. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/us-usa-drones-commercial-idUSBRE97715U20130808

Uav overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theuav.com/