July 23, 2015
Pilots, Industry Leaders Discuss Brave New World of UAS
The desire to integrate remotely piloted aircraft/unmanned aircraft systems (RPA/UAS) into U.S. and Canadian civil airspace grows ever greater. How to achieve that integration safely was the focus of a panel at the ALPA Air Safety Forum moderated by Capt. Bill de Groh (Envoy), ALPA Aircraft Design and Operations Group chair.
F/O Jim Pala (FedEx), a former U.S. Navy and Global Hawk pilot, explained that the long-term goal of ALPA and other stakeholders is to develop a comprehensive, rational system in which small and large UAS will be able to operate in civil airspace “on a file-and-fly basis.”
ALPA, he said, believes that “safety is paramount,” and that all UAS should meet the same safety standards as manned aircraft. The command-and-control link and the detect-and-avoid function, in particular, must be designed, built, and maintained to the most robust standards.
Pala said that ALPA was disappointed that the FAA’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking on “small” UAS (those weighing less than 55 pounds), though incorporating a number of the recommendations of an FAA aviation rulemaking committee on which ALPA actively participated, did not pursue more of the recommendations. Meanwhile, pending FAA publication of a final rule, the agency has granted more than 750 operators special exemptions to fly small UAS in the U.S. national airspace system (NAS) in commercial applications.
Denis Guindon, director general, Civil Aviation-Safety Oversight, Transport Canada (TC), said TC’s first notice of proposed amendment on UAS, issued this summer, would permit UAS weighing less than 25 kilograms, operating on visual line of sight, remaining beyond 9 kilometers from aerodromes, below 90 meters above ground level, and 150 meters from any populated area.
Brian Wynne, president and CEO, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, asserted that, if small UAS are allowed to use the NAS en masse, they will add more than 100,000 new jobs, plus $83 billion, to the U.S. economy in the first decade.
David Vos, project lead, Project Wing, Google, assured Air Safety Forum attendees, “We don’t take any of [the safety concerns] lightly.” He added that Google approaches these issues “with solid respect for the FAA” and its regulatory role in assuring safe operations in civil airspace.
Captain Chuck Hogeman, ALPA Aviation Safety Chairman, introduces the panel.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents over 52,000 pilots at 31 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @WeAreALPA.
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