K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
The release of the FAA’s BVLOS (drone flight beyond visual line of sight) ARC (Aviation Rulemaking Committee) recommendations last week has led to many responses and comments from the commercial drone industry. DRONELIFE spoke to Lisa Ellman, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Commercial Drone Alliance, on BVLOS ARC recommendations.
Lisa Ellman is a global authority on drone law and policy and a tireless advocate for the industry. Ellman says that BVLOS flight – and the adoption of the advanced operations that BVLOS flight will enable – is critical to helping the US drone industry compete in the global arena and bringing services to communities across the country.
The more than 200 page BVLOS ARC report lays out a framework of priorities for a rulemaking on BVLOS flight (see the summary here, and the complete report here.) The Aviation Rulemaking Committee that created it, says Ellman, included representatives from manned and unmanned aviation as well as research institutions and stakeholder industries. While in some respect the report represents a compromise, all parties worked towards opening the skies for commercial drone applications “This is about bringing the benefit of drones to the American people,” says Ellman.
“[The ARC] was a very diverse group from more than 80 different organizations – a real cross section of American society were represented on this ARC.”
The report calls for regulators to establish a framework of regulations that aims to ensure safety, while not prescribing a particular technology approach to solving the challenges of BVLOS flight. The report also calls for different levels of training and certification for remote pilots operating BVLOS.
“It’s a performance-based, risk-based approach,” says Ellman. About the recommendation for new licensing requirements, Ellman says it’s a natural progression as commercial operations advance. “From our perspective, the report appropriately tailors training requirements to the complexity of drone operations to ensure safe outcomes. Essentially, the report recommended better aligning pilot requirements with the level of system autonomy,” she explains.
Continue reading: https://dronelife.com/2022/03/13/dl-exclusive-commercial-drone-alliance-on-bvlos-arc-report-and-why-bvlos-flight-is-critical-for-the-industry/
Lisa Ellman is a global authority on drone law and policy and a tireless advocate for the industry. Ellman says that BVLOS flight – and the adoption of the advanced operations that BVLOS flight will enable – is critical to helping the US drone industry compete in the global arena and bringing services to communities across the country.
The more than 200 page BVLOS ARC report lays out a framework of priorities for a rulemaking on BVLOS flight (see the summary here, and the complete report here.) The Aviation Rulemaking Committee that created it, says Ellman, included representatives from manned and unmanned aviation as well as research institutions and stakeholder industries. While in some respect the report represents a compromise, all parties worked towards opening the skies for commercial drone applications “This is about bringing the benefit of drones to the American people,” says Ellman.
“[The ARC] was a very diverse group from more than 80 different organizations – a real cross section of American society were represented on this ARC.”
The report calls for regulators to establish a framework of regulations that aims to ensure safety, while not prescribing a particular technology approach to solving the challenges of BVLOS flight. The report also calls for different levels of training and certification for remote pilots operating BVLOS.
“It’s a performance-based, risk-based approach,” says Ellman. About the recommendation for new licensing requirements, Ellman says it’s a natural progression as commercial operations advance. “From our perspective, the report appropriately tailors training requirements to the complexity of drone operations to ensure safe outcomes. Essentially, the report recommended better aligning pilot requirements with the level of system autonomy,” she explains.
Continue reading: https://dronelife.com/2022/03/13/dl-exclusive-commercial-drone-alliance-on-bvlos-arc-report-and-why-bvlos-flight-is-critical-for-the-industry/
