GPS World

Tag: task force

  • FAA’s Drone Task Force Issues Registration Recommendations

    A proposed national drone registration system should be based on the pilot, not the craft, recommends an FAA task force. It should also be free, electronic and immediate, and not apply to UAVs weighing 250 grams or less.

    In October, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta announced the creation of the task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

    The Task Force agreed that it was outside its scope to debate the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary’s decision to require registration of sUAS or the legal authority for the implementation of such a mandate.

    Immediately following the DOT’s announcement in October, the FAA brought together retailers, pilots, industry representatives and others to talk about the proposal and submit comments on how the system should work.

    Task force members interviewed FAA officials, met for three days and prepared final recommendations. They agreed on three basic requirements: Owners must fill out an electronic form, immediately receive a certificate of registration and number for use on all UAVs they own, and mark all applicable drones with a registered number.

    The Task Force recommendations for the registration process are:

    1. Fill out an electronic registration form through the web or through an application (app).
    2. Immediately receive an electronic certificate of registration and a personal universal registration number for use on all sUAS owned by that person.
    3. Mark the registration number (or registered serial number) on all applicable sUAS before their operation in the National Air Space (NAS).

    The Task Force recommended an exclusion from the registration requirement for any small unmanned aircraft weighing a total of 250 grams or less. The exclusion was based on a maximum weight that was defined as the maximum weight possible including the aircraft, payload, and any other associated weight. In manned aircraft terms, it is the “maximum takeoff weight.”

    Read the report here.

     

  • UAV registration won’t require third-party help

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants unmanned aircraft owners to know that there’s no need to work with a “drone registration” company to help them file an application for a registration number.

    Owners should wait until additional details about the forthcoming drone registration system are announced later this month before paying anyone to do the work for them.

    The Task Force assigned to provide FAA Administrator Michael Huerta with recommendations on the registration process is still days away from delivering this information. But at least one company is already offering to help people register their drones — for a fee.

    Speaking to the Task Force two weeks ago, Administrator Huerta told the group to provide guidance on a streamlined unmanned aircraft registration process that will be simple and easy to complete, and which types of UAS would need to be registered and which would not. The Task Force agreed and is working on recommendations for a system that is similar to registering any newly purchased product with its manufacturer, as well as a minimum weight for unmanned aircraft that must be registered.

    Drone owners should visit FAA.gov for official updates on the unmanned aircraft registry.

  • PrecisionHawk Joins Task Force for UAS Registration

    PrecisionHawk Joins Task Force for UAS Registration

    PrecisionHawk will serve as a technical resource to regulators. (PRNewsFoto/PrecisionHawk)
    PrecisionHawk will serve as a technical resource to regulators. (PRNewsFoto/PrecisionHawk)

    PrecisionHawk is contributing to a safety task force created by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA. The task force brings together a diverse group, representing the UAS and manned aviation industries, the federal government, and other stakeholders, to develop an augmented registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

    “PrecisionHawk is working on many safety solutions, procedural and technological, that we believe can contribute to safer operations for commercial drones in the national airspace,” said Ernest Earon, PrecisionHawk CTO and co-founder. “The creation of this task force further demonstrates the willingness of the FAA to move forward with industry leaders to promote rapid and safe integration.”

    “As a UAS technology company and operator, we know how important coordinated identification is to the environments in which we work,” said Thomas Haun, VP of Strategy at PrecisionHawk. “The goal of this task force, to create a streamlined registration process for UAS, will have a direct and positive impact on the operations of our partners and service teams.”

    “This task force presents another opportunity for PrecisionHawk to serve as a technical resource to regulators as we move towards the adoption of UAV regulations. Earlier this year PrecisionHawk was also named, alongside CNN and BNSF, to the FAA Pathfinder Program to test and develop technology solutions to solve beyond line of sight operations,” PrecisionHawk said in a statement.