On November 25, 2014, five U.S. Senators wrote to the FAA Administrator, asking a series of questions about FAA action relative to UAS. In order to save time for the FAA, so they don’t have to divert resources to answering your questions, Plane-ly Spoken will answer them. The reason we can do this is because … Continue Reading
We all share the frustration that policymaking impedes innovation – that the private sector moves too quickly for the public sector to keep up. That is certainly true in the UAS arena. The best solution for this problem is for innovators to support policymakers. The private sector has a duty to educate government about technological advances … Continue Reading
Plane-ly Spoken has long predicted that the Administrative Law Judge’s Opinion dismissing the FAA’s civil penalty action against Raphael Pirker would be reversed on appeal. Today, that prediction came true. Bad news for Mr. Pirker! Good news for air safety! For those of you new to Plane-ly Spoken, the FAA had fined Mr. Pirker $10,000 … Continue Reading
Major changes are coming for UAS operations in Canada later this month. Canada has a well-developed system of commercial UAS operations that focuses primarily on authorization for a specific mission or set of missions. Currently, in order to obtain the necessary Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC), applicants are required to meet the requirements set out … Continue Reading
Former White House policymaker and co-chair of McKenna Long’s UAS practice shares insight on government policy, business innovation and the need for “polivation.” Click here to register to attend in person or go online to TEDxBeaconStreet.com on Sunday, November 16th at 1:15 p.m. EST to watch the online livestream of Lisa Ellman’s talk entitled, “Drone … Continue Reading
Reuters recently reported that Dutch investigators looking into downing of Malaysia Airlines MH 17, the Boeing 777 aircraft shot down on July 17 over the Ukraine, are finding themselves having to largely rely on publicly available information. Because the crash occurred over rebel-held territory, investigators have determined the site is too dangerous to visit. There are also reports of discussions between the … Continue Reading
Some of the questions we get asked most frequently involve the use of a tether on a UAS. Is it still a UAS? Are you bound by any regulations if the UAS is tethered? Can I get around the commercial UAS ban simply by putting a cable on it? Up until this summer, an argument … Continue Reading
There have been a number of press reports breathlessly announcing that, under a new FAA policy, it is now a crime to fly a UAS at a stadium on game day. While we hate to let facts get in the way of a good headline, we thought we would point out that it has, in … Continue Reading
