By JUSTIN MOORE A little more forward throttle, a bit more yaw to the left. Perfect. Click. You might assume that I’m flying an airplane and taking a picture from one, but I’m not. I’m piloting a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) — also commonly known as an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) — and I just took a picture of […]
remotely piloted aircraft
Educating the public — and pilots — about RPAs
Can you imagine ordering an aircraft off the Internet, then learning to fly it by trial and error without knowledge of physics, weather or airspace? That’s what’s happening when people buy Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), also referred to as drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS). These non-commercial RPAs can range in size from under five […]
RPA encounters increasing
Nearly 200 encounters with remotely piloted aircraft, ranging from amusing to chillingly dangerous, were reported to the FAA between February and November of 2014, according to a report at AOPA.org. Writer Jim Moore notes that a list published by a New Orleans television station May 26 documents the growing use of drones — authorized and otherwise — […]
Drones survey flood damage and assist search and rescue efforts
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A test-site research team from the Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence & Innovation (LSUASC) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has been dispatched to Wimberley, Texas, to conduct low-altitude research flights in the wake of devastating flooding. The town of Wimberley, about 30 miles southwest of Austin, was struck […]
FAA streamlines approvals for RPA test sites
The FAA has made it simpler for the six remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) test sites to conduct research by giving them “blanket” authorizations to fly public aircraft operations throughout the National Airspace System at or below 200 feet. FAA officials said they expect this improved access for the test sites will provide more opportunities for […]
Sensing good things on the horizon
While flying, have you ever looked down to tune a radio? Check an engine or fuel gauge? Referenced your navigation chart? Chat with your passenger? Focus on something on the ground? Well, then you aren’t seeing and avoiding to the best of your ability. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some help? Something that doesn’t […]
FAA streamlines RPA approvals
The FAA reports it has established an interim policy to speed up airspace authorizations for some commercial remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operators. The new policy helps bridge the gap between the past process, which evaluated every RPA operation individually, and future operations after the agency publishes a final version of the proposed small RPA rule, FAA officials explained. Under the […]
Why are RPA regulations taking forever?
Why are regulations for remotely piloted aircraft — known commonly as drones — taking so long? The FAA tries to answer that question in a recent blog post at ReadWrite.com
Solar-electric RPA goes into production
DENVER – Silent Falcon UAS Technologies (SFUAS), a former subsidiary of Bye Aerospace, has begun initial production of the Silent Falcon remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to fill its first commercial orders. “Silent Falcon is the first solar-electric aircraft to enter commercial production,” noted John Brown, president of SFUAS. The patent-pending Silent Falcon is a solar-electric, all composite, modular small […]