Get ready for some serious angst. The FAA reauthorization just passed by the U.S. House and Senate includes specific direction to the FAA regarding unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Elements of the legislation include a Sept. 30, 2015 deadline for integration of UAS into the national airspace. The FAA promises to release a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) covering unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sometime within the next few months (although it was supposed to be released by the end of last year).
What’s clear is that pretty soon, we’ll all be sharing airspace with all manner of flying objects, from tiny eyes-in-the-sky watching our every move to big UAS that can stay up for extended periods and carry who knows what. Obviously, it is every pilot's hope that these unmanned aircraft will also carry some kind of technology that keeps them from running into or being run into by regular manned aircraft.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
