Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

A May 12 close encounter between a camera drone and six F/A-18 Hornets flying in formation during a recent U.S. Navy Blue Angels demonstration over Detroit appeared to confirm safety research published April 23 in the International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace (IJAAA) revealing that aircraft too often must share airspace with unauthorized drones.

 


In fact, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University researchers reported that the vast majority of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) detected around Daytona Beach International Airport during a 30-day period in 2019 lacked FAA approval, while more than one-third of those drones were flying higher than the law allows.

 


An FAA-approval system for commercial and recreational drone flights in controlled airspace, called LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability), would reduce noncompliant UAS operations by at least 30 percent within six months, the researchers noted. “This voluntary approval process doesn’t seem to be working as expected,” said Embry-Riddle associate professor of aeronautical science Dr. John M. Robbins.

 


Only 19 of 271 detected DJI-type drone flights (7 percent) had received approval from the FAA to fly in the locations and at the times they flew, according to the study. The study also revealed that 34.3 percent of the detected drones exceeded the legal altitude level of 400 feet agl.

 


“Among the group flying too high, 32 were higher than 500 feet [agl], six were detected above 1,000 feet, and three exceeded 1,500 feet, posing a real risk to manned aviation operations in the National Airspace System—particularly if most of those drones are not even authorized to be flying in controlled airspace,” said Embry-Riddle assistant professor of aeronautical science Dr. Ryan J. Wallace.

 


The research “highlights notable gaps in the effectiveness of and compliance with existing FAA policies for integrating drones into the low-altitude region of the National Airspace System,” said Robbins, a coauthor on the IJAAA study.

 


A passive radio-frequency sensor called a DJI AeroScope detected, tracked, and recorded DJI-manufactured drones around Daytona Beach International Airport over 30 days in 2019. (Due to disruption from Hurricane Dorian, there were two sampling timeframes: from August 14 to 30 and from September 8 to 22.) The researchers then compared drone activity with locations and flying altitudes prescribed by the FAA’s UAS Facility Maps. Finally, they checked FAA LAANC approvals versus detected flights and found only 19 flights (7 percent) of 271 that aligned with authorizations.

 


Previous Embry-Riddle research revealed that skilled pilots approaching a runway usually can’t see drones encroaching on their airspace, especially if those drones are hovering. In another study, researchers detected 73 DJI-manufactured drones that made 192 flights near Daytona Beach International Airport during a 13-day sampling period.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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