Month: July 2016

Corvallis, Oregon, July 25, 2016 – In late June, 2016, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration announced its new rules regarding the commercial use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAS). The new rules lowered the barrier to entry for people looking to use drones for commercial purposes by offering a new UAS pilot’s certification. The Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) allows pilots to operate their UAS in uncontrolled airspace with few restrictions. Additionally, pilots may operate in controlled airspace by petitioning an amendment with the FAA, much like the old 333 Exemption process. Unlike the old system, Part 107 does not require pilots to have any level of pilot training. Instead, the pilot must pass an FAA-proctored exam designed to test pilot knowledge of UAS safety, legality, and manned aviation. The first tests will begin when Part 107 takes effect on August 29th.

Research conducted using OSU’s aircraft is not classified as commercial use. Research is considered public use by the FAA, therefor Part 107 does not apply to research work. The important takeaway from this is that researchers will still need to operate under OSU’s COAs to fly. However, Part 107 opens up the option to use a registered aircraft for commercial purposes such as recording promotional material. The FAA will allow public aircraft to act as commercial aircraft at the discretion of the Pilot in Command (PIC).

For more information and a summary of Part 107 visit this link: https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

Corvallis, Oregon, July 13, 2016  — In May, 2016 the FAA granted Oregon State University a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to fly drones for research purposes. Within the COA the FAA outlined the rules for researchers flying drones, along with monthly reporting requirements for the University. With almost 40 registered drones and 50 identified pilots, OSU met the challenge of managing its flight operations by partnering with local business. Drone Complier Enterprise, a local drone compliance and business management start-up based in Corvallis, OR, agreed to work with OSU to meet the rising need for both flight management and training.

Check out Drone Complier here: www.dronecomplier.com

Drone Complier held its “alpha” class of 7 faculty  from various departments around campus in late June. Oregon Department of Aviation Director Mitch Swecker was also present to see the OSU training program in action. The initial group was trained in safe and legal drone operations, the basics of flight, and given an introduction in using the Drone Complier software to manage their flight operations. The class was encouraged to provide feedback on the course, which was then used to finalize the curriculum. After two days of training each student was given an in-flight examination that tested their proficiency behind the sticks before being granted their “wings” and the ability to fly under OSU’s COA.

Training will be available to interested faculty and staff starting August 1st. The final course will focus on scenario-based training and will last 3 days with flight testing possibly leading into a 4th. Students are required to have a total of 5 hours of flight time logged (including simulator time) before attending a training session. If you are a staff member interested in going through the class please contact Mark Peters in the research office to sign up.

Check out the article here:

Inspecting Oregon — Using Drones to Assess Bridges & Towers