As of january 31, 2017, the FAA had published 318 approved waivers to 14 CFR part 107, the federal regulations governing commercial drone operations in the united states.Social and cognitive learning most of these waivers have been to allow nighttime operations, with waivers to allow operation of multiple UAS by one pilot and flight beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) coming in a distant second and third.Social and cognitive learning the FAA has also accepted hundreds of applications to operate in certain controlled airspace.

That’s encouraging news for commercial drone operators and suggests that the FAA is able to work with companies that can provide evidence of their ability to operate with an equivalent level of safety as following the letter of the law.Social and cognitive learning depending on your location and types of operations, waivers may be essential to your ability to conduct business.

Take our recent article on the top ten construction cities in the united states.Social and cognitive learning by looking at the skyward airspace map, we see that construction companies in many of the most booming markets will need to apply for airspace authorization to use drones on at least some—possibly most—of their projects.Social and cognitive learning controlled airspace in the houston metro area presents some obvious challenges to construction companies and other businesses.

The FAA has said that it’s taking about 90 days to review and either approve or deny an application.Social and cognitive learning that’s a long time, and it means that businesses and individual drone operators must plan well in advance. To have an application denied after a three-month lag time means that a planned project is derailed, relationships with clients and internal stakeholders are harmed, and people will lose trust in your ability to execute.Social and cognitive learning

In this article, I’ll cover the aspects of part 107 that the FAA will consider waiving and how to increase your chances of having a waiver or airspace application accepted.Social and cognitive learning all of this information is available on the FAA’s website in a series of webpages and pdfs. These are your ultimate source of truth. Provisions of part 107 that you can apply to have waived

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For example, one of the performance-based standards required for a waiver allowing night flights is some method to increase conspicuity of the UAS so it can be seen at 3 statute miles or a system that can avoid all non-participating aircraft.Social and cognitive learning the standard doesn’t specify how this should be done. It could take the form of an external strobe on the aircraft (e.G. Acratex firefly, north american DS-3, or flytron standalone), and it could also take the form of a tethered aircraft and the use of ground-based spotlights to illuminate it, or even a ground-based system capable of detecting all non-participating aircraft early enough to allow the remote pilot to safely avoid them.Social and cognitive learning

NOTE: don’t apply for a waiver if you want to fly a UAS with a total weight of more than 55 lbs (including both the weight of the aircraft and the payload), or if you want to transport the property of other people BVLOS or operating from a moving vehicle.Social and cognitive learning the FAA will not waive these rules under part 107. If you’d like to fly an aircraft with a total weight of more than 55 lbs, consider applying for a section 333 exemption.Social and cognitive learning while there is some limited ability to transport the property of other people under part 107 (within visual line of sight only), regulations that would allow anything other than experimental UAS air carrier operations are still being developed.Social and cognitive learning

• obtain a blanket public certificate of waiver or authorization (COA), which allows nationwide flights in class G airspace at or below 400 feet, self-certification of the UAS pilot, and the option to obtain emergency coas (e-coas) under special circumstances.Social and cognitive learning an operator specific (non-blanket) public COA may include the ability to operate at night or within controlled airspace. Email the FAA to learn more about public coas here: 9-AJV-115-UASCOA@faa.Gov

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• do your homework and be detailed. The FAA wants to know the steps you’ll be taking to ensure that your proposed operation is just as safe as a standard operation under part 107.Social and cognitive learning briefly state what you’ll be doing to mitigate risks. For example, when describing the remote pilot’s methods for seeing ground-based structures and obstacles, one of several may include: “ the remote pilot will ensure that the takeoff and landing area is sufficiently illuminated so that the aircraft can be safely controlled during takeoff and landing and that any obstructions within 50 feet (15 meters) laterally of the takeoff and landing area are visible.”

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Submit your part 107 waivers and requests for airspace authorization via the FAA’s website. The form is short, and doesn’t have specific named fields for the performance based standards.Social and cognitive learning it’s your responsibility to understand them and make the case to the FAA that you’re taking the necessary steps to protect people and equipment on the ground and in the air.Social and cognitive learning for more information, consult the FAA’s in-depth application instructions. Responsible person

This is the operations manager who may either be the director of suas flight operations in a large enterprise or the owner in the case of a small business.Social and cognitive learning this is the person who has ultimate responsibility for the operation. If you’re a sole proprietor or small business owner, the responsible person will likely be the same as the remote pilot.Social and cognitive learning this person does not necessarily need a remote airman’s certificate. The responsible person is required to maintain a current list of pilots that will be operating under the waiver.Social and cognitive learning the list must include their remote pilot certificate numbers and must be presented for inspection upon request from the FAA. If applying for an airspace authorization or a waiver of section 107.41, the responsible person must supply contact information of at least one person who will be operating in controlled airspace under the airspace authorization/waiver.Social and cognitive learning remote pilot

Supply information for each UAS that you plan on using under the waiver or airspace authorization that you are apply for. This is not strictly necessary unless there are specific capabilities of the suas that are required to meet the performance-based standards for the rule you are requesting a waiver for.Social and cognitive learning for example, if you say that you can meet a specific performance-based standard because you are using equipment unique to your superdrone 1000, then use of that aircraft is a condition of the waiver.Social and cognitive learning remember— aircraft used for commercial purposes must be individually registered with the FAA. Waiver/airspace authorization

Select at least one regulation that you’d like to have waived.Social and cognitive learning make sure that each regulation that you select is absolutely essential to your proposed operation and that you have methods to ensure safe operations for each.Social and cognitive learning the FAA has said that applicants who select too many regulations, or who don’t provide in-depth explanations, are more likely to have their application denied.Social and cognitive learning remember, don’t combine an airspace authorization request with a request for waiver!

The field labeled “description of your proposed operation” may seem small, but this is where you’ll provide detailed information on your use case and all the measures you’ll be taking to ensure your operation is just as safe as a standard operation under part 107.Social and cognitive learning use a separate text editor because the web form text window isn’t exactly user friendly. This will also allow you to save the description for future reference or use.Social and cognitive learning

Provide a brief description of the purpose of your proposed operation, focus your efforts on clearly stating the methods you’ll be using to ensure an equivalent level of safety.Social and cognitive learning A good way to do this is to simply copy and paste each performance based standard provided by the FAA into a blank text document and then list in bulleted format each method you will use to meet that specific standard.Social and cognitive learning make it clear and easy to read. No points for length.

It may be useful to include a “contingencies” section at the end, where you describe how will you would respond, for example, to a failure of the control link or to the approach of a non-participating aircraft at low altitude.Social and cognitive learning don’t try to be exhaustive. List the few most likely contingencies keeping in mind that the FAA’s primary concern is the safety of people and property in the air and on the ground.Social and cognitive learning