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Deleted member 13635
Guest
Posted by a member of the Commercial Drone Pilots Forum.
Many of you already know that (here in the U.S.) the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has twice this year introduced drafts of a Tort Law Related to Drones Act that would transfer authority for low altitude (200' AGL and below) airspace to state and local government and law enforcement agencies. (The first draft was quietly withdrawn when the FAA publicly rebuked the attempted power grab. But a revised proposal has now been put forth.)
And, you may be aware that the drone management software company, AirMap (among others), has voiced support for such a scheme. (In a LinkedIn posting earlier today AirMap stated, "Together, Azure - Microsoft's Cloud Computing Platform and AirMaps airspace management platform, hope to 'create technology that will allow state and local authorities to authorize drone flights and enforce local rules and restrictions' to help scale drone adoption within enterprises."
Privatization of the first 200' AGL of the NAS may no doubt result in a "pay-to-play" system and create a very lucrative opportunity for companies like AirMap. However, the patchwork quilt of local rules, restrictions, and fees that this "power grab" would create would be a nightmare for sUAS operators (professional and hobbyists alike), and would certainly stifle enterprise.
I encourage all drone pilots to contact the advocacy office of their sUAS organizations (be that the AMA or AOPA), their local FSDO office, the office of the FAA administrator, and their representatives in congress and voice their strong opposition to this privatization attempt. We have the safest National Airspace System in the world, and a national drone community (hobbies & professional) that is booming. Don't let the unfettered greed of a few ruin that.
Many of you already know that (here in the U.S.) the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has twice this year introduced drafts of a Tort Law Related to Drones Act that would transfer authority for low altitude (200' AGL and below) airspace to state and local government and law enforcement agencies. (The first draft was quietly withdrawn when the FAA publicly rebuked the attempted power grab. But a revised proposal has now been put forth.)
And, you may be aware that the drone management software company, AirMap (among others), has voiced support for such a scheme. (In a LinkedIn posting earlier today AirMap stated, "Together, Azure - Microsoft's Cloud Computing Platform and AirMaps airspace management platform, hope to 'create technology that will allow state and local authorities to authorize drone flights and enforce local rules and restrictions' to help scale drone adoption within enterprises."
Privatization of the first 200' AGL of the NAS may no doubt result in a "pay-to-play" system and create a very lucrative opportunity for companies like AirMap. However, the patchwork quilt of local rules, restrictions, and fees that this "power grab" would create would be a nightmare for sUAS operators (professional and hobbyists alike), and would certainly stifle enterprise.
I encourage all drone pilots to contact the advocacy office of their sUAS organizations (be that the AMA or AOPA), their local FSDO office, the office of the FAA administrator, and their representatives in congress and voice their strong opposition to this privatization attempt. We have the safest National Airspace System in the world, and a national drone community (hobbies & professional) that is booming. Don't let the unfettered greed of a few ruin that.