Around 50 people gathered at Golden Triangle Regional Airport Thursday night to listen to experts on unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, explain regulations and give safety tips to new hobbyists.
GTRA Executive Director Mike Hainsey led the meeting, which included talks from representatives of Aurora Flight Sciences, Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Center and the Columbus Air Force Base. Representatives from the FAA were also present to ensure that information about regulations was accurate.
The main rules for hobbyists flying drones is that they can only operate drones under 55 pounds lower than 500 feet. The aircraft must stay within the sight of the operator and operators should never fly them near traffic or populated areas. They also must notify any airfield if they plan to operate the drones within five miles of the airfield.
There are separate regulations for operators using the drones for commercial purposes.
Today is the deadline for registering drones bought before Dec. 21, 2015, according to FAA representative Al Brunner who was present at the meeting. After today, operators will no longer be able to fly their drones until they are registered. Operators who bought drones after Dec. 21, 2015 must register their unmanned aircraft before they operate them.
Greg Stewart, vice president and director of development at Aurora, opened the evening with a talk about what exactly a drone is and what they can be used for. Drones are unmanned aircraft over .55 pounds, he said. Small aircraft are drones under 55 pounds. Anything bigger than that and hobbyists cannot fly them in national air space. They are used to get photos of crops and fields, to do mapping and possibly in the future make deliveries. Companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook are looking into using drones in their business models, he said.
However with the new technology come regulations about where and how operators fly unmanned aircraft.
“You don’t want to be the first person to bring down a manned airplane,” Stewart said. “Don’t do that. Don’t do anything that will get you near that.”
Dallas Brooks, who works on researching unmanned aircraft systems at MSU got more in depth with uses and regulations of drones. He pointed out that drones are especially useful for things that are dangerous for humans to do – inspecting and monitoring power lines, monitoring hurricanes, checking tall infrastructure and helping out with disaster relief.
Brooks said he and other researchers look at safety, integration with other aircraft and privacy issues when researching drones.
Brooks also talked about a knowledge test called Part 107, which would be similar to a driver’s license. The test will hopefully be out near the end of this summer, he said, and will be an easier way for operators to be able to fly their drones.
Captain Jason Greer, a safety officer at Columbus AFB, also talked about ways drone operators could avoid interfering with operations at the base. Some of the student pilots fly right at 500 feet, he said, so if those students dip too low, they could collide with an unmanned aircraft even when that aircraft’s operator is within the below 500 feet rule. Other airfields fly at even lower altitudes, he added.
During the talks, attendees had the chance to ask questions about registration, how to notify airfields about their intention to fly drones and other issues operators could run into. Many of those in attendance have drones themselves and were looking to get their questions about safety and regulations answered.
Hainsey said that because the regulations surrounding unmanned aircraft are changing so quickly that he hopes GTRA can hold more meetings like this every six months or so.
To be sure they are flying safely, operators can visit faa.gov/uas or knowbeforeyoufly.org. Greer and Hainsey also both suggested downloading the FAA’s B4UFLY app.
For more information regarding registration deadlines go to faa.gov/uas/registration.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.