Collaboration is the key to integrating unmanned aircraft into the airspace, keynote speakers from three countries said at the opening of the Second Global Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Symposium, held at the Montreal headquarters of ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization.   Alessandro Cardi, deputy director general of Italy’s ENAC aviation authority, said his country began its regulatory work with mid-size UAS, such as the Piaggio P1HH Hammerhead, unveiled a few years ago at the Paris Air Show.   For that aircraft, and others of a similar size such as the Falco UAS, Italy is using segregated airspace for such operations as humanitarian missions and commercial cargo delivery demonstrations.  

“Drones are going to change our daily experience.” That was the opening statement of Mark Blanks, director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), during a media briefing in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 13. There are a number of ways that UAS could change our daily experience, according to Blanks, with UAS package delivery, insurance claims, traffic management and air transportation being just the tip of the iceberg. But before we can get to the point where UAS have a daily impact our lives, Blanks — who serves on the Board of Directors for AUVSI, and on the Advocacy Committee of AUVSI —  says there are a number of hurdles that the industry has to surpass. Chief among these are security concerns, safety assurance and technology maturity.

On August 31, experts in UAS at the University of Arkansas provided a four-hour seminar to public agencies in the state that are considering starting UAS programs. Members of law enforcement, first responders, inspectors, the highway department and various state engineers attended the seminar. During the seminar, some of the topics discussed included complying with FAA laws, selection of UAS, and sensors for different types of operations. Topics presented during the seminar included management of risk and safety management systems, as well as how to develop effective policy and guidance. Jerry Chism, director of the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics, says that UAS are very beneficial to the state of Arkansas.

Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts has become the first community college in the state to offer a UAS certificate program. The certificate program will feature a “series of online and in-person courses” designed to give students a comprehensive education on UAS, while helping them prepare to take and ultimately pass the FAA Drone Pilot Exam.