Fri, Jul 02, 2004
AOPA: Unmanned Border Patrols Pose No Threat To GA
You won't have a close encounter with an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) any time soon. And AOPA is fighting to keep it that way.
Some members in the Southwest expressed concerned when the
Department of Homeland Security announced a week ago that two
Hermes 450 UAVs would fly surveillance patrols along the
Arizona-Mexico border. (The 1,000-pound, remotely controlled
aircraft can cruise at 95 knots up to 18,000 feet altitude.) But
where and how the UAVs fly is being strictly controlled.
"AOPA has consistently advocated that UAVs must meet an
equivalent level of safety, said Melissa Bailey Rudinger, AOPA vice
president of Air Traffic. "In other words, there must be mechanisms
and procedures in place so that the UAV can avoid general aviation
aircraft."
Current UAV operations are conducted within special-use
airspace, either restricted areas or military operations areas.
Outside of such airspace, UAV operations must have a "Certificate
of Authorization" approved by both the air traffic and flight
standards branches of FAA. The operations have to be conducted
within strict parameters, including using chase-planes and/or
ground spotters to monitor their activity.
"In a meeting with flight standards officials just one month
ago, AOPA reiterated that UAV flights should have, at the very
minimum, a manned chase-plane to ensure collision avoidance," said
Rudinger.
AOPA has also asked the FAA to establish an industry committee
to address UAV operations outside of restricted airspace and to
develop aircraft certification standards dealing with collision
avoidance.
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