Company Free To Shoot UAV Aerials On TV And Movie Sets Without Specific Authorization

The FAA has granted a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for commercial, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flights to Helinet Aviation. The COA provides Helinet with pre-approved authorization to shoot UAV aerials on broadcast and motion picture sets without the need to apply for permission in advance.

The company says the waiver represents an important expansion of its existing capabilities as an approved commercial UAS operator under the FAA's Section 333 Exemption. Specifically, the COA removes the requirement that Helinet apply on a case by case basis for advance approval to fly in a particular block of airspace. Helinet is one of the first companies to receive this blanket COA, which will allow it to shoot drone aerials for broadcast and motion picture productions without obtaining individual COAs for each assignment.

"The FAA's Section 333 Exemption has been an important first step in introducing the use of UASs' for commercial applications," said Helinet president Alan Purwin. "This new COA brings our UAS capabilities more in line with our traditional helicopter operations, allowing us to quickly respond to client projects without going through an individual, weeks-long approval process for each job."

The COA authorizes Helinet to operate a Gryphon Dynamics X8 (pictured) and a DJI S1000 octocopter at or below 200 feet above ground level (AGL) for the purposes of closed set filmmaking.

Helinet has decades of experience in electronic news gathering (ENG), aerial broadcast production and motion picture filmmaking. The company introduced the world's first HD news helicopter in 2004 for Denver's KUSA-TV as well as the first HD news helicopters in New York (WNYW – Fox 5) and Los Angeles (KABC-TV).  Helinet's motion picture credits include more than 100 Hollywood blockbusters including Pearl Harbor, Transformers, National Treasure, Tropic Thunder, Insurgent, The Italian Job and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

(Image provided by Helinet)

FMI: www.helinet.com