Event Was Hosted By Sen. Wyden, Rep. Blumenauer

In Oregon, the unmanned aircraft industry is “on the runway” and “poised to soar,” according to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). The state’s senior senator recently hosted a UAS roundtable meeting in Portland with U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Deputy FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, and industry stakeholders from across Oregon.

UAS provides an “economic opportunity for Oregon, including education, law enforcement and agriculture,” Blumenauer said. An AUVSI economic impact study forecasts that the UAS industry will create more than 400 jobs and contribute more than $500 million to the state’s economy within the first decade of integration.
 
Whitaker told the crowd of more than 70 people that “nothing has a higher priority” at the FAA than finalizing its proposed rules for small UAS. He said the federal agency is currently granting exemptions from its current ban on commercial UAS operations, but that it has received more applications than anticipated.
 
So far, Whitaker said the FAA has granted about 1,200 exemptions, or about 50 a week since it started the process last year. He said the rulemaking process will continue after the small UAS rules are in place.
 
Whitaker said advanced UAS technologies, including beyond visual line of sight, will be tested in the national airspace in a controlled manner at FAA-approved test sites and through “Pathfinder,” the government-industry research program that was announced earlier this year.

FMI: www.auvsi.org, www.faa.gov