The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Washington, DC, USA) recently announced expanded testing of an automated system designed to provide near real-time processing of airspace authorization requests for unmanned aircraft (UAS, or drone) operators nationwide.
Drones have become increasingly popular within the corrosion control industry, with potential uses including general inspections, measuring the thickness of protective coatings, collecting cathodic protection readings, and detecting corrosion under insulation, among many other applications.
Under the FAA’s Part 107 small drone rule, which first became effective in August 2016, operators must secure approval to operate in any airspace controlled by an air traffic facility. To facilitate those approvals, the FAA deployed its prototype Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) data exchange program at several air traffic facilities last November to evaluate the feasibility of a fully automated solution enabled by data sharing.
Based on the prototype’s success, the agency says it will now conduct a nationwide beta test beginning April 30, 2018, that will deploy LAANC incrementally at nearly 300 air traffic facilities covering ~500 U.S. airports. The final deployment will begin on September 13, 2018.
By using LAANC, drone operators can receive near real-time airspace authorizations, the agency says. This dramatically decreases the wait experienced using the manual authorization process and allows operators to quickly plan their flights. Air traffic controllers also can see where planned drone operations will take place.
On April 16, 2018, the FAA also began considering agreements with additional entities to provide LAANC services. At the moment, there are four providers—AirMap, Project Wing, Rockwell Collins, and Skyward. However, additional applications can now be made through May 16, 2018. Interested parties can find information on the application process at the FAA’s web site.
LAANC uses airspace data provided through UAS facility maps, which show the maximum altitude around airports where the FAA may authorize operations under the Part 107 rule. LAANC gives drone operators the ability to interact with the maps and provide automatic notification and authorization requests to the FAA, and the agency says it is an important step in developing its planned Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) initiative.
Source: FAA, www.faa.gov.