The world of commercial aviation now has many new users due in large part to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) (Washington, DC) small unmanned aircraft rule,
Part 107, which has now been in place for one year.
Since the Part 107 rule became effective in August 2016, more than 80,000 individual drones have been registered for commercial and government purposes, the FAA says. In addition, more than 60,000 people have obtained a Remote Pilot Certificate required to operate a drone under Part 107.
According to the FAA, drones have been used in numerous areas across the country for many important tasks.
Hurricane Harvey Response
Drones have supported response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Harvey, with the FAA issuing 127 authorizations to drone operators performing search and rescue missions and assessing damage to roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure. On some occasions, the agency says it has issued these authorizations within a few hours.
In addition to the direct response and recovery efforts, several media outlets have operated drones over Houston, Texas, to provide coverage to local residents and the world about flooding and damage in the area. All drone flights are carefully coordinated with manned aircraft operations to ensure the safety of everyone using the crowded airspace.
Commercial Use of Drones
Several major property insurance companies are now using drones to examine homes after storms, capturing images and video in clear quality without requiring a person to climb up to a potentially hazardous roof.
Dozens of U.S. television stations fly drones to bring aerial views of breaking news at lower risk and cost than a typical news helicopter. Other commercial operators of unmanned aircraft are flying them to monitor construction sites, create topographical maps, survey vegetation and drainage on farm land, inspect pipelines and other gas facilities, and many other innovative tasks.
Infrastructure Improvements
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is saving the using drones to survey the median of Interstate 10 for a cable barrier project. Elsewhere, officials in Minnesota and Ohio have
flown drones to inspect highway bridges.
A company working with Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (Atlanta, Georgia) is using a drone to provide a three-dimensional (3D) runway map in about half the time as teams armed with cameras.
Tool for First Responders
When combating structure fires, the Wayne Township Fire Department near Indianapolis, Indiana flies drones to provide perspective on hot spots and other potential hazards. In the area near Fort Collins, Colorado, several law enforcement and fire departments have launched a regional drone program to assist in investigations, including serious crashes and backcountry search and rescue operations.
The Idaho State Police (Meridian, Idaho) are using unmanned aircraft to get birds-eye views of crash and crime scenes, including barricade situations, fatal accidents, hazardous materials spills, and natural disasters, according to the FAA.
Scientific Research Boost
At the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (Reston, Virginia), officials have mounted sensors on drones to gather more accurate data than satellite imagery for the large swaths of land the USGS is responsible for monitoring.
Similarly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Silver Spring, Maryland) has a fleet of 54 unmanned aircraft ranging in wingspan from less than 6 ft (1.8 m) to more than 115 ft (35.1 m). These drones collect data from areas that can be dangerous for humans, such as the poles, oceans, wildlands, volcanic islands, and wildfires.
And researchers at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, Oklahoma) are flying sensor- and camera-equipped drones into developing storms to acquire measurements during tornado formations to improve knowledge of how tornadoes form and increase the confidence in issuing tornado warnings.
Going forward, the FAA says it is now using a risk-based approach to enable increasingly more complex unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations, including operations over people, operations beyond visual line of sight, and transportation of persons and property. By 2021, the agency estimates there could be as many as 1.6 million small drones—55 lb (24.9 kg) or less—in commercial operation.