Of course, we witnessed a few flights, and seeing some domestic offerings still in the mix was encouraging.
New leadership at the UASIO –
I also had the chance to introduce myself to Jeffry Vincent, the new head of the UASIO. He’s got his work cut out for him. However, my first impression is that he is at least willing to listen, and that is a good start. Remember, I started interfacing with the FAA before the inception of the first iteration of the Unmanned Aircraft Program Office.
DST or the Drone Safety Team –
I am cautiously optimistic about this effort or any airspace integration committee, even if they are Blue-Ribbon efforts. After 20-plus years, I have seen numerous efforts with lofty goals and superlative titles come to naught. Oh, but this one is going to be different because it has a bunch of unqualified people with little in the way of public policy, aviation experience, and or financial backing from the People’s Republic of China. More likely than not, some of the more significant interests will use it to pitch their IT solutions for UTM after a few years of being at the tiller of the waka of excellence. I’ve gotten so good at this that I can tell where we are on the altruism scale in about 30 seconds. #nobueno
I sat in on the Future of BVLOS Operations panel –
The punchline is that the Commercial Drone Alliance and members Amazon and Google will work together to open the NAS for the benefit of the American people. So, are we to assume that two of the world’s largest companies have you in mind with this endeavor?
Closing thoughts –
Wednesday morning thoughts while in line behind an FAA employee at the café. It occurred to me to overlay the FAA process onto something ordinary like ordering coffee. So, after quickly calculating the variables, including a fault tree, a zero tolerance safety risk analysis, some historical conjecture, and irrelevant data sets, including fatal heat injuries from explosions, yielded enough “data” to conjure up a quick back-of-the-napkin calculation. I figure that poor bastard would still be waiting in line for a waiver when we return to CUAV Expo 2025. Continuing education –
I have been talking to domestic manufacturers to glean a nonbiased assessment of the Blue and Green UAS initiatives. To avoid confusion, I consider any effort initiated by the AUVSI as dubious until proven otherwise. Those people are always looking to soak the membership first.
Thanks –
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who stops me in public to say hello. Many encourage and enjoy the punditry, highlighting the dysfunction in the industry and airspace integration effort. The same goes for the sUAS News hangout. Folks in the trenches think and feel the same about the topics discussed by the esteemed panel.