UAS is GA

I recently attended a conference that focused on issues surrounding the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the national airspace system (NAS).  Several of the discussions surrounded the issues of overcoming a negative image in the media, overcoming restrictive regulations that stifle innovation and gaining support in the political arena.

For those of us in aviation, these arguments have to sound familiar.  They're the same battles we've been fighting since man took to the skies.  Once I realized the similarity in our fight, I had moment of clarity.  UAS is general aviation (GA)!  It embodies the same entrepreneurial spirit of homebuilders and can be an efficient business tool, just like a corporate jet.

When folks outside our industry are asked about aviation, it's easy for them to correlate it to either military aircraft or commercial airlines.  But what about general aviation?  It's everything else.  But what does that mean?  GA is such a broad category that it becomes overwhelming to absorb and its a human tendency to fear what we don't understand.

UAS is in the same boat.  UAS is such a broad term that it strikes fear, even in those of us in the aviation industry.  Both, UAS and GA, have the same public relations problem.  We need to start having a mutual dialogue, mutual respect and mutual education if we are to survive and thrive into the future -- together.

So where do we go from here?  First, general aviation needs to accept UAS as a part of our community and not treat it like a red-headed step child.  If homebuilts and skydiving can be categorized as GA, then we have room at the dinner table for unmanned aerial systems, too.  UAS is not here to replace us, so let go of that fear.  The pilot population is on the decline but there will always be missions that require a human at the controls.

I'll be honest, I used to hear the term UAS and I would worry about "see and avoid" issues as we shared the same airspace.  And we should continue to take it slow in integrating certain operations of UAS that require them to share our airspace when it comes to larger unmanned aircraft that fly longer missions.  However, the more I learn about UAS and its many applications, the more at ease I have become with things like precision agriculture.  There is no reason why precision agriculture applications can't be fully integrated and allowed in the NAS now.

In Kansas, aviation is the second largest economic driver behind agriculture.  Kansas farmers can attribute $1.2 billion in crop value to the efforts of aerial applicators, according to a KDOT study released in 2010.  Precision agriculture UAS is a natural progression for our state's top two economic performers.

What is Precision Ag UAS?  Typically they are small unmanned aircraft that fly only a couple of hundred feet off the ground, remain in constant line of sight of the operator and safety person, and fly GPS established routes over farmland (not near airports).  Again, there is no reason why we should not fully integrate this operation into our airspace and allow the associated economic opportunities to flourish.  The benefits to our farmers and agriculture industry is tremendous.

However, just as we, the GA industry, needs to educate ourselves on UAS, so do UAS proponents need to educate themselves on general aviation.  If you want to be a part of our airspace then you need to learn our rules and why we have them.  Only then will UAS find its path to integration.

Up to this point, my perception has been that there are several folks in the UAS industry that are trying to work within the current Certificate of Authorization environment and are waiting for the FAA to create rules and regulations that'll help guide their future integration.  They must remember that regulations are a lag indicator.  It's not government's role to drive innovation in the market.  It's time for the UAS industry to get organized and have an aviation champion that'll help drive their integration in a direction that's beneficial for them and in a way that'll compliment general aviation.  It may be difficult but it's not impossible.