Will I Soon See Drones Delivering My DoorDash Lunch?

The FAA is on the cusp of adding a new rule that would allow routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations of drones in U.S. airspace below 400 feet. This is significant because, until now, drone operators who wanted to fly beyond their own line of sight were required to apply for an exemption or waiver. Read about this historic re-write of low altitude rules.

So what does this mean for us?

If you do order stuff online (who doesn’t?), you may soon see options to get things delivered by drone. This is already happening in many countries, but in the U.S., the ability to do so without having to apply to the FAA for a waiver or exemption will open up huge new markets. Imagine your DoorDash McDonald’s fries getting to your home or office before they get all soggy or a last-minute delivery of your pet’s favorite food or vital medicine conveniently dropping from the sky near your front door.

However, you may also wonder how all these remotely piloted vehicles will interact with piloted aircraft, which do have to climb from zero feet to 400 feet and vice versa to take off or land. How will midair collisions between drones and piloted or unmanned aircraft be prevented?

Along with the new rule (Part 108 of FAA regulations) will necessarily come some requirements for how aircraft systems can “see” each other and which kind of aircraft will have to maneuver to avoid another. For example, if a drone and a helicopter (they tend to stay low most of the time) encounter each other, which one has the right of way? Will it be incumbent on the drone operator, who may not be anywhere near the actual drone, to maneuver to avoid the helicopter? How close will they be allowed to get (because helicopter rotor wash is powerful even to a good distance away)? What if the drone is on an automatic flight path and not under an individual’s control? What if the helicopter isn’t equipped to spot the drone?

There are many questions raised by the new Part 108 and they are still being hashed out. One relates to last week’s discussion of ADS-B, which could be used to identify drones. There are companies that make tiny ADS-B Out equipment that most drones could accommodate.

Another problem is that there is still a great swath of airspace in the U.S. where ADS-B Out is not required for any kind of aircraft. Will the new rules tighten that up? 

One proposed idea could help a great deal, and that is for the FAA to loosen the rules preventing aircraft without installed ADS-B Out equipment from carrying a portable device that provides decent position and velocity information at a much lower cost. This is called “electronic conspicuity” (ie, making something conspicuous), and it could be done at a fairly low cost. Electronic conspicuity equipment would not only benefit drones and other aircraft flying below 400 feet but also antique aircraft, helicopters, airplanes without electrical systems, and those owned by people who don’t want to spend a few thousand dollars on ADS-B Out equipment.

There are interesting changes coming to the low-altitude airspace in the U.S. Stay tuned!