is Washington
Set to grow
UAS
To new Commercial heights ?
Washington ’ s brand in the realm of commercial aircraft manufacturing is legendary . Will a recent bid to the FAA for UAS testing help us represent in a new market ?
By Mary Kaye Bredeson , executive director and Jennifer Ferrero , APR , communications and marketing , for the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing
Jennifer Ferrero APR , Communications and Marketing
COE for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing
COE SPOTLIGHT
www . coeaerospace . com
Mary Kaye Bredeson Executive Director , COE for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing www . coeaerospace . com
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ( UAS ) have been on the commercial horizon for close to 30 years according to Paul Applewhite , Founder of Applewhite Aero . He cites regulation delays as hindering the growth of U . S . based companies trying to enter this new and expanding market . “ The FAA does a great job with commercial air transport ,” he said . However , regarding UAS flight testing , it wasn ’ t until late last year that the Trump administration issued a presidential memorandum to the Secretary of Transportation intended to accelerate UAS growth in segments — commercial , search and rescue , security , and agriculture .
According to whitehouse . gov , “... the United States ’ antiquated regulatory system for aviation has been too slow to keep up with the pace of the technology . Overly burdensome restrictions on commercial drone use have limited the forecasted benefits of these systems to our society — tens of billions of dollars in economic impact , tens of thousands of new jobs , and enhancements to our quality of life . The result of these regulations on our nation ’ s most innovative companies has been to force their programs overseas , where UAS testing and deployment is less restricted .”
Following the memorandum , late last year a request for proposals was issued by the FAA for the UAS Integration Pilot Program ( IPP ), which encourages UAS testing partnerships across the country . Washington has answered the call for IPP , which if accepted , will enable UAS pilot testing , including remote flight testing in the state .
48 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS