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