Professional Pilot, March 2016

OUTER MARKER INBOUND Aviation nation US leadership in the design production and employment of unmanned aircraft systems will monumentally increase public participation in aviation T he pathway to a career in aviation is difficult almost exclusive with many steep barriers along the way But this exclusivity is about to change with the explosive growth of unmanned aircraft systems UAS Our cultural relationship with aviation and its technologies our airmindedness will also change as a result In a December 14 2015 FAA press release US Transportation 96 PROFESSIONAL PILOT March 2016 spheres which will both greatly increase the number of the general population operating UAS and also ultimately drive down costs 3 Regulatory control where a newly empowered public civil recreational user base will push for an open discussion on a mutually acceptable pathway to integrate what is increasingly becoming a widely available and affordable capability UAS have put us on the cusp of a major change By lowering the barriers to entry we are about to create an even greater Aviation Nation where the population has an increased sense of airmindedness UAS widen the group of who can control an aircraft Actual in the seat flying is still an exclusive activity because of the high personal barriers to entry It requires continuous study practice formal testing of knowledge and performance and rigorous health standards To break into a paid position or even just be a private pilot requires a certain level of affluence or willingness to incur significant debt These factors serve to limit the number of rated pilots in the US to just a fraction of the population According to the FAA Aerospace Forecast 2015 the total By Col Charles F Spencer Jr USAF ATP B707 720 737 757 767 GV Chairman Dept of Intl Security Studies USAF Air War College The views expressed in this article are those of the author s and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US government or the Department of Defense Amazons Prime Air service has been designed to deliver parcels within 30 minutes using small UAVs However Prime Air drones will not deploy until there is regulatory support in place Economic benefits of drone operations are sure to come 180000 140000 Natural S curve growth Unmanned aircraft systems Source Unmanned Aircraft System UAS Service Demand 2015 2035 US Department of Transportation John A Volpe National Transportation Systems Center p 7 Secretary Anthony Foxx said Make no mistake unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility He also added Registration gives us an opportunity to work with these users to operate their unmanned aircraft safely Im excited to welcome these new aviators into the culture of safe responsibility that defines American innovation UAS hold the promise of making aviation really and readily available to the general population by changing the characteristics of aviation from an exclusive professional governmental affluent and restricted activity to an inclusive one personal affordable achievable This is because the barriers to entry are being drastically changed in at least 3 different but interlocking areas 1 In the human dimension as technology is lowering the physiological barriers that restrict access to the actual control of flight and its many promising capabilities 2 Diffusion of access experience and control due to the increasing employment of UAS in both the public government and civil commercial 2015 2019 2023 2030 2016 2020 2027 2024 2031 2017 2021 2028 2025 2032 2034 2018 2022 2029 2026 2033 2035 200000 160000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Number of vehicles Total public DoD included Total commercial Year