Category: Uncategorized

The recent UAS Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) Conference hosted by New Mexico State University in Albuquerque, NM drew hundreds of attendees from government, the defense department, academia and the UAS industry. The three-day conference spoke to a number of issues relating to the development and operation of unmanned aircraft […]

Senator Alex Padilla On Monday, 12/3, Senator Alex Padilla introduced a bill into the California State Assembly aimed at establishing regulations on the domestic use of drones, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Senator Padilla expressed his concerns indicating, “…domestic drones have the potential to be used for surreptitious surveillance activities that […]

The Fly Away Radio Control Club is one of the premier model aircraft clubs in the District of Columbia, and has existed as an AMA chartered club for more than 50 years. For years the club operated from its unassuming flying site along the banks of the Anacostia River, about […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science &Technology (S&T) Directorate and the State of Oklahoma are partnering on the Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS) project to test and evaluate Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) for potential use by the first responder community and DHS operational components. SUAS include small […]

Somewhat lost in all the noise and frenzy regarding “Big Brother” and the privacy issues surrounding the introduction of UAS into the national airspace are the many positive aspects of unmanned aircraft and the benefits UAS promise our society and our economy. As reported in the January 2013 issue of Air & Space […]

Citing safety concerns and privacy issues, the FAA has delayed the selection of U.S. sites to be used for the testing of unmanned aircraft. In a letter to Republican Congressman Howard McKeon of California, chairman of the House Unmanned Systems Caucus, FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta said the establishment of six […]

Though it’s clear commercial use of UAS in the national airspace is for the most part and for now banned by the FAA, the private/personal use of UAS is very much a grey area. As long as the UAS is not used for business purposes, almost any type of private […]

TechJect, a spinoff from Georgia Tech’s Robotics & Intelligent Machines Lab, may well have come up with the next generation of micro flying robots. Through a research project funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the micro robot is designed to emulate the unique flying characteristics of its […]

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), The Helicopter Association International (HAI) and 17 other aviation related national organizations have petitioned the FAA to continue its efforts to safely integrate the operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). In a […]

November 9th, Air Force officials briefed Capitol Hill staffers on the possibility of locating a “Remote Split Operations Squadron” at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. This would be a much-sought new mission for the 107th Airlift Wing which the Pentagon proposed shuttering last spring. Though the change of mission […]