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FAA Program Tests Drones Flying Beyond Pilot's Line-of-Sight

Posted by timothy on from the direct-supervision dept.

itwbennett writes: FAA administrator Michael P. Huerta announced Wednesday a new Pathfinder Program under which the agency has partnered with three U.S. companies to explore three key types of unmanned operations, possibly paving the way for operations such as the aerial delivery of packages as proposed by companies like Amazon.com. One of the companies the FAA has partnered with is drone manufacturer PrecisionHawk, which will be surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft flying outside of the pilot's direct vision.

2 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. IAADP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am a UAV pilot, and routinely fly beyond line of sight. It works poorly, at best, and routinely has small issues that leave me convinced that it should not be allowed in civil airspace in the foreseeable future. People continue to think that these are harmless toys, but micro-UAVs are just as lethal as a fastball thrown by a professional. Think about 55 lbs, a large part battery, falling 500' on you. Not a pleasant thought. Not a toy.

  2. Delivery?? by jklovanc · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nowhere in the FAA release does it mention package delivery. It only covers the following;

    CNN will be researching how visual line-of-sight operations might be used for newsgathering in urban areas.
    PrecisionHawk, a manufacturer, will be surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft flying outside of the pilot’s direct vision.
    BNSF Railroad will explore the challenges of using these vehicles to inspect their rail infrastructure beyond visual line-of-sight in isolated areas.