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News and Updates – Mark Your Calendar: 2021 FAA UAS Symposium

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) will co-host Episodes III and IV of the virtual FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium Remotely Piloted Edition.The theme for this years virtual event is Above and Beyond and will take place on June 9-10, 2021, and September 14-15, 2021.

Register now to join the conversation as experts from industry, academia, international aviation authorities, and the U.S. government discuss key areas for the future of the drone community including the operations over people rule, remote identification, airspace authorizations, waivers, the part 107 small UAS rule, changes in hobbyists drone operations, and other policies and regulations.

Last year, the symposium went virtual with a two-part event Drones. Here for Good. Episodes I and II focused on UAS traffic management, global harmonization, the UAS Integration Pilot Program and public safety operations.

This year Episode III, scheduled for June 9-10, will concentrate on international operations, STEM, public safety operations, recreational drone operations, and commercial drone operations. Episode IV is scheduled for September 14-15 with a focus on UAS traffic management, technology, the BEYOND program, advanced air mobility, and international operations. Each episode will feature keynote presentations, expert panels, guided and non-guided networking discussions, one-on-one meetings with experts in the FAA UAS Support Center, and informational sessions with live Q&A.

Visit the symposium website to get updates on event programming and registration.

News and Updates – Vaccinated and Traveling? Visit FlyHealthy.gov and Know Before You Go

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Updated information from the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) about traveling by air after receiving COVID-19 vaccines is now on FlyHealthy.gov the one-stop portal for the latest pandemic-related air-travel information from multiple federal agencies.

The CDC guidance for domestic and international travel recommends delaying your trip until fully vaccinated. If you are not fully vaccinated and you must travel, follow the CDCs recommendations for unvaccinated people. The CDC will update these recommendations as more people are vaccinated, as rates of COVID-19 change and as additional scientific evidence becomes available.

FlyHealthy.gov walks an airline passenger througheach step of the air travel processto help everyone have a safe journey and prevent spreading the virus. The site presents travel information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), CDC, the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of State.

In addition, the FAA is strictly enforcing azero-tolerance policytoward passengers who cause disturbances on flights, fail to obey flight crew in violation of the FAAs regulations or engage in conduct that is illegal under federal law. This includes unruly behavior by refusing to wear a mask onboard the plane.

Fly Healthy, fly smart and enjoy your travel. Know before you go.

News and Updates – Fly Safe Focus: Angle of Attack Awareness

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WASHINGTONThis months Fly Safe campaign topic looks at the importance of aircraft angle of attack awareness.

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committees (GAJSC) loss of control workgroup believes that a lack of awareness, with respect to angle of attack (AOA), has resulted in the loss of aircraft control and contributed to fatal GA accidents. The GAJSC also maintains that increasing a pilots awareness of the aerodynamic effects of AOA and available technology will reduce the likelihood of inadvertent loss of control.

Read more on this important topic on the FAA blog, Cleared for Takeoff.

The FAA launched the #FlySafe national safety campaign in partnership with general aviation groups to help educate general aviation pilots and mechanics about safety topics. Topics are shared monthly with a goal of incorporating safety into every flight.

News and Updates – Recurrent Training Courses for Drone Pilots Available Online

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Drone pilots who have Part 107 Remote Pilot Certification can now take their required training courses online. The training ensures that they have the knowledge necessary to operate in accordance with the Operations Over People rule when it becomes effective on April 21, 2021.

The training is free and available on the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) website. There are three courses:

Drone pilots who do not hold a current Remote Pilot Certification and want to operate under Part 107 must take the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test online through an FAA-Approved Knowledge Testing Center. Knowledge tests may be scheduled on the Airman Certificate Testing Service (ACTS) website. The test has a fee associated with it and is valid for 24 calendar months.

After the new rule takes effect on April 21, Part 107 remote pilots who have completed the training will be allowed to operate over people, moving vehicles and at night without a waiver under certain conditions. The FAA will accept airspace authorization requests from remote pilots to operate in controlled airspace at night as long as they have completed the updated testing or training requirements. An overview of the Operations Over People rule is available on the FAA website.

The FAA is expecting an increase in traffic to the FAASTeam site with the release of this training. As such, remote pilots may experience technical difficulties while accessing the online courses and are encouraged to access the training outside of regular business days. For general inquiries on these new regulations and other UAS inquiries, please call 844-FLY-MY-UA or email the FAA.

News and Updates – General Aviation Pilots Give a Thumbs Up to Runway Safety “Previews”

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In an average year, more than 16 million aircraft fly in U.S. skies and roll safely on airport runways and taxiways. When a runway incursion stemming from a pilot error occurs, it is a rare event, but it draws scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration, no matter if it involves a commercial airline or a small general aviation (GA) aircraft.

More than 75 percent of these runway incursions related to pilot actions involve GA aircraft, so the FAA employs multiple ways to reach these pilots, including safety summits, advanced surface radar, clear signage and unique videos.

We need to reduce risk in the system by raising the awareness of general aviation pilots and providing them more understanding of local runway and taxiway configurations, explains Glen Martin, FAA Vice President of Safety and Technical Training.

This is the premise behind the expanding From the Flight Deck runway safety video initiative. The FAA has produced a series of 4- to 5-minute videos of actual approach, landing and runway taxi scenarios at small and medium-size airports using Go-Pro cameras in a Cessna to create the GA pilot viewpoint. Graphics, animation and runway diagrams also have been added along with a voice-over to fully describe and educate about runway and intersection hot spots at specific airports across the United States.

With these videos, knowledge and training is designed from the cockpit perspective, allowing pilots to visualize the approach and layout to an airport before they actually arrive, Martin adds.This experience will improve their decision-making and reduce errors and accidents.

So far, more than three dozen videos have been developed and released free to the public, which highlight runways and intersections at 33 different U.S. airports. General videos also have been created for GA operations that focus on wrong airport landings, wrong surface landings, winter weather, wrong direction departures and hold short procedures. The video series has garnered more than 170,000 views since its inception.

The FAA plans to create and release videos for 30 to 40 more airports during the next two years. Additional goals include linking every video to its corresponding airport web site and for general aviation trade associations to help build awareness and distribution of these safety videos through their own social media sites.

These are invaluable safety tools for general aviation pilots and for airports with general aviation operations, adds Martin. Getting the right information to the pilot will help make us safer.

Join the FAA today for a General Aviation Safety Town Hall from 23:30 p.m. ET. The virtual meeting will feature Administrator Steve Dickson, Deputy Administrator Bradley Mims, general aviation stakeholders and FAA experts.