Utah:- New drone alliance aims to assist with commercial drone use
By Kevin Opsahl
A new alliance aims to ultimately help business owners and companies commercially use drones, as the Federal Aviation Administration considers new rules that could ease restrictions on drone use for profit.
The drone alliance — comprised of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Utah Film Commission, the company Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems and others — will help entrepreneurs get FAA exemptions in the interim while the rules are being considered. In addition, the group will submit public comments to the FAA about those proposed rules and then navigate through those regulations if they’re approved, said Marshall Wright, aerospace and defense cluster director for GOED.
The FAA proposal says that drones (also called unmanned aerial systems) weighing less than 55 pounds would be able to fly up to 500 feet above the ground with speeds up to 100 mph. Drone operators would have to obtain a special unmanned operating certificate and follow certain restrictions, including keeping the drone within sight and avoiding hazards like restricted airspace.
The proposed FAA rules to allow commercial drones could be a game-changer for business owners, Wright believes.
“It’s a magic thing for entrepreneurs — it will allow many of them to enter into operations we haven’t even thought about at this point,” Wright said in an interview with The Herald Journal, noting the demand in a variety of sectors, from agriculture to home repair.
Wright said the economic impact of using drones for commercial purposes could be huge, citing the Virginia-based Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. The group estimates the initial three-year economic impact of drone integration in the national airspace system will be $13.6 billion, with the creation of 70,000 jobs. By 2025, the group projects an economic impact of $82 billion, according to 2013 report.
John Goodman, a Logan filmmaker and owner of owner of Grig Media, is one of many who would like to use a drone commercially. He believes the new alliance is a positive development for drone users.
“A good thing about the alliance is, it’s working together to help train and educate all people who want to do this, so they’ll be able to do it legally and understand the law. It can be very confusing, especially if you’re dealing with something like this,” he said. “From what I understand, they’re trying to train people ahead of time; it will be a good coordination of efforts to allow people like me and other professionals to use drones in the near future legally. I hope I can get my operator’s license as soon as possible, but I don’t know when that will be.”
Goodman is “very optimistic” the FAA rules will go into effect.
“A drone adds so much production value; it can make the difference between a jaw-dropper and a high school student film,” he said, noting that the changes to drone rules would make a big difference for small videographers like him.
Wright said the alliance began to formally organize last month.
He explained that getting an exemption to use a drone for filming is “rather onerous and costly.”
“Some film operators came to us and said to us, ‘This is a difficult procedure. Is there anything that can be done for those of us who are responsible operators and want to do this in a responsible way?’” Wright said in an interview, noting the alliance does not have a position on the proposed FAA rules. “That was the beginning of our discussions (on starting the alliance).”
The use of drones to make money is currently prohibited by the FAA unless an exemption is granted; still, many people do so nationwide, including right here in Cache Valley. A recent example is a highly publicized photo taken of Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium.
Drone use for academic and research purposes is allowed. Utah State University faculty fly drones for agricultural purposes and to survey property for landscape architecture projects. Recreational use, like the popular toy remote-control airplanes, is allowed as well.
