Final FAA-mandated UAV test site established in Virginia

In December 2013 the FAA selected six test sites that would help facilitate the utilisation of UAVs in national airspace, all of which have subsequently opened since April 2014.

The measures were a result of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, in which the administration was mandated by Congress to ensure UAVs can be fully integrated into the national airspace by 30 September 2015. The sixth and final US Federal Aviation Administration-mandated unmanned air vehicle (UAV) test site has been established in Virginia.

The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University test site officially opened on 13 August, and follows the opening of the other sites in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota and Texas.

Appeal of UAV ruling pressures FAA to establish rules

The legal skirmish has focused a bright spotlight on the FAA and turned up the pressure for the federal agency to establish rules for controlled use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs. Congress has ordered the FAA to set new UAV rules by September 2015 but many observers expect the agency will not meet its deadline. Currently operators of small UAVs or radio-controlled model planes flying below 400 feet can do so only for non-commercial uses, according to FAA operating standards spelled out in a 1981. That was decades before UAV operators saw the potential for aerial photography, crop-dusting and dozens of other commercial uses already permitted around the globe.

FAA: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site Selection

On February 14, 2012, the President Barack Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) into law. The FMRA includes requirements for integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system (NAS), including direction for the FAA to “establish a program to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system at six (6) test ranges.” (Read more)