The Poplar Bluff Municipal Airport hosted an informational training on the regulations for drone operators. According to Airport Director Gary Pride, unlicensed and illegal drone usage is becoming a growing problem.
Rich Yokum, a commercial drone pilot with Bayer, demonstrated the capabilities of a DJI M300 while emphasizing safe operation within the existing regulatory infrastructure. Yokum informed operators must hold the FAA Part 107 license if there is any exchange of goods and services for drone operation.
Moreover, any commercial activity such as agricultural applications, real estate videos, or surveying must be done under license. Yokum described the inadequacy of the current regulatory infrastructure.
“Anyone can go to Walmart and buy one, and that’s a problem,” he remarked.
Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team Program Manager Randally Ottinger was also present at the event. He noted the FAA finds itself in a difficult situation with trying to keep up with the rapidly evolving drone industry.
Yokum added the number of potential applications for unmanned aerial systems is expanding beyond what many thought possible. Pride recalled the airport recently commissioned drone operators to measure the height of trees surrounding the airport’s 300-acre grounds.
He said the drones were able to finish the work in mere minutes.
“A survey crew would take weeks,” Pride said.
He recounted other drone crews can use special cameras to detect disease in crops before it is visible to the naked eye. Yokum’s DJI M300 was fitted with thermal imaging to aid in search and rescue operations in addition to light detection and ranging (LIDAR) for crop height measurements.
While the uses are manifold, Yokum insisted the certifications are necessary.
“All drones need to be registered,” he stated.
Yokum noted the knowledge needed to pass the Part 107 test will help drone operators avoid dangerous missteps.
“You’ve got to study,” he said.
The delineations between various types of airspace and altitude restrictions are the most difficult part of the test, according to Yokum. The certification needs to be renewed every 24 months.
Yokum informed the nearest testing center is in Cape Girardeau. Two crop duster pilots, Eric Blair and Scott McGarity, both expressed frustration over the number of unlicensed drone operators causing unsafe flying conditions for their manned flights.
“I think the barrier to entry needs to be a little higher,” McGarity commented.
Blair said he was not against the drones and acknowledged their usefulness but recalled several close calls with unmanned systems operating in fields he was working on.
“They need to be governed by the same rules and regulations,” McGarity added.
Both pilots and Pride hope to see drone pilots using the same identification systems and communication channels as manned aircraft. Yokum said, as an operator for a major corporation, he always puts out a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) when working a field.
McGarity countered by saying, in 700 flight hours per year, he has never been advised or contacted by drone pilots operating in the same area. Pride suggested the FAA send personnel to farm shows where drones are being exhibited and sold to help educate prospective operators on the certifications needed.
Another FAA representative, Will Hunter, lamented, “You can educate. Some people just don’t care.”
He said the nature of the regulations is slow-moving and behind the times.
McGarity commented gravely, “A lot of rules are written in blood. I feel like that’s how these are going to be.”
All pilots present noted just a small bird can take down an aircraft. The large commercial drones present a far greater danger, according to Pride.
If two drones collide, it is just a loss of money. If a drone collides with a manned aircraft, “the consequences are irrevocable,” Pride cautioned.
Those interested in attaining the Part 107 license can visit https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot for more information.