Co. Chamber Hosts Session on Drones for Business

COURT HOUSE – Society appears to be heading into a world of self-driving cars, robots enhanced with artificial intelligence, and unmanned aircraft. 
The latter are known as drones, and Cape May County is working to carve a role in the county’s economy related to the fast-growing business of drone testing, pilot education, and all things related to the fast-emerging drone industry.
A drone “incubator” center has opened at the county airport.
Creating a role for the county in this burgeoning industry is a prime potential area of economic development.
Drones also need to be considered in another way, as tools that help local businesses.
This was the motivation behind a Cape May County Chamber of Commerce educational program at the Court House campus of Atlantic Cape Community College Feb. 28.
Over 30 business owners and interested parties heard a presentation entitled “Drones for Business 101.” Daniel Yoel gave the presentation.
Yoel is the chief executive officer of American Aerospace Technologies. He also is considered the county’s subject matter expert on unmanned aerial systems.
What is a drone and why are they useful?
A drone is an aircraft without a pilot. Today that drone is connected to a person with a control console and a communication system.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets the regulations for drone use augmented in some ways by state and local laws and ordinances.
Drones, as most picture them, are often small, two to 55 pounds. The FAA sets a height ceiling for them of 400 feet. Drones of this size are often fitted with cameras and are used in applications where they can provide visual access to otherwise difficult or impossible angles for photographs and video.
Yoel pointed out that drones can be much larger. A medium drone, 25 to 500 pounds, would be able to achieve much greater heights and stay aloft much longer.
Even larger drones, too costly for most commercial applications outside major companies, can run up to a ton in weight, reach 90,000 feet and carry large payloads.
Small to medium-size drones have as many applications as imagination allows. A drone can inspect the underside of a bridge; aid in annual reviews of water towers; provide evidence of oil spills; help restore cell coverage after major storms; overview forest fires; and, as some communities in the county already know, provide a detailed picture of beach erosion.
The uses of drones are rapidly expanding. In many ways, the growing manner in which drones may contribute to business, scientific study, and emergency response are outstripping the ability of agencies, especially the FAA, to develop and put in place regulations that provide meaningful protection for the public while facilitating the use of drones.
The Rules
In a brief seminar, Yoel could do little more than outline the regulations related to drone use. He urged those interested to follow the FAA website where regulations are posted, www.faa.gov/uas.
Two basic categories of regulations exist, Yoel explained.
The first is a set of rules related to the use of drones for purely recreational purposes.
Here, drones must:
* Be registered.
* Have appropriate insurance.
* Never weigh over 55 pounds.
* Be used only in daylight and in a line-of-sight for the controller.
* Avoid airspace within five miles of an airport.
The other set of regulations, known as part 107, is for recreation or commercial use. Many of the same regulations apply there, but greater flexibility exists for how the drone is used.
It no longer must be 100 percent recreational. Some commercial and industrial applications can come into play.
With this flexibility comes a more thorough screening process.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security screening is required. Users must pass the written portion of the exam for small plane pilot certification.
More local and state laws may also become pertinent since the FAA does not deal with issues like privacy, leaving a void that will be filled by other statutes. 
The myriad of areas where the loosely integrated multiagency or government entity rules can pose problems is potentially large.
One example is that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forbids flying below 2,000 feet over any wildlife refuge. The problem may not be the rule, but that it exists.
Another area of rules that limits commercial applications, unless the user goes through a waiver process, is the FAA prohibition that restricts drones from flying over people.
The rule exists to reduce the risk of injury from a drone crash. The rule limits commercial applications in numerous ways.
It will not be long before practical needs lead to large numbers of drones flying out of operators’ line of sight, creating a whole new set of issues.
The current stage of drone technology and potential use is moving fast. Regulations and even education may scramble to keep pace. Waiver processes exist, but much may depend on the evolving regulatory environment.
The chamber’s event was indeed Drones 101, meaning that it was an introduction to a complex but promising mix of technological capabilities and an evolving regulatory context.
Business and recreational use of drones is already rising in the county.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.