Concepedia

Abstract

The promulgation of Part 107 rules in June 2016 by the Federal Aviation Administration reduces the administrative burden for using unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and provides enhanced opportunities to utilize UASs in a variety of capacities. Previous studies such as the Airport Cooperative Research Program UAS primer have examined the framework for serving UASs as an aeronautical user, and there are anecdotal case studies that present the use of UASs for selected application; however, there has been limited documentation of the opportunities and challenges for the use of UASs for airport activities on airport property. This paper presents potential opportunities for the use of small UASs to enhance safety and operations in the airport environment and identifies the issues that will need to be addressed.