The FAA’s proposed Part 108 rule on operations of commercial drones without visual line of sight will make it easier for drone operators to scale up their operations, and enable use cases that will have the biggest economic benefits.
Today, under Part 107, most commercial drones must remain within visual line of sight of their pilots, unless operators receive a waiver. This has meant that drone operators have spent their efforts getting waiver after waiver to unlock new operations. And to get these waivers, operators often have to operate in a “pilot’s eye view” fashion, staying as close to the aircraft as possible, or station visual observers along flight paths. In the end, this makes for more complicated flights, takes longer, and costs more, undermining the economic benefits of drone operations.
But with BVLOS operations, a host of high value flights could be done repeatedly. Operators could inspect large sections of rail lines. They could follow a broken power line and search it for miles. They could conduct search operations for public safety, and survey crop health in agriculture. They could deliver packages and emergency supplies to remote locations, or carry urgently needed medical cargo. The value of these flights is diminished if a drone operator can’t reliably, legally, and frequently conduct them.
The Part 108 rule would change that, and open up a new world of BVLOS flights. The rule builds upon the current Part 107 framework and the FAA’s experience with granting waivers. But rather than rely on waivers for every new operation, Part 108 creates a common set of rules for BVLOS operations, and tailors them to different levels of risk. For example, higher levels of safety assurance will be required for flying near infrastructure, or in certain busy airspace, or in the presence of humans. It also puts more of the onus of safety on the organization, which is the appropriate way to look at enterprise operations. The whole team of ground and flight crews, the software systems in the drone, the organization’s processes, and the remote pilots are all part of a larger system, and it’s more appropriate to assess and ensure safety at the enterprise level, not simply the pilot level.
Of course, a lot of work must be done to ensure the safety of drones operating BVLOS. One of the most challenging aspects will be avoiding other aircraft flying at low altitudes, where there are helicopters, small planes, and agricultural aircraft. In the air are emergency vehicles, and even other drones. Some of these aircraft will be cooperating and have ADS-B transponders to announce their locations; some won’t. This is where robust detect and avoid capabilities can make sure that BVLOS drones don’t have mid-air accidents with noncooperating traffic. In all, a system-level approach that includes strategic deconfliction (making sure that flights aren’t planned to happen in the same place at the same time), as well as tactical methods like detect and avoid, and also electronic conspicuity (announcing locations), is needed to safely mix and integrate drones with these other aircraft.
But these safety methods need to be backed by standards, and backed by a legal and regulatory framework that makes clear how to conduct these flights. That’s where Part 108 will help. It will create a common approach that will enable commercial operators and manufacturers to show compliance, and will ease integration with other airspace users, while ensuring public safety. This will also ease airworthiness certification, and provide more consistency, and clarity to the drone industry about how they can conduct BVLOS operations.
Part 108 would also help address the growing role of digitalization on airworthiness. Drones and the software they fly on are often tightly integrated, and so for an airworthiness system, the software system itself is just as important as the physical aircraft. This is an important point as drone manufacturers increasingly work with international supply chains, and as the FAA works to build a drone-specific airworthiness process under its proposed Part 146 rule. The Part 146 rule will need to recognize the growing role of digital technology, and the complexities associated with securing global supply chains.
All of these changes have to also maintain public trust, and the FAA and law enforcement will have to separate those who use the technology for harmful activities, and those who use it for beneficial activities, while also maintaining safety. Ultimately, though, by focusing on safety and unlocking new opportunities for innovative operations, Part 108 can prove that it’s not one or the other. And it will create a pathway for BVLOS operations that can spur new safety-focused drone innovation.
For commercial operators of unmanned aircraft who want to routinely fly BVLOS missions – for example, performing utility inspections – the current legal requirements for getting a "pilot’s eye view" waiver can be expensive, time-consuming, and in some cases, may even prevent some high-value operations from occurring. This is not a technology issue, but rather a regulatory and legal one.
In order for Part 108 to truly open up a new era of expanded BVLOS operations, it must include the following components:
Demonstrated safety and risk mitigation
A successful Part 108 rule should require a level of safety and risk mitigation commensurate with the risk posed by the mission, and also take into account the type of airspace, whether operating in rural or urban areas and the population density on the ground.
Operators should demonstrate the ability to conduct operations that do not endanger other aircraft. Detect-and-avoid functions would need to function as an independent backstop in the presence of aircraft without communications capabilities, or aircraft not willing to cooperate with the operation. There should be clear protocols for unexpected flight events, such as encountering traffic, loss of communication, or other hazards.
Digital coordination
BVLOS operations cannot be accomplished without the underpinnings of digital communications infrastructure between the aircraft, the operator(s), and even the FAA or other aircraft users. Digital infrastructure includes automatic coordination, weather, flight planning, airspace information, communication links, remote identification capabilities, etc. These functions are no less critical to airworthiness than the airframe itself. Digital infrastructure capabilities are a critical aspect of the FAA’s proposed Part 146 rule, and should be reflected in the Part 108 rule.
Maintaining consumer confidence
There is understandable concern among the public regarding rogue aircraft in airports, near critical infrastructure, during large public events, and in other scenarios in which safety is critical. For drone operators, it’s important to ensure that the FAA and law enforcement can tell the good from the bad to protect the reputation of law-abiding operators. Part 108 should address: aircraft airworthiness and maintenance requirements; operator responsibility and compliance; reporting and accountability; enforcement and penalties; and coordination across local, national, and international levels. This rule will also need to address the enterprise organization operating the aircraft, rather than just the individual remote pilot. The organization will include ground teams, software systems, and remote pilots, with the safety of the mission primarily the responsibility of the organization.
Availability of aircraft
A robust and secure supply chain will be required to ensure access to the right aircraft for the right purpose. While national security concerns could rightfully motivate some restrictions on the supply chain, particularly for critical infrastructure users, restrictions could also reduce competition and drive up costs for drone operators. Rules of origin requirements and international trade restrictions may rule out many aircraft. The U.S. needs to balance its short-term ability to access proven aircraft for both commercial users, government, and small business, while creating conditions for domestic and allied countries to compete more effectively over the long-term.
The right Part 108 would be an enormous boon to the drone industry, especially operators who need to regularly conduct BVLOS operations in order to compete. Having a consistent set of performance and operational standards for routine BVLOS flights, instead of the current waiver after waiver process under Part 107, will help predictability and bring down costs for both operators and the users of those services. It also could allow new use cases to emerge, for instance, by expanding emergency response operations when transportation and communications infrastructure is down. The proposed rule has the promise of providing the necessary guardrails to allow new technologies to be integrated into our daily lives. It will be up to FAA and other stakeholders to make sure that these guardrails do not leave out a critical area that prevents drones from reaching their full potential.
Ultimately, the promise of drones hinges on the FAA’s ability to escape the false choice of either innovation or safety. Instead, a well-drafted rule that includes rigorous safety and accountability provisions that unlock a new era of innovation for BVLOS operations will prove that innovation and safety are in fact inseparable for the future of flight.
