I asked Captain Moffatte from the Wake Forest Fire Department to read and review the information on starting a COA flight program using his fresh eyes. Captain Moffatte is responsible for managing multiple programs and is uniquely qualified to understand complex requirements, planning, managing data, and reporting for compliance. To date, he has not been … Read more
The subject of the Pilots Record Database and its applicability for both Part 107 and COA pilots has created a thirst for more clarity. These FAQs below are a combination of information distributed by the FAA, and some are from the info I published here. With the liability and complexity of yet another COA admin … Read more
At first glance, you are not going to believe what I’m about to share with you. But this is all true, so pay close attention. Historically the FAA has maintained a database of commercial pilots that employers had to upload information about. This was typically so that when pilots moved from one carrier to another … Read more
Up until November 12, 2021, UAS COA operations were not allowed to conduct training flights. All pilots would have needed to hold a Part 107 pilot certificate or the flight would have been not permitted under the COA. On November 12, 2021, the FAA Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations issued the following memo to provide … Read more
The transcript of the session is below but keep in mind I did not go through it to correct little things. The links and documents mentioned in this webinar can be found here. The speakers in this webinar included the folks below. Transcript 00:00:10.557 –> 00:00:15.147 Thank you so much Tim I’m so glad that … Read more
Up until now training flights by COA pilots that were engaged with non-federal entities have not been allowed under a COA. As of November 12, 2021, this has changed. Non-federal entities flying a UAS under a COA can now legally conduct limited training flights under the adjusted FAA interpretation. The limitation is the training flights … Read more
Another excellent question I’ve been asked is: “What Are Our UAS Responsibilities as a COA Agency?” If you have a question you’d like to ask, click here. As fast-paced and modern as the public safety drone world is, the current FAA guidance and rules departments should follow have not moved at the same pace. Yet, … Read more
The public safety drone space, and maybe the entire drone niche, is in a state of flux. An important issue I’ve run into recently is working with departments and pilots to overcome assumptions. When presented with a different perspective, the typical response is that it can’t be right. But what I’m finding is a combination … Read more
When it comes to someone with an extensive resume in law enforcement, Tom Madigan has a bio that reads like the book of an expert. His experience runs from find them, catch them, extract them, test them, to lock them up. In other words, patrol, detective, SWAT, crime lab, and corrections. Today we can aviation … Read more
Here is a question I get on a regular basis. Question: How far can we fly our drone at the incident scenes and how far beyond the line of sight can we go? Answer: You would think there would be a simple answer to this question. There actually is but the facts get clouded with … Read more