Avionics News September 2017 - 28
COULD DRONE MANIA SAVE GENERAL AVIATION
Continued from page 27
Easy, they are going to come to you.
Really?
Yes, really. In fact, some of them already have and you
probably missed out.
If you are not already a rated pilot, you need to take
an exam at an approved test center to fly a drone for
commercial purposes. Many approved test centers are
also flight schools. According to the FAA, over 30,000
people have completed the Part 107 test process in the last
nine months. In the last 12 months, 17,000 private pilot
certificates were issued. Part 107 licenses for drones are
bringing thousands of warm bodies with an interest in
flight through the doors of flight schools. As part of the test
process, flight schools could offer discovery
flights to new and current remote pilot
certificate holders. My own
path to pilot started with one
discovery flight. After the
first flight, my life and bank
accounts would never be
the same. The problem is,
I waited 30 years to take
that first flight. If I had been
introduced earlier, my career
path and logbook might look
completely different.
So let's take advantage of the
interest in drones and flight, to win some
new students for the flight school, future contributors
to the general aviation economy, and create better-educated
drone operators. Did I mention increasing the power of the
voice and reach of GA? No, I guess I forgot that one. Add it
to the growing list of benefits.
Costs
Drone mania can drive down costs for GA. One of
the barriers to ownership for most GA pilots is cost. The
forecast for drone numbers is staggering. Within the last
year, 600,000 drones have been registered in the U.S. There
were 265,165 total registered manned aircraft on the FAA
rolls when I started writing this article earlier this year.
Almost a century of aircraft on the books and more than
double the number of drones were registered in one year.
New single-engine aircraft sold in the U.S. average around
1,000 units annually. The FAA estimates 600,000 more
commercial drones in the next year.
As commercial drone use becomes more common,
28
avionics news
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september
2017
drones will need the same equipment our manned aircraft
carry. In the case of drones, these devices are required to be
extremely small, power efficient and affordable.
How would you like to have inexpensive redundant
autopilots, tiny high-integrity GPS, and radar in your
Cessna? Immediate benefits will come from greater safety
through improved redundancy, intelligence, and lower
costs as product development is amortized over hundreds
of thousands of units instead of a few hundred. Additional
gains will be realized through improved performance
margins and better fuel economy because of significant
weight savings. Perhaps even lower insurance premiums
will occur due to more affordable safety technologies. OK,
I'll admit that insurance part is probably fantasy.
Aging population
The greatest generation brought us the largest built-in
pilot population in history, partially because a
large number of military pilots transitioned
out of the service but kept flying. General
aviation hit its peak in the 1970s and
has been in decline since then. Every
year, a few of my aging friends stop
flying, either because they sideline
themselves for safety or because
they lose their medical. Drones
have the potential to create a general
aviation renaissance. We have tens of
thousands of young people interested
in drones. They are interested in flight,
technology and the adventure. They
also love social media and sharing
their experience, giving general aviation new
visibility and some much-needed outreach.
The challenge
In the face of a great opportunity, we have two choices
as pilots. We can be ambassadors and evangelists,
expanding the general aviation culture to a group primed
to experience all that commanding an aircraft has to offer.
Alternatively, we can continue as I and my peers once did,
rolling our eyes, groaning and moaning that drones are the
end of general aviation as we know it when, in fact, the
opposite could be true. I've made my choice and joined
the religion. After being staunchly anti-drone, I have
taken my own medicine and joined with a drone avionics
company to improve safety and integration of drones as
they inevitably join the airspace. I've taken my fingers out
of my ears and am actively engaged in shaping this new
generation of aviators. q
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News September 2017
No label
Avionics News September 2017 - Intro
Avionics News September 2017 - No label
Avionics News September 2017 - Cover2
Avionics News September 2017 - 1
Avionics News September 2017 - 2
Avionics News September 2017 - 3
Avionics News September 2017 - 4
Avionics News September 2017 - 5
Avionics News September 2017 - 6
Avionics News September 2017 - 7
Avionics News September 2017 - 8
Avionics News September 2017 - 9
Avionics News September 2017 - 10
Avionics News September 2017 - 11
Avionics News September 2017 - 12
Avionics News September 2017 - 13
Avionics News September 2017 - 14
Avionics News September 2017 - 15
Avionics News September 2017 - 16
Avionics News September 2017 - 17
Avionics News September 2017 - 18
Avionics News September 2017 - 19
Avionics News September 2017 - 20
Avionics News September 2017 - 21
Avionics News September 2017 - 22
Avionics News September 2017 - 23
Avionics News September 2017 - 24
Avionics News September 2017 - 25
Avionics News September 2017 - 26
Avionics News September 2017 - 27
Avionics News September 2017 - 28
Avionics News September 2017 - 29
Avionics News September 2017 - 30
Avionics News September 2017 - 31
Avionics News September 2017 - 32
Avionics News September 2017 - 33
Avionics News September 2017 - 34
Avionics News September 2017 - 35
Avionics News September 2017 - 36
Avionics News September 2017 - 37
Avionics News September 2017 - 38
Avionics News September 2017 - 39
Avionics News September 2017 - 40
Avionics News September 2017 - 41
Avionics News September 2017 - 42
Avionics News September 2017 - 43
Avionics News September 2017 - 44
Avionics News September 2017 - 45
Avionics News September 2017 - 46
Avionics News September 2017 - 47
Avionics News September 2017 - 48
Avionics News September 2017 - 49
Avionics News September 2017 - 50
Avionics News September 2017 - 51
Avionics News September 2017 - 52
Avionics News September 2017 - 53
Avionics News September 2017 - 54
Avionics News September 2017 - 55
Avionics News September 2017 - 56
Avionics News September 2017 - 57
Avionics News September 2017 - 58
Avionics News September 2017 - 59
Avionics News September 2017 - 60
Avionics News September 2017 - 61
Avionics News September 2017 - 62
Avionics News September 2017 - 63
Avionics News September 2017 - 64
Avionics News September 2017 - 65
Avionics News September 2017 - 66
Avionics News September 2017 - 67
Avionics News September 2017 - 68
Avionics News September 2017 - 69
Avionics News September 2017 - 70
Avionics News September 2017 - 71
Avionics News September 2017 - 72
Avionics News September 2017 - Cover3
Avionics News September 2017 - Cover4
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