A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/639552
o NATCA and the FAA recently entered into an agreement to create a UAS working group. • This working group will consist of two NATCA and two FAA members. • The purpose of this working group is to address issues resulting from the impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operating within the N ational Airspace System (NAS). Steve Weidner (ZMP) and Jeff Richards (ZAU) will be the two NA TCA members on this workgroup. • The FAA has yet to name their two members. o This workgroup has the ability to establish sub - workgroups to support the act ivities of the UAS initiative. We'll provide more information as this effort progresses. • Syracuse Air National Guard Operations o The Air National Guard would like to begi n conducting MQ1/MQ9 unmanned operati ons from the Syracuse airport. o This operation will be the first time sustained unmanned operations will be integrated into an FAA controlled , civilian/commercial airport. Given the ground breaking nature of this operati on, NATCA and the FAA will be holding workgroup meeting on February 11 - 12 in Washington , D . C . to ensure all procedures and issues with this type of operation are addre ssed. o The product of this workgroup will enable the FAA and the Air National Guard to con struct an LOA tha t works well for all involved. The North Dakota Air National Guard is proposing similar operatio ns from the Fargo, ND airport. NATCA and FAA representatives from Fargo will also be participating in this workgroup. • Hobbyist Notification Req uirement o NATCA continues to work on the Hobbyist notification requirement via an AJV - 7 sponsored workgroup. As stated in last month's update, the agency distributed a checklist and a guidance memo to the field facilities as a short - term solution to this re quirement. NATCA has requested an Article 7 briefing on this guidance. o An Article 7 briefing was scheduled with the FAA, but due to the snowstorm that hit D . C . , that briefing is being rescheduled. • UAS at CFS o There will be a large UAS presence at CFS this y ear. o NATCA will be moderating a panel discussion on UAS on the main stage of the conference. NATCA has invited panel participants from the FAA, the DOD, Google, Amazon, N ASA and IFATCA to participate. o NATCA will also be conduc ting two UAS breakout sessions . • One session will be focused on small UAS (under 55 lbs) operations. • The other will be foc used on larger UAS operations. • NATCA is also working with General Atomics and Northrup Grumman to provide Predator/Reaper (MQ1/MQ9) and Global Hawk (RQ4) Ground Cont rol Station (cockpit) s imulators for our vendor area.