A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/806148
4/24 - 28, 2017: Airspace m eeting in D . C . 5/1 - 5, 2017 : ZSE for TBFM/GIM - s/TSAS 5/8 - 12, 2017 : ZAB TBFM/GIM - s/TSAS meeting; CLT Safety panel for TBFM/ATD - 2 5/1 5 - 19,2017 : ZDV TBFM/GIM - s/TSAS meeting UN MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) Steve Weidner (ZMP) is the NATCA Arti cle 114 Representative for UAS. Jeff Richards (ZAU) is assisting Mr. Weidner on this project due to the workload and activity associated with it. Below is the update for the membership. NATCA/FAA WORKGROUPS The NATCA/FAA Part 107 workgroup will be visiting the MIA and PHX ar eas during the month of April. The intent of this workgroup is to elicit best practices from field facilities that are dealing wit h high volumes of Part 107 requests. A small NATCA/FAA team from headquarters will visit both areas and interview controllers, staff , and management regarding their efforts to integrate Part 107 author izations into their operation. UAS FACILITY MAPS In an effort to improve the quality of Part 107 authorization requests coming into the FAA, the agency is preparing to make public the UAS Facility Maps that each terminal facility was asked to complete. The agency has found that absent any guidance on what altitudes may be authorized around airports, proponents are simply requesting 400' AGL for every flight - whether they need it or not. This is leading to a high rate of disapprovals and greatly increased coordination tim e with the affected facilities. T he strategy behind making the maps public is that proponents will be able to see altitudes that are available and will become more precise with their authorization requests. The first batch of maps - which includes all Class E surface areas and a handful of Class B, C , and D airspace - will be re leased toward s to end of March. It is the intent that the agency will publish new maps, or any map updates on the nor mal 56 - day chart update dates. DRONE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DAC) Mr. Weidner and Mr. Richards are participating in two of the DAC's Tasking Groups (TG). Mr. Richards is representing NATC A on TG2 - Access to Airspace. This TG will come up with recommendations to the FAA on how the UAS industry can gain additional access to airspace, further enabling i ntegration. Mr. Weidner is representi ng NATCA on TG3 - UAS Finance. The purpose of TG3 is to make recommendations on how the UAS industry can financially support integration. UAS PATHFINDER EFFORTS Mr. Weidner recently participated in a Pathfinder 3 p rogram update fro m BNSF Railroad in Dallas . Pathfinder 3 is a research project between the FAA and BNSF to explore technologies and procedures to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UAS operations. The purpose of this meeting was to review pro gress made in Phases 1 & 2 of this research project and to discuss what future phases of BVLOS testing will entail. COMMUNICATING FOR SAFETY NATCA just wrapped u p another very successful CFS. Mr. Weidner participated on a panel moderated by Executive V ice President, Trish Gilbert , " The Effect of Government Regulations and Policies on Aviation S afety, Efficiency , and Growth . " Part of the