In itial training has been completed at SJC and RNO. Training for the remaining sites is
scheduled between now and the end of October. The LAANC tool is scheduled to
become operational at these prototype sites on or about Oct . 16th. Provided all goes
well at the initial sites, the LAANC tool will be deployed in facilities across the NAS
throughout CY2018. The initial deployment will simply replace the manual process in
which notifications are accepted and authorizations are approved. The tool itself will be
us ed solely by staff support/management during the initial phase. It is envisioned the
future iterations will be incorporated into operations.
As a reminder, LAANC will automate the UAS authorization for Part 107 proponents.
There are still few legal issues to work through, but LAANC is expected to be able to
provide notification for Part 101/Hobbyist proponents by early in CY2018. The initial test
version of LAANC will only include Part 107 authorizations.
The Agency is working with several industry part ners who will provide this service to the
various UAS proponents. The Agency will provide UAS facility map data to the industry
partners. The partners will, in turn, develop tools that will provide authorization and
notification services to the proponents, on a real - time basis, based on the UAS facility
map data. The authorizations and notifications will be instantly transmitted back to the
facility for which the authorization/notification was made.
AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE (ARC)
Mr. Weidner and Mr. Richards continue to participate in two different ARC s as subject
matter experts (SME s). The UAS Identification and Tracking ARC is expected to
complete its work and make its recommendations to the FAA soon. The UAS Controlled
Airspace ARC held its kicko ff meeting on Sept 26 - 27. This ARC is expected to meet over
the next several months before finalizing its recommendations to the FAA.
UAS QUESTIONS
As a reminder, any UAS related questions can be addressed to Mr. Weidner and Mr.
Richards at UAS@natca.net .
