Director of Communications
Doug Church : dchurch@natcadc.org ; 301 - 346 - 8245
Associate Director of Communications, Art & Design
Laura Roose: lroose@natcadc.org ; 202 - 220 - 9814
Communications Specialist
Sarah Zilonis : szilonis@natcadc.org ; 202 - 266 - 9844.
Senior Social Media Associate
Meagan Roper : mroper@natcadc.org ; 202 - 220 - 9813
Administrative Assistant for Public Affairs
Pauline Hines : phines@natcadc.org ; 202 - 266 - 9846 .
WEEKLY UPDATE FROM FAA ATO COO TERI BRISTOL
Nov. 10, 2017
LAANC Comes to Life, Marking Another UAS Milestone
Hi everyone,
As many of you are aware, the FAA recently launched technology to manage small U AS
operations more efficiently. This technology — Low Altitude Authorization and Notification
Capability, or LAANC — will automate the processing of Part 107 authorization requests
submitted by commercial small UAS operators to operate unmanned aircraft systems in
our national airspace system.
Since the Part 107 rules went into effect in 2016, small UAS operators who wish to fly in
controlled airspace are required to submit an airspace authorization requ est to the FAA
before takeoff. The plan was to turn these r equests around in 90 days, but with over
27,000 airspace authorizations received in 13 months, we knew we needed a better
process.
Enter LAANC — an innovative construct developed through collaboration with private
industry to eliminate the bottleneck of man ua lly - processed authorizations. Led by the
Program Management Organization, LAANC allows the FAA to share UAS facility maps
and other data with private industry partners, who then create online tools that allow
small UAS operators to submit authorization r equests for operations in controlled
airspace. These tools also allow UAS operators to request operations above
predetermined altitudes up to the 400' limit in Part 107 .
CVG (Cincinnati), RNO (Reno), LNK (Lincoln), SJC (San Jose), PHX (Phoenix) , and
ZMP ( Minneapolis) were first to activate LAANC, and Anchorage and Miami prototype
evaluation sites will be operational soon. Since October 23 LAANC has processed more
than 700 automated authorizations in near real time.
In addition to facilitating safe, effici ent operations of both manned and unmanned aircraft,
automating the Part 107 authorization request and approval processes saves our
organization time and money, allows us to collect UAS operator contact information, and
makes it easier for small UAS operat ors to comply with federal laws.
As you can imagine, this work has involved a great deal of planning to ensure safety.
Earlier this year, we held one - on - one meetings with 13 LAANC industry partners, who
were originally identifie d via requests for informat ion. We organized technical workshops
