Representation for Commercial sUAS

[Bartman]

Hi Dave,

I replied to your post in the other thread regarding our decision to support the Small UAV Coalition. Time will tell but initial indications, and the reason I put the support of the website behind them, are that they intend to fold Pro and Personal sUAS operators into their lobbying efforts. To that end and by joining their coalition as one organized entity via our association here, we get the maximum available lobbying return in the shortest amount of time.

This is going to be an effort that develops over time and as we see what we can accomplish through them we will also be evolving our efforts and expectations. At any point it may appear that we're not getting what we expected but I'd be surprised it that is the direction that this all goes in.

Dave's reference above is to the site's decision to throw our support behind the Small UAV Coalition as the representative body in the US for Pro and Hobbyist/Personal sUAS users.

My apologies to those of you that have invested your own time to try starting your own lobbying groups.

 

[filmfly]

I’ve been trying hard to make ACUAS succeed, and although I’m not getting paid and have a day job and family to take care of, I’ve tried to make ACUAS a priority because I see sUAS as an integral and vibrant part of our future and now is a pivotal time for this industry. I’m not a political organizer or online marketer; I’m a pilot and a film professional who loves small unmanned aircraft and the amazing things we can do with them. This is an incredible time to be involved in sUAS and I want to see us all succeed at every level.

Even though I’d love to tell you all that we’ve been having raging success, the truth is that we’ve had a bumpy start and that signups were initially modest rather than spiking up through the roof. Our reach has increased over the past few weeks and we’re in the process of having exciting discussions which I hope will have a positive outcome and that I’ll be able share with you soon. So, in all transparency: yes, we’ve learned a lot through this process but we’ve rolled up our sleeves and we’re keeping on going as we want to make this happen: we want those interested in sUAS to come together from across many different groups and online communities to work together and have a powerful voice.

If you believe in the need for broader advocacy efforts and are interested in doing more to help, I’d love to get you involved. Thank you again to those of you who have been actively working with us, as well as those of you who have simply given their early support to us by joining as members. I’ll do my best to work hard for you all.

David Thurlow

 

[Old Man]

Regardless of where the primary support comes from or goes to there's still a lot to be done. People need to become organized and affiliated with someone that has their best interest in mind. Various levels of education relative to flight safety and airspace need to be initiated. Training provided by those with comprehensive experience in all aspects of what we do could be provided at some level and multiple locations. Contact with manufacturers and suppliers should be made, by everyone, to push them into requiring new users to become better informed. Someone needs to be there to assure that we are protected from further restriction and encroachment after new regs are levied. All of that requires time and resources though and it's not realistic for only a few people to carry that much of a load without some assistance.

 

[jdennings]

This just in ... http://www.team-blacksheep.com/docs/pirker-faa-settlement.pdf
Well said, and thanks to Brendan Shulman and Raphael Pirker.

 

[filmfly]

Very interesting, thanks for posting. It looks like, considering the circumstances, they did well in their defense. Reckless and Dangerous is - and should be - a more important issue to the FAA and us all than paid vs. unpaid. Regardless of the outcome of this case, I'm glad they've brought attention to the difficulties and confusion the sUAS industry is facing, both regarding regulations for commercial operations and clear, practical safety standards.