EAA Submits Additional Comments on BVLOS NPRM

EAA submitted formal comments responding to the FAA’s Federal Register notice requesting further public comment on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations. These comments addressed questions asked by the FAA looking deeper into ADS-B and the possibility of “electronic conspicuity” (EC) devices, an alternative to ADS-B contemplated to aid in collision avoidance between manned aircraft and drones.

EAA provided feedback aimed to support portable (or installed), low-cost, low-power, anonymous “alternate EC” devices intended solely to enhance air-to-air awareness and deconfliction. In answering additional technical questions from the FAA, EAA stressed that EC devices should be fundamentally different than installed ADS-B systems in terms of cost, performance, and intended use, but should be compatible with the ADS-B In systems commonly used by manned aircraft for traffic deconfliction. 

Above all, EC systems should not be mandated and should fit into a layered approach to UAS integration, with several systems simultaneously assuring safety. EAA made clear in both its original comments and these supplemental comments that all beyond visual line of sight UAS should be equipped with onboard “detect-and-avoid” systems that do not rely on a position broadcast by other aircraft. As EAA indicated in these latest comments, even the most reliable position broadcast systems are subject to malfunction, and the system cannot rely upon a single point of failure.

EAA supports UAS integration done safely and with careful consideration for all operators in the National Airspace System. EAA’s comments can be read here.