[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FAA REAUTHORIZATION: HARNESSING THE EVO-
LUTION OF FLIGHT TO DELIVER FOR THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE
=======================================================================
(118-10)
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
AVIATION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MARCH 30, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
transportation
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-305 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Sam Graves, Missouri, Chairman
Rick Larsen, Washington, Eric A. ``Rick'' Crawford,
Ranking Member Arkansas
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Daniel Webster, Florida
District of Columbia Thomas Massie, Kentucky
Grace F. Napolitano, California Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Steve Cohen, Tennessee Brian Babin, Texas
John Garamendi, California Garret Graves, Louisiana
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Georgiavid Rouzer, North Carolina
Andre Carson, Indiana Mike Bost, Illinois
Dina Titus, Nevada Doug LaMalfa, California
Jared Huffman, California Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
Julia Brownley, California Brian J. Mast, Florida
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon,
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Puerto Rico
Mark DeSaulnier, California Pete Stauber, Minnesota
Salud O. Carbajal, California Tim Burchett, Tennessee
Greg Stanton, Arizona, Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
Vice Ranking Member Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey,
Colin Z. Allred, Texas Vice Chairman
Sharice Davids, Kansas Troy E. Nehls, Texas
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia, Illinois Lance Gooden, Texas
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Tracey Mann, Kansas
Seth Moulton, Massachusetts Burgess Owens, Utah
Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts Rudy Yakym III, Indiana
Marilyn Strickland, Washington Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
Troy A. Carter, Louisiana Chuck Edwards, North Carolina
Patrick Ryan, New York Thomas H. Kean, Jr., New Jersey
Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska Anthony D'Esposito, New York
Robert Menendez, New Jersey Eric Burlison, Missouri
Val T. Hoyle, Oregon John James, Michigan
Emilia Strong Sykes, Ohio Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin
Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan Brandon Williams, New York
Valerie P. Foushee, North Carolina Marcus J. Molinaro, New York
Mike Collins, Georgia
Mike Ezell, Mississippi
John S. Duarte, California
Aaron Bean, Florida
Subcommittee on Aviation
Garret Graves, Louisiana, Chairman
Steve Cohen, Tennessee, Ranking Memberric A. ``Rick'' Crawford,
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Georgiakansas
Andre Carson, Indiana Thomas Massie, Kentucky
Julia Brownley, California Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Mark DeSaulnier, California Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
Greg Stanton, Arizona Brian J. Mast, Florida
Colin Z. Allred, Texas Pete Stauber, Minnesota
Sharice Davids, Kansas Tim Burchett, Tennessee
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia, Illinois Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska, Lance Gooden, Texas
Vice Ranking Member Tracey Mann, Kansas
Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan Burgess Owens, Utah
Dina Titus, Nevada Rudy Yakym III, Indiana, Vice
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Chairman
Salud O. Carbajal, California Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
Robert Menendez, New Jersey Thomas H. Kean, Jr., New Jersey
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Anthony D'Esposito, New York
District of Columbia John James, Michigan
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Marcus J. Molinaro, New York
Rick Larsen, Washington (Ex Officio) Mike Collins, Georgia
Aaron Bean, Florida
Sam Graves, Missouri (Ex Officio)
CONTENTS
Page
Summary of Subject Matter........................................ vii
STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Louisiana, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Aviation, opening
statement...................................................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Hon. Rick Larsen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Washington, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, opening statement.............................. 4
Prepared statement........................................... 6
Hon. Steve Cohen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Tennessee, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation,
opening statement.............................................. 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
WITNESSES
Panel 1
Adam Woodworth, Chief Executive Officer, Wing Aviation LLC, oral
statement...................................................... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Catherine F. Cahill, Ph.D., Director, Alaska Center for Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Integration, University of Alaska Fairbanks,
oral statement................................................. 18
Prepared statement........................................... 19
Roxana Kennedy, Chief of Police, Chula Vista Police Department,
oral statement................................................. 26
Prepared statement........................................... 27
Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical Director, WakeMed Innovations, WakeMed
Health and Hospitals, oral statement........................... 36
Prepared statement........................................... 38
Panel 2
Kyle Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BETA
Technologies, oral statement................................... 62
Prepared statement........................................... 64
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Joby
Aviation, oral statement....................................... 72
Prepared statement........................................... 74
Christopher Bradshaw, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the Helicopter Association
International, oral statement.................................. 76
Prepared statement........................................... 78
Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility Expert and Community
Advocate, oral statement....................................... 83
Prepared statement........................................... 85
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Submissions for the Record by Hon. Rudy Yakym III:
Letter of March 30, 2023, to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman, and
Hon. Rick Larsen, Ranking Member, Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, from Supernal, LLC...... 91
Report, ``Roadmap of Advanced Air Mobility Operations,''
Helicopter Association International, February 2023........ 93
Statement of Robert Rose, Co-founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Reliable Robotics Corporation..................... 93
Letter and attached 2023 FAA Reauthorization Bill Priorities
and Proposals to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman, and Hon. Rick
Larsen, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, and Hon. Garret Graves, Chairman, and Hon.
Steve Cohen, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation, from
Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer, Association for
Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International..................... 111
APPENDIX
Questions to Adam Woodworth, Chief Executive Officer, Wing
Aviation LLC, from:
Hon. Marcus J. Molinaro...................................... 129
Hon. Greg Stanton............................................ 130
Questions to Roxana Kennedy, Chief of Police, Chula Vista Police
Department, from:
Hon. Anthony D'Esposito...................................... 131
Hon. Greg Stanton............................................ 132
Questions to Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical Director, WakeMed
Innovations, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, from:
Hon. Marcus J. Molinaro...................................... 133
Hon. Greg Stanton............................................ 134
Questions from Hon. Sharice Davids to Kyle Clark, Founder and
Chief Executive Officer, BETA Technologies..................... 135
Questions to JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Joby Aviation, from:
Hon. Mike Collins............................................ 135
Hon. Sharice Davids.......................................... 136
Questions to Christopher Bradshaw, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the Helicopter
Association International, from:
Hon. Sharice Davids.......................................... 137
Hon. Dina Titus.............................................. 138
Questions to Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility Expert and
Community Advocate, from:
Hon. Sharice Davids.......................................... 139
Hon. Dina Titus.............................................. 140
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 27, 2023
SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER
TO: LMembers, Subcommittee on Aviation
FROM: LStaff, Subcommittee on Aviation
RE: LAviation Subcommittee Hearing on ``FAA
Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver
for the American People''
_______________________________________________________________________
I. PURPOSE
The Subcommittee on Aviation will meet on Thursday, March
30, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. ET in 2167 of the Rayburn House Office
Building for a hearing titled, ``FAA Reauthorization:
Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver for the American
People.'' The hearing will focus on the certification,
operations and safe integration of new entrants into the
National Airspace System (NAS). This hearing is in advance of
Congress acting to reauthorize the Federal Aviation
Administration's (FAA) statutory authorities that expire on
October 1, 2023. Members will receive testimony from two panels
of witnesses. The first panel will include representatives from
the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sector: Wing; the Alaska
Center for UAS Integration at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks; the Chula Vista Police Department; and WakeMed
Health and Hospitals. The second panel will include
representatives of the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector
developing manned electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)
and powered-lift aircraft: BETA Technologies; Joby Aviation;
Bristow Group Inc. on behalf of the Helicopter Association
International (HAI); and an AAM expert and community advocate.
II. BACKGROUND
The primary mission of the FAA is to ensure civil aviation
safety.\1\ The agency's key mission activities include the
development and promulgation of aviation regulations and
guidance to ensure safety; certification of aviation products;
development and operation of air traffic control and navigation
procedures to ensure reasonable access to the NAS; research on
new aviation technologies; and implementation of various
programs to reduce disruptions to the aviation system and
maintain the safety of all aerospace users and the general
public.\2\ The FAA has the responsibility to certify, oversee
and regulate the safety and operations of the civil aviation
sector, including integrating new entrants like UAS and AAM
aircraft into the NAS.\3\
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\1\ FAA, Mission, available at https://www.faa.gov/about/mission.
\2\ FAA, What we do, available at https://www.faa.gov/about/
mission/activities.
\3\ 49 U.S.C. Sec. 106(g).
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Congress periodically reauthorizes the FAA and Federal
civil aviation programs through an FAA reauthorization bill.
The FAA was last reauthorized in October 2018 in the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2018 (FAARA 2018), which expires on
October 1, 2023.\4\ Enactment of the 2018 law followed a series
of short-term extensions after the last long-term FAA
reauthorization bill expired on September 30, 2015.\5\ FAARA
2018 included a subtitle intended to foster the safe, efficient
and timely integration of UAS into the NAS.\6\ Since the
passage of FAARA 2018, Congress also enacted bills focused on
the development and future deployment of AAM concepts,
including the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization
(AAIM) Act (Division Q of P.L. 117-73) and the Advanced Air
Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act (P.L. 117-203).\7\
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\4\ FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-254, 132 Stat.
3186 [hereinafter FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018].
\5\ FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, Pub. L. No.
114-190, 130 Stat. 615.
\6\ Id. at Subtitle B--Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
\7\ Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization (AAIM) Act, Pub.
L. No. 117-328, Division Q; Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and
Leadership Act, Pub. L. No. 117-203, 136 Stat. 2227.
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Like many other innovations of flight, UAS, also known as
drones, and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)
powered-lift aircraft, commonly referred to as AAM vehicles or
air taxis, have the potential to change the way we travel and
transport goods and services. In the upcoming FAA
reauthorization bill, Congress has an opportunity to ensure the
FAA is properly positioned to support the safe integration of
these new entrant technologies into United States airspace and
support American innovation. Several new entrant stakeholders
support the FAA building upon current research initiatives to
advance the potential benefits of these new technologies for
consumers and the travelling public.
A. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
By statute, an unmanned aircraft (UA) is defined as ``an
aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human
intervention from within or on the aircraft,'' while a UAS is
defined as a ``[UA] and associated elements (including
communication links and the components that control the [UA])
required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in
the [NAS].'' \8\
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\8\ 49 U.S.C. Sec. 44801(11)-(12).
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The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) tasked
the FAA with establishing a regulatory framework that would
allow for the safe integration of UAS into the NAS, including:
LDeveloping a comprehensive plan to safely
accelerate the integration of civil UAS into the NAS;
LPublishing a final rule on small UAS for civil
operations in the NAS; and
LEstablishing six UAS test sites to support the
research and evaluation of UAS into the NAS, among other
mandates.\9\
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\9\ FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-95,
126 Stat. 11, Subtitle B--Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Pursuant to FMRA, the FAA initiated a five-year program to
establish these UAS test sites, which became operational in
April 2014.\10\ The test sites are located at Griffiss
International Airport, NY; New Mexico State University, NM;
Northern Plains, ND; University of Nevada, Reno; Texas A&M
University Corpus Christi, TX; University of Alaska Fairbanks,
AK; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University,
VA.\11\
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\10\ FAA, UAS Test Site Program, available at https://www.faa.gov/
uas/programs_partnerships/test_sites.
\11\ Id.
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In June 2016, the FAA issued a final rule on the operation
of small UAS (weighing less than 55 pounds)--under 14 C.F.R.
Part 107 (also known as Part 107)--which significantly expanded
and standardized the ability for small UAS operators to conduct
commercial activities.\12\ To date, Part 107 serves as the sole
operating rules exclusive to UAS. Apart from its weight
limitation, Part 107 imposes several operational limitations on
UAS pilots, such as:
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\12\ Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft
Systems, 81 Fed. Reg. 42,064 (June 28, 2016).
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Lrestricting flights to no higher than 400 feet
above ground level;
Lrequiring the UA remain within the visual line of
sight of the remote pilot; and
Lprohibiting a remote pilot from operating
multiple UAS simultaneously.\13\
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\13\ 14 C.F.R. Part 107 (2023).
Accordingly, UAS weighing 55 pounds and heavier, as well as
operations outside of the above defined limitations, must abide
by conventional manned aviation regulatory rules or otherwise
receive an FAA waiver or exemption.\14\ The FAARA 2018 also
includes safety requirements for hobby and recreational UAS
operations; supporting the testing of new UAS technologies; and
directing the agency to safely enable more advanced UAS
operations, such as package delivery and emergency response
services.\15\
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\14\ 14 C.F.R. Sec. 11.63 (2023).
\15\ See FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, supra note 4.
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In January 2021, the FAA finalized two additional UAS rules
to further enable advanced UAS operations: (1) Remote
Identification of UAS (Remote ID); and (2) Operation of Small
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People (Ops. Over People).\16\
The Remote ID rule requires UAS to broadcast certain
identification, location and performance information that can
be received by other entities, including the FAA and law
enforcement.\17\ This is akin to a digital license plate,
whereby anyone with a cellphone will be able to see a drone's
Remote ID number, but only authorized individuals will be able
to access the drone owner's personal information. All drone
pilots required to register their UAS must comply with the
rule's requirements beginning September 16, 2023.\18\ The
remote ID rule is a necessary foundational element for more
complex and routine commercial UAS operations and the FAA's
overall UAS integration efforts.\19\ The Ops. Over People rule
created requirements for the routine operation of small UAS at
night, over people, and over moving vehicles, under certain
circumstances, without the need to obtain a waiver or exemption
from the FAA, addressing a challenge posed by Part 107's
original limitations.\20\ The rule also amends the recurrent
training framework for remote pilots, allowing them to remain
current through online training rather than in-person testing,
among other changes.\21\
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\16\ Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Rule, 86 Fed. Reg.
4,390 (Jan. 15, 2021); Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Over People Rule, 86 Fed. Reg. 4,314 (Jan. 15, 2021).
\17\ Id.
\18\ FAA, UAS Remote Identification, available at https://
www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id/.
\19\ See Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Rule, supra
note 16.
\20\ See Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People
Rule, supra note 16.
\21\ FAA, Operations Over People General Overview, available at
https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/operations_over_people.
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Despite the FAA promulgating rules for small UAS
operations, more advanced commercial UAS operations have yet to
be achieved in the NAS at scale.\22\ Currently, there are more
than 338,000 commercial UAS registered along with over 308,000
commercial UAS pilots.\23\ The UAS industry believes that `` .
. . current [FAA] regulations do not enable the domestic UA
beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) industry to scale and
achieve meaningful results. . . . The current rules also do not
reflect the competencies needed to safely operate highly
automated UAS, which hinders the ability to expand UAS BVLOS.''
\24\
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\22\ See generally Harrison Wolf, Where Will The Drone Industry Be
In 2023, Forbes (Dec. 20, 2022), available at https://www.forbes.com/
sites/harrisonwolf/2022/12/20/where-will-the-drone-industry-be-in-2023/
?sh=7fc526e21f1e.
\23\ See FAA, Drones by the Numbers, available at https://
www.faa.gov/uas.
\24\ See FAA, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight
Aviation Rulemaking Committee, Final Report 8, (Mar. 10, 2022),
available at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/
committees/documents/media/UAS_BVLOS_ARC_FINAL_
REPORT_03102022.pdf [hereinafter UAS BVLOS ARC, Final Report].
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While the FAA has made some progress in approving BVLOS
operations over the past several years, two of the primary
barriers to scaling remain: safety standards for a UAS to avoid
other air traffic, and a process to determine the airworthiness
of a UAS.
1. AVOIDING OTHER AIR TRAFFIC
UAS operating beyond a remote pilot's visual line of sight
(commonly referred to as BVLOS) present unique challenges to
the FAA's existing regulatory framework.\25\ Aside from Part
107, most current aviation regulations that would apply to UAS
operations assume an aircraft has an onboard pilot responsible
for avoiding other aircraft.\26\ UAS lack an onboard pilot and
are either remotely piloted or fly pre-programmed routes
autonomously.\27\ A UAS's capability to be operated remotely
and conduct BVLOS operations can offer economic and societal
benefits.\28\ Today, there are several UAS applications that
the aviation industry, local communities and industrial sectors
have expressed interest in and invested resources to develop
and deploy UAS technologies.\29\ Industry stakeholders argue
that the FAA's existing regulatory framework should better
support this evolving aviation sector.\30\
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\25\ See generally UAS BVLOS ARC, Final Report.
\26\ Id.
\27\ Id.
\28\ Id.
\29\ Michael, Healander, Cities' role to play in America's growing
drone economy, Nat'l League of Cities (2023), available at https://
www.nlc.org/article/2023/02/17/cities-role-to-play-in-americas-growing-
drone-economy/.
\30\ See UAS BVLOS ARC, Final Report, supra note 24.
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2. AIRWORTHINESS DETERMINATIONS
Typically, an aircraft requires an FAA-issued airworthiness
certificate to operate in United States airspace.\31\ In order
to receive an airworthiness certificate, the manufacturer must
have their designs certified by the FAA--this is called a type
certificate--and prove that they can repeatedly build an
aircraft that conforms to the design--this is called a
production certificate.\32\ The FAA establishes airworthiness
criteria and can issue type certificates for aircraft, aircraft
engines, propellers, parts, or appliances.\33\ In 2020, the FAA
amended 14 C.F.R. Part 21 to add procedural requirements for
the issuance of type certificates for special classes of
aircraft.\34\ In the final rule, the FAA explained that it
intended the special class category to include, in part, those
aircraft that would be eligible for a standard airworthiness
certificate but for which certification standards do not exist
due to their unique, novel, or unusual design features.\35\ The
BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) recommended the FAA
consider alternative means to providing airworthiness
certification that does not require type and production
certification.\36\
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\31\ 49 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 44702(a) & 44704(d) (2023).
\32\ 14 C.F.R. Part 21 Subpart B (2023); 14 C.F.R. Part 21 Subpart
G (2023).
\33\ 14 C.F.R. Part 21 (2023).
\34\ Id.
\35\ Id.
\36\ See UAS BVLOS ARC, Final Report, supra note 24.
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Because UAS can be remotely piloted, unique configurations
and applications of airframes, powerplants, fuels, and
materials are possible and can result in flight characteristics
different from those of conventional aircraft.\37\ Further,
while some UAS components are essential for safe operation,
they are not permanent features of the UA.\38\ Accordingly,
these features are the unique, novel, and/or unusual features
the special class category was designed to accommodate.\39\
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\37\ See supra note 33.
\38\ Id.
\39\ Id.
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3. FAA'S ROLE
Several offices within the FAA are responsible for various
approvals for the integration of UAS. However, the complexity
of the issues and the agency's current organizational structure
remains a challenge for many applicants. While the FAA's UAS
Integration Office (AUS) is responsible for leading the FAA's
efforts to safely integrate UAS operations into the NAS, it
does not have any authority to act on the certification or
operational approvals of UAS or their operations.\40\
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\40\ FAA, UAS Integration Office, available at https://www.faa.gov/
about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aus.
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Since Congress's 2012 directive to integrate UAS into the
NAS, the FAA has only granted five Part 135 air carrier
certificates for UAS and type certificated only a single UAS
model.\41\ The UAS industry's consensus is that current FAA
regulations do not enable UAS operations to scale in an
economically viable and effective manner.\42\ To date, the FAA
has only type certified one UAS, the Matternet M2--a 29-pound
UAS--which took more than four-and-a-half-years for FAA to
certify using special class criteria.\43\ This raises the
question from some stakeholders as to whether it is appropriate
for a small UAS with limited operations should need to go
through the same safety approval processes (Part 21) as a
larger transport category aircraft that will be in service for
several decades.
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\41\ See FAA, FAA-certificated Aircraft Operators (Legal Part 135
holders), (last updated Mar. 13, 2023), available at Paul Brinkmann,
Armed with an FAA type certificate, this drone company plans its next
moves, Am. Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Nov. 3, 2022),
available at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/armed-with-an-faa-type-
certificate-this-drone-company-plans-its-next-moves/.
\42\ See generally UAS BVLOS ARC, Final Report, supra note 24.
\43\ See Airworthiness Criteria: Special Class Airworthiness
Criteria for the Matternet, Inc. M2, 85 Fed. Reg. 74,294 (Nov. 20,
2020) (showing that Matternet applied to the FAA in 2018 for a type
certificate); see also Paul Brinkmann, supra note 41.
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B. ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY_EVTOL & POWERED-LIFT AIRCRAFT
Advances in technology, such as increased battery density
and distributed electric propulsion, are allowing for the
development of novel aircraft with the potential to be quieter,
safe, and sustainable.\44\ These improvements have led to the
emergence of new aircraft designs that use advanced propulsion
systems to generate lift and thrust including all-electric,
hybrid-electric, hydrogen, and hydrogen-electric.\45\ Designs
for these aircraft are diverse, but can largely be classified
as vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), short takeoff and
landing (STOL), or conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL)
aircraft.
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\44\ See FAA, Next Gen, Concept of Operations, V1.0, UAM, 2-4,
(June 26, 2020), available at https://wordpress-387766-
2876614.cloudwaysapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/
UAM_ConOps_v1.0.pdf.
\45\ Vertical Flight Society, eVTOL Aircraft Directory (2023),
available at https://www.evtol.news/aircraft.
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New operational and commercial concepts for eVTOLs first
received widespread attention in the late 2010s following the
publication of an industry white paper discussing on-demand
urban air transportation and additional follow-on papers,
roadmaps, and research from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA).\46\ This work led to the development of
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and regional air mobility (RAM)
concepts--collectively referred to as advanced air mobility
(AAM)--that involve moving people and/or property intracity or
intercity by air. A recent industry report projects AAM growth
of up to hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous operations
within a region at altitudes reaching nearly 5,000 feet.\47\
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\46\ Uber Elevate, Fast-Forwarding to a Future of On-Demand Urban
Air Transportation (Oct. 27, 2016), available at https://evtol.news/
__media/PDFs/UberElevateWhitePaperOct2016.pdf; NASA, Advanced Air
Mobility, available at https://www.nasa.gov/aam.
\47\ Brock Lascara, Urban Air Mobility Airspace Integration
Concepts, The MITRE Corp. (June 2019), available at https://
www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/publications/pr-19-00667-9-urban-air-
mobility-airspace-integration.pdf.
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It is estimated that the AAM industry has the potential to
add 234,000 jobs and $115 billion annually to the United States
economy by 2035.\48\ Furthermore, it is estimated the UAM
market in the United States is projected to see dramatic and
sustained growth for decades to come, reaching a projected $255
billion by 2040, $1 trillion by 2045, and over $2.4 trillion by
2050.\49\
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\48\ Aijaz Hussain & David Silver, Advanced Air Mobility--Can the
United States afford to lose the race?, Deloitte (Jan. 26, 2021),
available at https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/
aerospace-defense/advanced-air-mobility.html.
\49\ Morgan Stanley Research, eVTOL/Urban Air Mobility TAM Update:
A Slow Take-Off, But Sky's The Limit, (May 6, 2021), available at
https://assets.verticalmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Morgan-
Stanley-URBAN_20210506_0000.pdf.
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1. CERTIFICATION & PRODUCTION
Currently, several eVTOL manufacturers are in discussions
with the FAA regarding type certification of their aircraft
under Part 21. Most of these manufacturers are in the pre-
project familiarization or certification plan stages.\50\ To
date, the FAA has published proposed airworthiness criteria for
two aircraft in the Federal Register for public comment.\51\
Following receipt of airworthiness criteria, an applicant and
the FAA must agree on a means of compliance, determine testing
and validation plans, and execute those plans. The FAA then
issues a Type Inspection Authorization (TIA), the applicant
completes their final flight tests and undergoes conformity
inspections, and the FAA reviews the manuals associated with
the aircraft before certificated operations can occur.\52\ In
most cases, this process takes years.
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\50\ Type Certification, FAA Order No. 8110.4C (Mar. 6, 2017)
available at https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/
FAA_Order_8110_4C_Chg_6.pdf.
\51\ Airworthiness Criteria: Special Class Airworthiness Criteria
for the Joby Aero, Inc. Model JAS4-1 Powered-Lift, 87 Fed. Reg. 67,399
(Nov. 8, 2022); Airworthiness Criteria: Special Class Airworthiness
Criteria for Archer Aviation Inc. Model M001 Powered-Lift, 87 Fed. Reg.
77,749 (Dec. 20, 2022).
\52\ Order 8110.4, supra note 52.
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a. FAA's Certification Basis Shift to Part 21.17(b)
In 2011, the FAA chartered an ARC to review and rewrite 14
C.F.R. Part 23 (Part 23), the airworthiness requirements for
normal category aircraft, or small aircraft.\53\ In August
2017, a new set of performance-based rules went into
effect.\54\ Several eVTOL aircraft manufacturers going through
pre-project and certification planning phases with the FAA
expressed a preference to use the industry consensus standards
previously accepted under these Part 23 rules to comply with
the applicable certification requirements.\55\ However, the FAA
determined that Part 23 may not adequately account for many of
these designs.\56\ Instead, applicants were told the FAA would
require a special class airworthiness certificate under Part
21.17(b) and would consider the aircraft as powered-lift
aircraft.\57\ Under the procedures in Part 21.17(b), the
airworthiness requirements for special class aircraft can be
comprised of portions of the requirements in various FAA
regulations, including but not exclusively Part 23.\58\ Some
stakeholders received this change in approach with
consternation, and are concerned the FAA will be challenged to
establish criteria and determine a means of compliance for a
special airworthiness certificated powered-lift aircraft in a
reasonable amount of time.\59\ Based on public statements, it
appears the FAA has minimized the disruption for some
manufacturers; however, some stakeholders may remain
concerned.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ 14 C.F.R. Sec. 23 (2023).
\54\ Id.
\55\ U.S. Gov't Accountability Off., GAO-22-105020, Transforming
Aviation: Stakeholders Identify Issues To Address for `Advanced Air
Mobility' (2022) available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-
105020.pdf.
\56\ Id.
\57\ Jessica Reed, The FAA confirms Changes to Regulatory Approach
for powered-Lift Certification, Aviation Today, (May 26, 2022),
available at https://www.aviationtoday.com/2022/05/26/powered-lift-
faa/.
\58\ Airworthiness Criteria: Special Class Airworthiness Criteria
for the Joby Aero, Inc. Model JAS4-1 Powered-Lift, 87 Fed. Reg. 67,400
(Nov. 8, 2022).
\59\ Thom Patterson, GAMA Has Questions for the FAA About eVTOL
Certification, Flying Magazine, (June 22, 2022), available at https://
www.flyingmag.com/gama-has-questions-for-the-faa-about-evtol-
certification/.
\60\ Press Release, Joby, Joby Completes Second Stage of
certification Process, (Feb. 9, 2023), available at https://
www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-completes-second-stage-certification-
process/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. International Validation
In 2011, the United States and European Union entered into
a bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA).\61\ This
bilateral agreement facilitated cooperation on airworthiness
certification of civil aviation products imported and exported
between the two regions.\62\ More specifically, it was intended
to (1) promote reciprocal acceptance of safety findings and
approvals and (2) leverage the resources and expertise of each
certification system.\63\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\61\ Agreement Between the United States of America and the
European Community on Cooperation in the Regulation of Civil Aviation
Safety, U.S.-E.U., (Dec. 6, 2013), available at https://www.faa.gov/
aircraft/air_cert/international/bilateral_agreements/baa_basa_listing/
media/EU-US-agreement-R0A5.pdf.
\62\ Id.
\63\ FAA, The Aviation Safety Agreement Between the US and the EU,
(2011), available at https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/repair/media/
EASA_EU_roadshows.pdf [hereinafter Aviation Safety Slides].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) is using an atypical process to certify eVTOL aircraft
called Special Condition VTOL (SC-VTOL).\64\ The novel nature
of these aircraft and processes, which were not envisioned in
the BASA, among other issues, have raised questions about the
feasibility of international validation of eVTOL aircraft in
the near-term while maintaining the FAA's approach to
certification.\65\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\64\ EASA, Third Publication of Means of Compliance With the
Special Condition VTOL-MOC-3 SC-VTOL Issue 1 (June 29, 2022), available
at https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/product-
certification-consultations/special-condition-vtol.
\65\ Cathy Buyck, EASA To Strengthen Safety Reviews of U.S.-
certified Aircraft, AINOnline, (Jan. 25, 2021), available at https://
www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2021-01-25/easa-
strengthen-safety-reviews-us-certified-aircraft; The Standards
Management Team, Air, The Safety Continuum--A Doctrine for Application,
(Sept. 2014), available at https://downloads.regulations.gov/FAA-2015-
1621-0018/attachment_1.pdf; Elan Head, Special Report: The number at
the center of an eVTOL safety debate, The Air Current, (Jan. 9, 2023),
available at https://theaircurrent.com/industry-strategy/special-
report-evtol-safety-continuum-10-9/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. ENTRY INTO SERVICE
Most eVTOLs are expected to enter service with a pilot on
board, flying under visual flight rules (VFR), predominantly
using existing infrastructure, communicating with air traffic,
fully equipped with automatic dependent surveillance broadcast
(ADS-B), and using established flight paths.\66\ Through at
least the end of the decade, eVTOL aircraft operators plan to
use existing operating procedures and concepts similar to
traditional aviation. Doing so will either require an eVTOL
aircraft to be added to an existing air carrier operating
certificate under Part 135 or the establishment of a new
licensed air carrier. Some manufacturers intend to operate the
aircraft themselves, others plan to both operate and sell
aircraft, and others may just sell their aircraft and offer
maintenance services.\67\ Several traditional operators plan to
purchase these aircraft and bring them onto their existing
operating certificate.\68\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\66\ HAI, Roadmap Of Advanced Air Mobility Operations, (Feb. 2023),
available at https://rotor.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/
HAI_Advanced_Air_Mobility_Report_
03072023_pages.pdf.
\67\ Press Release, Joby, Joby Receives Part 135 Certification from
the FAA (May 26, 2022), available at https://ir.jobyaviation.com/news-
events/press-releases/detail/40/joby-receives-part-135-certification-
from-the-faa; Charles Alcock, Archer Tells Shareholders it is on track
with eVTOL Aircraft Development Plans, Future Flight (Mar. 15, 2022),
available at https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-03-15/
archer-tells-shareholders-it-track-evtol-aircraft-development-plans;
Press Release, Archer, Archer Receives $10 Million Pre-Delivery Payment
From United Airlines For 100 EVTOL Aircraft (Aug. 10, 2022), available
at https://www.archer.com/news/archer-receives-10-million-pre-delivery-
payment-from-united-airlines-for-100-evtol-aircraft-advances-path-to-
commercialization; Press Release, Eve Air Mobility, United Invests
Another $15 Million in Electric Flying Taxi Market with Eve, (Sept. 8,
2022), available at https://eveairmobility.com/united-invests-another-
15-million-in-electric-flying-taxi-market-with-eve/.
\68\ Bristow Group, Elevated for the Future (last visited Mar. 1,
2023), available at https://www.bristowgroup.com/services/advanced-air-
mobility.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Regulatory Environment
In order to leverage existing aviation rules for a new
class of aircraft, the FAA needs to update its regulations and
provide clarity around pilot privileges--including the use of
type ratings, privileges of rotorcraft and airplane pilot
certificates, instructor qualifications, and establishment of a
powered-lift category--around air traffic procedures--including
VFR, instrument flight rules (IFR), right-of-way and altitude
rules, crew responsibilities, and clearances--and other
requirements where powered-lift aircraft are not listed as an
allowable user or where regulations are not applicable as
written.\69\ In order to meet the target service dates of many
eVTOL manufacturers and operators, the FAA has stated it will
publish a final Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) by
``the fourth quarter of 2024''.\70\ Additionally, the
Department of Transportation (DOT) is in the process of
updating its air carrier definitions to include powered-
lift.\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\69\ Letter from Jens Hennig, Vice Pres., Operations, Gen'l
Aviation Mfrs. Assoc'n (GAMA) and Walter Desrosier, Vice President,
Engineering & Maintenance, GAMA to Mr. David Boulter, Assoc. Adm'r,
Aviation Safety, FAA, Ms. Lirio Liu, Exec. Dir., Aircraft Certification
Service, FAA, & Mr. Larry Fields, Exec. Dir., Flight Standards Serv.,
FAA (July 21, 2022), available at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/wp-
content/uploads/2022/09/GAMA22-28-Recommendations-Powered-Lift-SFAR-
220721.pdf.
\70\ Revise Airplane Definition to Incorporate Powered-lift
Operations, RIN 2120-AL72, Unified Agenda, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs; FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America's Gold
Standard in Aviation Safety, Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Aviation of
the H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, 118th Cong. (Feb. 7, 2023)
(statement of David Boulter, Acting Assoc. Admin. for Aviation Safety,
FAA).
\71\ Update to Air Carrier Definitions, 87 Fed. Reg. 74,995 (Dec.
7, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AAM manufacturers and future operators will have to create
pilot training programs, recruit instructors and pilots,
develop and implement maintenance manuals, and procure
insurance, among other requirements.\72\ Most of these
activities require continued FAA involvement and approvals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\72\ 14 C.F.R. Sec. 135 (2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Physical Infrastructure
In addition to existing aviation infrastructure, some AAM
concepts are expected to lift off from existing physical
infrastructure (e.g., modified parking garage rooftops or
retrofitted heliports).\73\ In September 2022, the FAA
published Engineering Brief (EB) 105, guidance for airport
sponsors, heliport owners, developers of new infrastructure,
states and communities for the design of vertiports.\74\ This
guidance was largely based on FAA's Heliport Design Advisory
Circular and was published for industry input.\75\ The FAA
maintains that this is an initial step, and they intend to
update their guidance after receiving additional operational
data from aircraft manufacturers.\76\ This guidance is meant to
help relevant entities plan for and design infrastructure to
support AAM.\77\ It includes information about required
airspace safeguards, touchdown and lift-off area designs,
charging capabilities and utility connections, and fire
protection systems.\78\ Unlike certified airports, the designs
of many general aviation facilities are not regulated by the
Federal government.\79\ Instead, they are overseen by state and
local regulations that manage land-use and permitting.\80\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\73\ See Gideon Lichfield, When Will We Have Flying Cars? Maybe
Sooner Than You Think, Mit Tech. Rev. (Feb. 13, 2019), available at
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612891/when-will-we-have-flying-
cars-maybe-sooner-than-you-think/.
\74\ Memorandum, from Mr. Michael A.P. Meyers, Manager, Airport
Engineering Division, FAA, to All Airports Regional Division Managers
(Sept. 21, 2022), available at https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/
eb-105-vertiports.pdf.
\75\ See FAA, Vertiport Design Engineering Brief Industry Day
(Discusses Draft Guidance), YouTube (Oct. 11, 2022) available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WwJD6XPyQE.
\76\ Presentation, FAA, Vertiport Design Standards for eVTOL/UAM
Vehicles (Mar. 2, 2021), available at https://www.faa.gov/about/
office_org/headquarters_offices/ang/redac/media/airports/2021/march/
airports-mar2021-VertiportDesignStandardsforeVTOLUAMVehicles.pdf.
\77\ See Memorandum, supra note 74.
\78\ Id.
\79\ 14 C.F.R. Sec. 139 (2023).
\80\ Heliport Design, FAA, Advisory Circular 150/5390-2D, (Jan. 5,
2023), available at https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/
Advisory_Circular/AC_150_5390_2D_Heliports.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To support this effort, several AAM operators have released
various vertiport designs and are working with Federal agencies
and local governments to design, develop, and deploy these
concepts.\81\ In December 2022, as part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), Congress passed the
Advanced Air Mobility Infrastructure Pilot Program, which
authorized $25 million for eligible entities at the state,
local, and tribal levels to begin planning for the integration
of AAM infrastructure into communities and transportation
systems.\82\ Over time, if AAM proliferates as predicted, the
FAA's processes and technology, as well as the physical
infrastructure supporting these operations, will need to grow
and adapt.\83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\81\ See e.g., Lilium, Designing a Scalable Vertiport, available at
https://lilium.com/newsroom-detail/designing-a-scalable-vertiport; see
also, Urban Movement Labs, The Urban Air Mobility Partnership,
available at https://www.urbanmovementlabs.com/programs-projects.
\82\ See supra note 7.
\83\ UAM Airspace Research Roadmap, NASA (Sept. 2021), available at
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20210019876/downloads/NASA-TM-
20210019876Final.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. WITNESSES
PANEL I
LMr. Adam Woodworth, CEO, Wing
LDr. Catherine Cahill, Ph.D., Director, The Alaska
Center of UAS Integration, University of Alaska Fairbanks
LChief Roxana Kennedy, Chief of Police, Chula
Vista Police Department
LDr. Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical Director for
WakeMed Innovations, WakeMed Health and Hospitals
PANEL II
LMr. Kyle Clark, Founder and CEO, BETA
Technologies
LMr. JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO, Joby Aviation
LMr. Christopher Bradshaw, President and CEO,
Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the Helicopter Association
International
LMr. Clint Harper, AAM Expert and Community
Advocate
FAA REAUTHORIZATION: HARNESSING THE EVOLUTION OF FLIGHT TO DELIVER FOR
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
----------
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Aviation,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room
2167 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Garret Graves
(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. The Subcommittee on Aviation will
come to order.
I ask unanimous consent the chairman be authorized to
declare a recess at any time during today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
I also ask unanimous consent that Members not on the
subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at
today's hearing and ask questions.
Without objection, so ordered.
As a reminder, if Members wish to insert a document into
the record, please also email it to [email protected].
I now recognize myself for the purpose of an opening
statement for 5 minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GARRET GRAVES OF LOUISIANA, CHAIRMAN,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I want to thank all of the
witnesses for being here today.
How would you feel if you prepared yourself for a marathon
over months and months of training, working out really hard,
and you get in that race, and you are at mile 26, and all of a
sudden, the course just ends? No more arrows pointing you in
any direction, no finish line, no ability to actually finish
the race and achieve your accomplishment.
I am afraid that is kind of the scenario that we are in
today, in that you represent innovators, you represent users of
new technology, and you have spent years and years, you have
invested extraordinary amounts of dollars, time, and effort,
and you haven't actually been able to get to the finish line
because we have a Government that doesn't have a process that
actually reflects the urgency, we don't have a Government that
has a process that is capable of delivering, capable of
certifying, capable of approving, capable of integrating into
the airspace new technologies that you and the next panel have
created. Products like drones, UAS, products like urban air
mobility, these technologies are thwarted now because of the
inability of Government to move forward.
Over the past century of flight, the aviation industry has
repeatedly proven it can safely introduce advancements that
elevate the industry to new heights. Today, we find ourselves
at the next transformative point in aviation history. We are
seeing the autonomy, alternative sources of power, and new
manufacturing processes being applied to aircraft in ways never
done before.
This isn't a research project; this isn't ``The Jetsons.''
These capabilities are here today. Again, unmanned aircraft
systems (or drones) and advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft,
have the potential to revolutionize our transportation systems
and directly improve our daily lives.
Ninety percent of Americans today live within 10 miles, for
example, of a Walmart. Today, there are 7 States--36 stores--
that are delivering, via drone, products that you can buy
online and have it literally delivered to your house within 30
minutes.
As one example of an application where drones can be
helpful, during the 2016 floods and Hurricane Laura in 2020 in
my home State of Louisiana, drones were used to help do
reconnaissance missions, to help do preliminary assessments of
damage, and to help identify if people were in need of rescue.
This technology was able to be deployed earlier, faster, and
safer than alternative platforms. In many cases, the roads were
unable to be driven; they were flooded or unpassable. And, in
other cases, the weather conditions were still such that
putting up aircraft that were piloted was still too dangerous.
Again, drones can solve those issues. And we have some
drone users here today that have launched these styles of
services that support communities.
Imagine a future where you can travel across town, from
city to city, to an airport that is normally out of reach, in
just a matter of minutes--bypassing traffic, flying over rivers
or other obstacles while flying on a quiet AAM electric
aircraft.
Our second panel is transforming what it means to be a
small aircraft, taking passenger and cargo flights to the next
level, and we will discuss what Congress can do to expedite
their commercial operations.
Despite the value provided to the public by both drones and
AAM, both of them, as noted, have experienced significant
obstacles or hurdles as a result of the lack of predictability
and certainty in the regulatory process of the FAA. The FAA's
inability to make quick and sound decisions, and stick by those
decisions, has resulted in a lack of clarity for new entrants
in the market. After over 5 years of trying, the FAA has
succeeded in certifying a grand total of one drone.
We are going to hear from Wing today about their efforts to
certify a 10-pound drone made of Styrofoam and enumerable
roadblocks that have stood in their way. We cannot allow the
opportunities these technologies provide to our constituents to
be stifled by endless redtape and requests for more data and
studies.
And I think, importantly, keeping in mind, look, these
technologies aren't going to stop. Just because the United
States may not be capable of having a predictable regulatory
process in place to facilitate these technologies, it doesn't
mean the innovators are going to stop. These people have
overcome obstacles their entire lives, and all that's going to
happen is that we are going to cede our leadership in aviation
technology to other countries, as we are seeing today.
The last thing we need is FAA's lack of leadership and
unwillingness to accept new ideas to drive the next great age
of aviation out of America. The FAA can be a gatekeeper to the
National Airspace System and safely facilitate innovation. The
two are not mutually exclusive.
As we hear from today's witnesses, I urge my colleagues to
think about how we can provide direction to the FAA, convince
the agency to use the flexibilities it has been afforded, and
allow for the commercialization of drones and the variety of
AAM platforms on the cusp of certification.
While there are complex issue surrounding these
technologies, I believe we can find solutions to unlock the
full potential of drones and AAM to flourish in America.
[Mr. Graves of Louisiana's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Garret Graves of Louisiana, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Aviation
I want to thank all of the witnesses for being here today.
How would you feel if you prepared yourself for a 26.2-mile
marathon, training months and months, working out really hard, and you
get in that race, you're at mile 26, and all of the sudden, the course
just ends? Forget that last .2 miles--you're on your own. No more
arrows pointing you in any direction, no finish line, no ability to
actually finish the race and achieve your goal.
I'm afraid that's the scenario new entrants into aviation find
themselves in--our witnesses today represent innovators, users of new
technology, and have spent years investing extraordinary amounts of
money, time, and effort, and they haven't actually been able to get to
the finish line because we have a government that doesn't have a
process and doesn't reflect any urgency in developing one.
We don't have a process that's capable of delivering, capable of
certifying, capable of approving, or capable of integrating new
technologies into the airspace.
Products like drones and Advanced Air Mobility are technologies
which are thwarted because of the inability of government to move
forward.
Over the past century of flight, the aviation industry has
repeatedly proven it can safely introduce advancements that elevate the
industry to new heights. Today we find ourselves at the next
transformative point in aviation history.
We are seeing the autonomy, alternative sources of power, and new
manufacturing processes being applied to aircraft in ways never done
before. This isn't a research project. This isn't ``The Jetsons.''
These capabilities are here today.
Again, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, or more commonly referred to
as ``drones'') and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft have the
potential to revolutionize our transportation systems and directly
improve our daily lives.
Ninety percent of Americans today live within 10 miles, for
example, of a Walmart. And today, there are seven states--36 stores--
that are delivering Walmart products via drone. But why aren't there
more?
As one example of an application of where drones can be helpful--
during the 2016 floods and Hurricane Laura in 2020 in my home state of
Louisiana, drones were used to help do reconnaissance missions, to help
do preliminary assessments of damage and to help identify if people
were in need of rescue.
This technology was able to be deployed earlier, faster, and safer
than alternative platforms. In many cases, the roads were unable to be
driven--they were flooded or unpassable. And in other cases, the
weather conditions were still such that putting up piloted aircraft was
still too dangerous.
Again, drones could help solve these issues. And we have some drone
users here today that have launched these styles of services that
support communities.
Imagine a future where you can travel across town, from city to
city, to an airport that is normally out of reach, in just a matter of
minutes--bypassing traffic, flying over rivers or other obstacles while
flying on a quiet AAM electric aircraft.
Our second panel is transforming what it means to be a small
aircraft, taking passenger and cargo flights to the next level, and
will discuss what Congress can do to expedite their commercial
operations.
Despite the value provided to the public by both drones and AAM,
both of them, as noted, have faced significant obstacles or hurdles as
a result of the lack of predictability and certainty in the regulatory
process of the FAA.
The FAA's inability to make quick and sound decisions, and stick by
those decisions, has resulted in a lack of clarity for new entrants in
the market.
After over five years of trying, the FAA has succeeded in
certifying a grand total of one drone.
We're going to hear from Wing today about their efforts to certify
a 10-pound drone made of Styrofoam and the innumerable roadblocks that
have stood in their way.
We cannot allow the opportunities these technologies provide to our
constituents to be stifled by endless red tape and requests for more
data and studies.
Importantly, keep in mind these technologies aren't going to stop.
Just because the United States may not be capable of having a
predictable regulatory process in place to facilitate these
technologies, it doesn't mean the innovators are going to stop. These
people have overcome obstacles their entire lives, and all that's going
to happen is that we're going to cede our leadership in aviation
technology to other countries--and unfortunately, we're seeing that
today.
The last thing we need is the FAA's lack of leadership and its
unwillingness to accept new ideas to drive the next great age of
aviation out of America.
The FAA can be the gatekeeper to the National Airspace System (NAS)
and facilitate innovation--the two are not mutually exclusive.
As we hear from today's witnesses, I urge my colleagues to think
about how we can provide direction to the FAA, convince the agency to
use the flexibilities it's been afforded, and allow for the
commercialization of drones and the variety of AAM platforms on the
cusp of certification.
While there are complex issues surrounding these technologies, I
believe that we can find solutions to unlock the full potential of
drones and AAM to flourish safely in American airspace.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. With that, I yield to the ranking
member of the full committee, Mr. Larsen.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair,
for indulging the order here. I think we are both headed to the
floor to manage some debate. So, I appreciate that.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LARSEN OF WASHINGTON, RANKING
MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thanks for calling today's
hearing today on dealing with drones and with AAM.
Nearly 10 years ago, this committee first explored the safe
integration of new airspace entrants, including uncrewed
aircraft systems--or UAS or drones--and advanced air mobility
aircraft--or AAM--into the National Airspace System. What was
considered aviation technology of the distant future is
happening now, and these innovative technologies are rapidly
emerging in U.S. skies.
According to the FAA, there are more than 872,000
registered UAS in the United States, of which nearly 339,000
are registered for commercial operations. In my home State of
Washington, UAS will soon be used to deliver critical medical
supplies in the Tacoma area through a partnership between
Zipline and MultiCare Health System, helping to reduce barriers
to care for patients.
Further, according to industry projections, more than 200
companies worldwide are developing eVTOL--electric vertical
takeoff and landing--aircraft, with potential applications
ranging from cargo transport to alternative passenger mobility
options.
While the potential benefits of these advanced aviation
technologies are promising, the upcoming FAA reauthorization
bill must continue to prioritize aviation safety while also
ensuring U.S. innovation leads globally.
The FAA's mission is to ensure the safest aerospace system
in the world, a task that is growing more complex due to new
airspace entrants. In 2012, Congress required the FAA to
develop a comprehensive plan to accelerate the safe integration
of civil UAS into the NAS--or the National Airspace System.
Since then, the FAA has issued final rules to expand
potential commercial activities, including permitting the
operation of small UAS, commonly referred to as part 107;
remote identification, or remote ID; and the operation of small
UAS over people. More recently, the FAA announced a self-
imposed deadline of December 2024 to issue a rule on AAM
certification standards and operating requirements.
Unfortunately, however, the FAA's path to safely
integrating new entrants was challenging, with organizational
inefficiencies, prolonged delays, and unpredictable waiver and
approval processes.
So, although the FAA must reassess and recommit itself to
addressing these issues, in no way should the agency or
Congress jeopardize the safety of the traveling public to do
so. This means working with the FAA and key aviation
stakeholders to implement an appropriate Federal regulatory
framework to allow these industries to scale, so the U.S. can
remain the leader in aviation safety and innovation.
With each passing year as well, climate change continues to
be a growing threat to millions of Americans. Electric and
hydrogen propulsion systems employed by many UAS and AAM
aircraft rely on low- and zero-emission technologies, which
have the potential to significantly reduce the harmful impacts
of greenhouse gases and of noise.
A recent NASA study found that Joby's eVTOL aircraft
measured noise levels during takeoff and landing below 65 dBA,
which is comparable to normal conversation, at a distance of
330 feet from the flightpath. I certainly would be interested
to hear what others in the industry can say about their
platforms as well.
And so, Congress must robustly invest in the research to
leverage the environmental benefits of these technologies,
especially for communities disproportionately affected by the
carbon and noise emissions of traditional aircraft.
The development and deployment of new entrants also
presents opportunities for job creation in the U.S. According
to industry projections, the AAM sector is expected to generate
an estimated 280,000 jobs by 2035.
Additionally, drones can be used to support critical work
that would otherwise be unsafe or difficult for people and
crewed aircraft to perform on their own. For instance, the
Arizona Department of Transportation uses small UAS to examine
hard-to-reach areas in canyons and across large waterways to
help supplement their inspections, which is why my colleague,
Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona, led the bipartisan
House passage of the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act
last Congress to fund State, local, and Tribal governments' use
of UAS in certain circumstances.
To further harness this technology for the American people,
we must better equip the next generation of the U.S. aviation
workforce with the skills necessary to compete globally and to
use these technologies.
Although getting through type certification is the main
goal for many UAS and AAM industries, it cannot be the only
objective. Congress, the FAA, and industry must have early and
meaningful engagement with local communities to ensure their
priorities and any potential concerns are adequately addressed,
which is why Congress enacted my bill, along with Chair Graves,
the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization Act, to help
State and local communities begin to plan for future AAM
operations and the infrastructure needed to support it.
But there clearly is more work to do. With safety as the
guiding principle, the 2023 FAA reauthorization is an
opportunity to support U.S. innovation, foster sustainability,
and improve U.S. global leadership.
So, I want to thank today's witnesses on both panels for
coming today, as far away as Alaska. I appreciate that. And I
look forward to examining how Congress, the FAA, local
communities, and the aviation industry can support the safe and
efficient integration of these new airspace entrants.
With that, I yield back.
[Mr. Larsen of Washington's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Rick Larsen of Washington, Ranking Member,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Thank you, Chairman Graves, for calling today's hearing ``FAA
Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver for the
American People.''
Nearly ten years ago, this committee first explored the safe
integration of new airspace entrants, including uncrewed aircraft
systems (UAS or drones) and advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft, into
the national airspace system (NAS).
What was once considered aviation technology of the distant future
is happening now, and these innovative technologies are rapidly
emerging in U.S. skies.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there are
more than 872,000 registered UAS in this country, of which nearly
339,000 are registered for commercial operations.
In my home state of Washington, UAS will soon be used to deliver
critical medical supplies in the Tacoma area through a partnership
between Zipline and MultiCare Health System, helping to reduce barriers
to care for patients.
Furthermore, according to industry projections more than 200
companies worldwide are developing electric vertical takeoff and
landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with potential applications ranging from
cargo transport to alternative passenger mobility options.
While the potential benefits of these advanced aviation
technologies are promising, the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill must
continue to prioritize aviation safety, while also ensuring U.S.
innovation leads globally.
The FAA's mission is to ensure the safest aerospace system in the
world, a task that is growing more complex due to new airspace
entrants.
In 2012, Congress required the FAA to develop a comprehensive plan
to accelerate the safe integration of civil UAS into the NAS. Since
then, the FAA has issued final rules to expand potential commercial
activities; including permitting the operation of small UAS (commonly
referred to as Part 107), remote identification (remote ID) and
operation of small UAS over people.
More recently, the FAA announced a self-imposed deadline of
December 2024 to issue a rule on AAM certification standards and
operating requirements.
Unfortunately, however, the FAA's path to safely integrating new
entrants was challenging--with organizational inefficiencies, prolonged
delays and unpredictable waiver and approval processes.
Although the FAA must reassess and recommit itself to addressing
these issues, in no way should the agency or Congress jeopardize the
safety of the traveling public to do so.
This means working with the FAA and key aviation stakeholders to
implement an appropriate federal regulatory framework to allow these
industries to scale, so the U.S. can remain the leader in aviation
safety and innovation.
With each passing year, climate change continues to be a growing
threat to millions of Americans.
Electric and hydrogen propulsion systems employed by many UAS and
AAM aircraft rely on low and zero-emission technologies, which have the
potential to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of greenhouse
gases and noise.
A recent National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) study
found that Joby's eVTOL aircraft measured noise levels during take-off
and landing below 65 dBA, which is comparable to normal conversation,
at a distance of 330 feet from the flight path.
Congress must robustly invest in critical research to leverage the
environmental benefits of these technologies, especially for
communities disproportionately affected by the carbon and noise
emissions of traditional aircraft.
The development and deployment of new entrants also presents
opportunities for job creation in the U.S.
According to industry projections, the AAM sector is expected to
generate an estimated 280,000 jobs by 2035.
Additionally, drones can be used to support critical work that
would otherwise be unsafe or difficult for people and crewed aircraft
to perform on their own.
For instance, the Arizona Department of Transportation uses small
UAS to examine hard-to-reach areas in canyons and across large
waterways to help supplement their inspections.
Which is why my colleague, Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona,
led the bipartisan House passage of the Drone Infrastructure Inspection
Grant Act last Congress, to fund state, local and Tribal governments'
use of UAS in certain circumstances.
To further harness this technology for the American people, we must
better equip the next generation of U.S. aviation workforce with the
skills necessary to compete globally.
Although getting through type certification is the main goal for
many in the UAS and AAM industries, it cannot be the only objective.
Congress, the FAA and industry must have early and meaningful
engagement with local communities to ensure their priorities and any
potential concerns are adequately addressed.
Which is why Congress enacted my bill with Chairman Garret Graves,
the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization Act, to help states
and local communities begin to plan for future AAM operations and the
infrastructure needed to support it.
But it is clear there is more work to do.
With safety as the guiding principle, the 2023 FAA reauthorization
is an opportunity to support U.S. innovation, foster sustainability and
improve U.S. global leadership.
Thank you again to today's witnesses. I look forward to examining
how Congress, the FAA, local communities and the aviation industry can
support the safe and efficient integration of these new airspace
entrants.
Mr. Collins [presiding]. Thank you, Mr. Larsen.
I now recognize Ranking Member Cohen for 5 minutes for an
opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE COHEN OF TENNESSEE, RANKING
MEMBER, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I look forward to hearing from our esteemed panel of
witnesses today, both of the panels, on the integration of new
aircraft, such as uncrewed aircraft systems, which gives us a
new acronym, UAS, or drones; and electrical vertical takeoff
and landing, another new acronym, eVTOL, electrical vertical
taking and landing aircraft. These are new into our lexicon and
our national airspace.
Both drones and advanced air mobility, or AAM, have the
potential to both change how we travel and how we transport
goods and services. This is especially true in my district,
home to Federal Express and the Memphis International Airport,
one of the busiest cargo airports in the world because of FedEx
and the work that they have done.
In 2018, the Memphis International Airport was selected by
the Department of Transportation to participate in its UAS
Integration Pilot Program. The airport partnered with the city
of Memphis, the University of Memphis, the Tennessee Department
of Transportation, FedEx of course, and others to test advanced
drone operations in five different airspaces, including within
the airport perimeter.
Some of the practical applications that were tested and
demonstrated included precision agriculture, remote aircraft
and runway inspections, commercial package delivery, night
flight operations, and emergency response and remote medical
device deployment.
Upon successful conclusion of the 3-year program, the
Memphis Airport and FedEx were selected by the FAA for its new
drone program, BEYOND--an acronym, I am sure, but not one that
I have been told yet. This program focuses on working toward
operating under established rules rather than waivers,
collecting data to develop performance-based standards,
collecting and addressing community feedback, streamlining the
approval processes for drone integration, and more.
The most recent drone flight operations took place over the
FedEx ramp, with the goal of detecting foreign object debris to
enhance airfield safety and conducting security inspections
along the airport perimeter fence line to supplement existing
security systems and protocols. To date, the Memphis Airport
and the FedEx team have flown approximately 2,000 successful
drone flights.
I applaud the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of
Technology's focus on drone research and appreciate its
potential to have a major economic impact on our region.
As we will hear from our witnesses today, we have much work
to do to ensure that FAA's regulatory framework adequately
supports the evolving aviation sector and prevents the United
States from falling behind on UAS integration.
I look forward to learning more about how our subcommittee
can support the evolving advanced air mobility sector, which
has the potential to move people and cargo between places
previously not served or underserved by traditional aviation or
emergency vehicles.
I look forward to healthy discussions from those
experienced with AAM concepts to shed further light on how to
better support this growing sector. We need to be especially
conscious of working with the communities to integrate these
new operations into the transportation systems, and ensure they
have a voice in the room as we get closer to implementation. I
am sure some will complain about vehicles flying over their
backyards, invading their privacy, et cetera.
With attention being shifted towards accommodating and
embracing two new entrants into our national airspace, the AAM
and drones at the forefront, we must be vigilant and
conscientious with our efforts to ensure that aviation safety
remains a top priority, not only for those in the air, but also
for those on the ground.
I look forward to this, but I remember the first day
somebody told me about these things [holds up cell phone]. And
this was about 30 years ago, I guess. And I said he was nuts.
Well, he wasn't nuts. He was a little bit ahead of me. And the
same thing for these drones. It is kind of amazing we will be
flying around--and it will be like ``The Jetsons''--in the air.
This, I don't know what this is here. It looks to me like a
Spruce Goose of the 21st century. It is pretty bizarre.
But, anyway, I look forward to working with Chairman
Graves, Acting Chairman Collins, our colleagues, our witnesses
here today, and other stakeholders on the next FAA
reauthorization bill.
And I yield back the balance of my time.
[Mr. Cohen's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Ranking Member,
Subcommittee on Aviation
Thank you. I look forward to hearing from our esteemed witnesses on
both panels today as we examine the integration of new aircraft--such
as uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) or drones and electric vertical
takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft--into our national airspace.
Both drones and advanced air mobility or AAM, have the potential to
both change how we travel and how we transport goods and services.
This is especially true in my district, home to Federal Express and
Memphis International Airport, one of the busiest cargo airports in the
world because of FedEx and the work they have done.
In 2018, the Memphis airport was selected by the Department of
Transportation to participate in its UAS Integration Pilot Program.
The airport partnered with the City of Memphis, the University of
Memphis, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, FedEx and others
to conduct advanced drone operations in five different airspaces,
including within the airport perimeter.
Some of the practical applications that were tested and
demonstrated include precision agriculture, remote aircraft and runway
inspections, commercial package delivery, night flight operations, and
emergency response and remote medical device deployment.
Upon successful conclusion of the three-year program, the Memphis
Airport and FedEx were selected by the FAA for its new drone program,
BEYOND.
This program focuses on working toward operating under established
rules rather than waivers, collecting data to develop performance-based
standards, collecting and addressing community feedback, streamlining
the approval processes for drone integration and more.
The most recent drone flight operations took place over the FedEx
ramp with the goal of detecting foreign object debris to enhance
airfield safety and conducting security inspections along the airport
perimeter fence line to supplement existing security systems and
protocols.
To date, the Memphis Airport and FedEx team have flown
approximately 2,000 successful drone flights.
I also applaud the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of
Technology's focus on drone research and appreciate its potential to
have a major economic impact on our region.
As we will hear from our witnesses here today, we have much more
work to do to ensure that FAA's regulatory framework adequately
supports this evolving aviation sector and to prevent the United States
from falling behind on UAS integration.
I also look forward to learning more about how our Subcommittee can
support the evolving advanced air mobility sector, which has the
potential to move people and cargo between places previously not served
or underserved by traditional aviation or emergency vehicles.
I look forward to healthy discussion from those experienced with
AAM concepts to shed further light on how to better support this
growing sector. We need to be especially conscious of working with the
communities who integrate these new operations into their
transportation systems, and ensure they have a genuine voice in the
room as we get closer to implementation.
With attention being shifted towards accommodating and embracing
new entrants into our national airspace, with AAM and drones at the
forefront, we must be vigilant and conscientious with our efforts to
ensure that aviation safety remains a top priority for not only those
in the air, but also those on the ground.
I look forward to working with Chairman Graves, our colleagues, our
witnesses here today and other stakeholders on the next FAA
reauthorization bill.
Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Cohen.
We've got a rookie at the wheel, I am just going to be
upfront with you. But, anyway, if anything goes wrong, we are
going to blame this young man to the right of me here.
Today we have two panels. Currently the witnesses before us
are the first panel that we will be hearing from today. The
focus of the first panel is the operations of small unmanned
aircraft systems.
So, I would like to welcome our witnesses and thank them
for being here today.
That being said, y'all, we are experiencing some technical
difficulties with our timing system, just in time for the
rookie to take over. So, I ask unanimous consent that staff be
allowed to utilize a stopwatch as a timer for today's events.
Without objection, so ordered.
So, today, please look at the staff behind me. A green
square means go, a yellow square means you are running out of
time, and a red square means wrap up your remarks.
I also ask unanimous consent that the witnesses' full
statements be included in the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
As your written testimony has been made part of the record,
the subcommittee asks that you limit your oral remarks to 5
minutes.
And prior to beginning witness testimony, I would like to
make our witness panel aware that votes are anticipated to be
called at 10:30 this morning. When this occurs, we will enter a
brief recess. However, witnesses should be prepared to resume
the hearing when the subcommittee reconvenes.
With that, Mr. Adam Woodworth, you are recognized for 5
minutes for your testimony.
TESTIMONY OF ADAM WOODWORTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WING
AVIATION LLC; CATHERINE F. CAHILL, Ph.D., DIRECTOR, ALASKA
CENTER FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, UNIVERSITY OF
ALASKA FAIRBANKS; ROXANA KENNEDY, CHIEF OF POLICE, CHULA VISTA
POLICE DEPARTMENT; AND STUART GINN, M.D., MEDICAL DIRECTOR,
WakeMed INNOVATIONS, WakeMed HEALTH AND HOSPITALS
TESTIMONY OF ADAM WOODWORTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WING
AVIATION LLC
Mr. Woodworth. Thank you.
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, members of the
Aviation Subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing today
on the important issue of integrating new entrants into our
airspace. And thank you to the staff for helping prepare the
hearing. I am truly honored to be here to testify.
My name is Adam Woodworth. I am offering my testimony today
as CEO of Wing, a company that has developed small UAS, most
commonly referred to as drones, to deliver small packages. I
joined Wing in 2014 as an aircraft designer, rising to CTO in
2018, and assuming the role of CEO last year.
Aviation has long been a passion of mine. I grew up flying
model airplanes with my dad. That led directly to a career in
aviation and studies in aerospace. Today I try to pass along
that fascination to my two young daughters, who join me out at
the flying field most weekends.
Flight is a magical yet often rare experience. Most people
don't remember the first time they were in a car, but many can
remember the first time they flew on an airplane or interacted
with aviation.
The technologies and industries discussed today have the
opportunity to fundamentally change that, lowering traditional
barriers to entry and introducing more people than ever to the
world of aviation and its benefits.
At Wing, we have developed a lightweight, highly automated
aircraft to deliver small packages to customers, as well as a
suite of UAS traffic management capabilities to help operators
share the airspace safely. We partner with retail merchants to
deliver goods ranging from over-the-counter medications to
household essentials and meals.
Today, Wing has been approved to operate in five countries,
including Australia, Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, and the
United States, with locations in the DFW area and in
Christiansburg, Virginia.
We are the first drone company to receive a part 135 air
carrier certificate, which enables beyond visual line-of-sight
operations. To date, we have completed over 300,000 commercial
deliveries to consumers in our service areas, and we have done
so safely.
I really love aviation, but that is not why I believe in
the promise of our mission and in this industry. Simply put,
the sheer volume of goods being transported is ever-increasing,
and consumer demand for fast, efficient, cost-effective
delivery has taken root. I believe the best, most efficient,
and safest way to get those goods to consumers is via drone.
There has long been widespread recognition of the potential
of this technology. What I would like to stress in this hearing
is that that technology exists now, and it is ready for use
today.
For numerous reasons--benefits to our consumers, benefits
to businesses, our Nation's global aviation leadership--we
urgently need a regulatory framework that better allows for its
adoption. This committee clearly has a role to play in this,
and at Wing and across the industry, we urge timely action on
the topic this year.
I have submitted my written testimony with a number of
recommendations for the committee to consider. These
recommendations are consistent with the BVLOS ARC report
submitted last year, which will help broadly advance commercial
operations and enjoys consensus support from the drone
industry.
I would like to focus on a few of those priorities now.
Overall, we need an approach from the FAA for the safe
integration of drones into the national airspace that is both
predictable and pragmatic.
The FAA has a capable and dedicated workforce, and we
recognize the challenges of trying to apply decades of
experience in regulating large passenger aircraft to new,
vastly different technology. The result, however, is that our
industry has faced unpredictable timelines with lengthy delays
and confusing or often contradictory guidance from across the
organization about what the FAA needs to see in order to issue
approvals.
Quite simply, we are stuck. And a more predictable and
pragmatic approach to these lower risk, nonpassenger-carrying
operations would help break up these logjams.
The good news is, we don't have to start from scratch. With
the work that the drone industry and the FAA have done
together, we have a foundation to build upon in the following
ways.
First, Congress could help by directing the FAA to
establish a clear and objective target level of safety for
drones. The FAA has done this for other categories of aircraft,
and the drone industry needs a clear set of standards to work
to.
Second, Congress could help by directing the FAA to adopt a
declarative certification and design approval approach for
small UAS, modeled after the agency's existing light-sport
aircraft certification process. Under this process, the FAA
will set specific safety thresholds, and manufacturers will
build to and then declare compliance with those standards.
Throughout this process, the FAA would retain the ultimate
safety and compliance oversight of each applicant.
Third, the United States needs an open and cooperative
airspace environment. We should not overlook the benefits to a
cooperative, interoperable, and open environment for crewed and
uncrewed aircraft. LAANC, ADS-B, industry-built, regulator-
approved UTM are all real-world examples of how technology
built to standards can improve safety and bring efficiencies to
our airspace.
In conclusion, at Wing, we believe the National Airspace
System is an asset that everyone should have access to and
everyone should benefit from. There is more than enough room in
the sky for everybody, and that includes passenger airliners,
general aviation, model aircraft, and drones.
[Mr. Woodworth's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Adam Woodworth, Chief Executive Officer, Wing
Aviation LLC
Introduction
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, members of the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, thank you for holding this
hearing today on the important issue of integrating new entrants into
our airspace. I am honored to testify.
My name is Adam Woodworth, and I am offering testimony today as the
CEO of Wing, a company using uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), commonly
referred to as ``drones,'' to deliver small packages. I joined Wing in
2014 as an aircraft designer, rising to Chief Technology Officer in
2018, and assuming the role of CEO one year ago.
Begun in 2012 as Project Wing within X (at the time known as Google
X), Wing has developed a highly automated aircraft to deliver small
goods to customers, as well as a set of UAS Traffic Management (UTM)
capabilities to help operators share the airspace. We partner with
merchants such as Doordash and Coles Supermarkets to deliver goods
ranging from over-the-counter medicine and household essentials to
made-to-order meals, coffee drinks, and even ice cream. In 2018,
Project Wing became an independent company--still under the Alphabet
umbrella--called Wing Aviation.
Today, Wing has been approved to operate in five countries on three
continents. Our most mature and high-volume operations are in Canberra
and Logan City, Australia. We also have locations in Finland, Ireland,
and the United States--around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and in
Christiansburg, Virginia. Wing holds relevant approvals in each
jurisdiction and we were the first drone company to receive a Part 135
air carrier certificate for commercial UAS delivery operations beyond
visual line of sight (BVLOS). To date, we have successfully completed
over 300,000 commercial deliveries to paying customers.
Aircraft and Commercial Operations
At Wing, we fundamentally believe that it should require fewer
resources to transport a two-ounce bottle of medicine to someone's home
than it does to deliver a large order of groceries. But today, because
of our reliance on a single mode of transportation for virtually all
residential deliveries, these two orders would likely be carried by
similar vehicles, requiring similar resources, taking up similar space
on our roadways, and emitting similar levels of pollution into our
atmosphere. The reason we want to use drones for delivery is because it
allows you to right-size the vehicle for the payload.
By right-sizing the delivery vehicle to the goods being delivered--
such as using an eleven-pound, battery-powered drone mostly made of
plastic and styrofoam to deliver a three-pound package instead of a
two-ton car or truck--drone delivery can bring efficiency, safety, and
environmental benefits to communities across the country and the world.
Wing has developed a hybrid fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft that
cruises like an airplane but launches and lands vertically with a
series of hover rotors. The aircraft is lightweight, electric, highly
automated, and designed specifically for delivery in populated areas.
Safety is paramount and Wing has designed the aircraft to deliver a
level of safety that exceeds any alternative mode of ground
transportation.
Wing operates BVLOS in populated areas along flexible or ``on-
demand'' routes. At the delivery zone, Wing aircraft hover at roughly
23 feet above ground and gently lower the package via tether. Delivery
zones are typically backyards, driveways, or other small clearings.
Wing also distributes flight paths across the operating area, where
possible, to minimize repeat overflights.
Wing operates in low-utilization airspace below 400 feet over
populated areas. For crewed traffic, we engage with local aviation
stakeholders, Wing's remote pilots monitor ADS-B, and today we also
utilize visual observers of the airspace in the United States. Further,
Wing issues a NOTAM and monitors local frequencies. For uncrewed
traffic, Wing has demonstrated strategic deconfliction between
different UAS through a network of interoperable UAS Service Suppliers
(USS).
Wing has invested an incredible amount of time, brain power, and
resources into developing and proving out a system that is capable of
serving millions of customers in populated areas across the globe. We
are anxious to see the FAA adopt a regulatory framework that will
enable us to bring the benefits of this promising technology to
communities across the country and maintain our leadership in the field
of emerging aviation technology.
FAA Reauthorization
In the 2012 FAA reauthorization bill, Congress provided the first
and fundamental direction to the FAA to treat these vehicles as
aircraft. It was eleven years ago that Congress directed the FAA to
safely integrate UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS). The
dedicated civil servants at the FAA are hardworking and deserve praise
for doing something new. But Congress can and should equip the FAA with
the policy direction and regulatory tools to make safe operation of
commercial drones scalable in the United States.
The FAA reauthorization process provides a perfect opportunity to
do just that. Congress has acted in the past to give direction to the
FAA and that led to the successful adoption of commercial flight
approvals under Section 333 of the 2012 FAA bill, and adoption of the
broader commercial drone operations regulation in Part 107. Congress
also played a role in pushing the FAA to adopt regulations allowing for
operations over people.
We appreciate Congress setting the policy direction for the FAA to
implement, and there is more work ahead. Below are what I view as
priorities necessary to advance commercial UAS integration in the
United States for this Committee to consider for inclusion in the FAA
reauthorization bill this year.
BVLOS Rulemaking
The UAS industry is well-positioned and evolving quickly to enable
BVLOS operations, but the regulatory frameworks struggle to keep pace.
The FAA has accelerated efforts to integrate routine BVLOS operations
by convening the BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) in 2021,
with the ARC's recommendations published by the FAA in March 2022.
Broadly enabling BVLOS operations in a safe and secure manner is
critical to unlocking the benefits of using drones for many commercial
and public safety tasks. It will also foster new job opportunities
within the industry.
The FAA must prioritize taking action to enable BVLOS operations by
putting forth a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. But the process of
developing a final rule can take months, even years, to complete. The
FAA currently has the opportunity to adopt a more predictable and
pragmatic approach to UAS regulation by moving forward with a BVLOS
rule. Congress should direct timely action on this rulemaking effort.
Congress can also demonstrate its commitment to further advancing
this industry by directing the FAA to take such action under current
authorities, specifically Section 44807 of Title 49, United States
Code, as a way of marking progress while a more comprehensive
rulemaking process unfolds.
Target Level of Safety / Acceptable Level of Risk
As part of enabling routine operations, including BVLOS, the FAA
must prioritize the determination of an acceptable level of risk--or a
calculable, objective target level of safety--for UAS operations
consistent with existing accepted general aviation risks. Taking this
step will give operators clear design targets and allow them to produce
a detailed framework for building a suitable safety case to meet the
target level of safety and take into account the specific needs for
their operations while allowing the FAA to assess whether the operator
meets their high bar for safety. This would add much-needed consistency
to the process and reduce the arbitrary subjectivity and excessive
delays currently experienced by operators.
Congress should include language in the FAA reauthorization to
require the FAA to adopt and publish a quantified target level of
safety for UA operations that is modeled upon and consistent with
existing accepted general aviation risks.
UAS Certification
Despite multiple years of industry working with the FAA to receive
type certificates for small UAS, the FAA has issued only a single type
certificate out of the numerous UAS submissions pending, failing to
keep pace with technology due to internal delays and inefficiencies.
While the FAA has engaged in a multi-year internal debate regarding how
to appropriately tailor a type certification process designed for
crewed aircraft to low-risk small UAS, the agency has received,
considered, and approved type certificate petitions for much larger,
passenger-carrying crewed aircraft.
Moving forward, Congress could help by directing the FAA to adopt a
declarative certification for aircraft design approval for small UAS,
modeled after the FAA's existing and successful light-sport aircraft
certification process. Under this process, the FAA will adopt risk-
appropriate consensus standards and manufacturers will then build to
and declare compliance with those standards. Throughout the process,
the FAA would retain ultimate safety and compliance oversight of each
applicant.
Equipage & Modernization
With the introduction of more and different types of aviation, both
crewed and uncrewed, the airspace is truly maturing to serve more
users. This innovation provides promising opportunities to benefit
communities across the country, and will usher in the adoption of novel
technology solutions capable of maintaining the safety of the NAS,
particularly in very low altitude airspace (below 500, AGL).
In order to safely and efficiently share this airspace, it is
incumbent upon all of us to adopt existing, effective, and affordable
mitigations to avoid collisions with other aircraft. Outside of
airspace designations for particular uses, technologies such as ADS-B
have been proven to enhance safety. These technologies are widely
available, have been successfully in use for years in other portions of
our national airspace, and are affordable to purchase and install. Most
importantly, the use of ADS-B technologies saves lives: a recent study
found that it reduces airborne collisions for general aviation and air
taxi aircraft by 53 percent and air collision fatalities by 89 percent
\1\.
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\1\ Howell, Daniel and King, Jennifer. Measured Impact of ADS-B In
Application on General Aviation and Air Taxi Accident Rates. 38th
Digital Avionics Systems Conference, September 2019.
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At Wing, our pilots monitor ADS-B signals from crewed aircraft and
we install ADS-B receivers on our aircraft as we work toward FAA
approval of on-aircraft automated avoidance. But to truly create a
cooperative environment and continue to improve the safety of the
airspace, adoption rates across the board need to increase. For that
reason, we believe Congress should provide incentives for legacy
aircraft, possibly through restoring the ADS-B Rebate program, to adopt
this reliable, effective, and affordable technology that can save lives
and enable entirely new kinds of aviation to develop, integrate, and
thrive in our national airspace.
UTM
Another key element of an open and cooperative airspace environment
is UAS Traffic Management (UTM). The concept of UTM--an interoperable,
cooperative and collaborative approach to airspace safety and
efficiency in low-altitude airspace--was embraced by the U.S.
Government and is being built by industry. Thanks to significant
contributions from industry, academia, and government involvement,
global standards development organizations have developed standards
that regulators and industry have adopted to create operational UTM
services. These services are seeing their earliest implementation in
Europe where regulations have created the opportunity to broadly deploy
UTM services and enable wide-scale operations.
It is imperative that the FAA also recognize industry standards and
enable industry to utilize UTM services such as strategic deconfliction
to create a safer, and more accessible airspace for all operators.
Congress should require the FAA to adopt industry standards for
strategic deconfliction and allow companies to utilize interoperable
technology that meets this standard in their operations.
Environmental Reviews
Drones are an environmentally friendly technology powered by
electrification that can contribute to curbing emissions by taking
vehicles, including delivery trucks, off the roads. Yet, the current
backlog of environmental reviews threatens to stall progress on UAS
deployment and operations in the United States and further hamper the
industry's competitive edge--leading to frustration for stakeholders
and dissatisfaction for customers.
The FAA should move towards looking at broader geographic areas--or
programmatic reviews--for UAS operations, not on a case-by-case basis
for one specific area or operator as is the current process. This will
help streamline the approval process for operators--especially in
potential areas of deployment that share similar characteristics,
wildlife, and topography.
Congress should include language directing the FAA to streamline
environmental approvals of advanced UAS and encourage the FAA to move
toward programmatic reviews.
FAA Realignment
The UAS Integration Office is the focal point for all matters
relating to UAS integration policy. Historically, the majority of the
FAA's institutional knowledge related to UAS has resided within this
office. However, approvals for UAS operations largely exist outside of
the purview of the Integration Office.
To meet the needs of the NAS, authority for the approval of UAS
should rest with the experts within the FAA who best understand this
form of aviation and how it will correspond with other aircraft
operators and have the responsibility to safely integrate UAS into the
national airspace. The existing approval process is not designed to
accommodate the current evolution of aircraft design and capability.
Congress should enable the FAA to take a more direct approach with
the hundreds of thousands of new aircraft operators and stakeholders in
the NAS, by elevating and empowering the UAS Integration Office to
streamline and improve existing approval processes within the FAA's
organizational structure.
Specifically, Congress should include language in the FAA
reauthorization to create a position of Associate Administrator to
oversee UAS operations and certification, and provide that person with
the authority to actually approve UAS and their operations, while
ensuring appropriate consultation with other lines of business within
the FAA.
It is also important to note here that this effort should be
focused. Wing is excited about recent developments with Advanced Air
Mobility, or air taxis, and we look forward to seeing more progress in
the integration of that technology. But make no mistake about it--from
a regulatory standpoint, the risk assumptions and regulatory timelines
are vastly different. Most prominent in the safety analysis is that
there is not a person onboard a drone--it makes no sense to regulate
our uncrewed, 11-pound styrofoam drone to the same regulatory
specification or timelines as a large vehicle that carries passengers.
Extending and Improving Section 44807
Section 44807 of Title 49--the special authority for certain UAS--
is currently scheduled to expire September 30, 2023. It has been a
crucial enabler for the airworthiness of small UAS and must be extended
in order to continue and expand part 135 UAS operations. If this
authority is not extended, BVLOS operations in the United States will
essentially cease, which will have wide-ranging ramifications on the
UAS industry itself as well as the partners and customers that we
serve. It will prevent the delivery of health items, critical
infrastructure inspection, and many other benefits that BVLOS
operations provide.
In extending Section 44807 authority, Congress should also take the
opportunity to make improvements to it. Getting a 44807 exemption
currently is a lengthy and burdensome process where each application
has to go through the rulemaking process, including a notice and
comment period. Congress should clarify that the FAA need not apply the
Part 11 exemption procedures, and Section 44807 approvals can be issued
without undergoing a full rulemaking process.
These improvements are crucial to seeing near-term progress in
advancing UAS integration here in the United States as the FAA works
toward a final BVLOS rule.
Network Remote ID
Remote identification of UAS is a security tool required by the
United States Government for operation by providing a ``digital license
plate'' for nearly all UAS operating in the NAS. A Remote ID system can
give law enforcement, security officials, and the general public
necessary information about a nearby UAS, which may help to ensure
operations are safe and secure.
Although international standards bodies have concluded that Remote
ID can effectively be accomplished through two different means--either
broadcast signal (based on radio frequency) or network (based on
internet connectivity)--the FAA's final rule on Remote ID determined
only broadcast, not network, technology would comply with the rule.
This stands in direct contrast to other regions of the world. In
Europe, for example, UAS operators flying in designated ``U-space''
airspace are required to employ network identification.
Network identification has important advantages, from offering
greater privacy protections to serving as a cornerstone to data
exchange paradigms that enable UTM. To further the development of
network identification, the FAA must allow UAS industry stakeholders to
demonstrate that the goals of the remote identification rule can be
achieved in a technology-agnostic manner, as long as required
performance standards are met.
Congress should include language in the FAA reauthorization to
require that the FAA develop an additional means of compliance to the
remote identification requirements that can accept internet-based
network identification as an acceptable means of compliance with rules
requiring UAS be equipped with technology to allow for remote
identification.
Conclusion
In conclusion, at Wing we believe that the National Airspace System
is a crucial asset to which everyone should have access and from which
everyone should benefit. Simply put, there is room in the airspace for
everyone. That should include passenger airliners, general aviation,
model aircraft, and yes, even drones.
Drones are an important entry point for people of all ages and from
all backgrounds into the world of aviation. Most people do not remember
the first time they rode in a car, but many remember the first time
they flew on an airplane. Aviation has traditionally been a rare and
somewhat exclusive experience. Drones can help change that. I am an
avid RC aircraft hobbyist, and I am excited about passing that passion
along to my young daughters. The barriers to entry are so much lower
for influencing and even employing people with drones than with
traditional aircraft. The development of the drone industry is a
critical tool in broadening and diversifying the aviation workforce.
Drones also have a lot to offer the economy, and each day of delay
threatens the future of this industry here in the United States. We
appreciate Congress's attention to advancing this innovation platform,
and all of its novel uses, here in the United States.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
Mr. Collins. Thank you.
The Chair now recognizes the gentlelady from Alaska, Mrs.
Peltola, for 1 minute to introduce our next witness.
Mrs. Peltola. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
appreciate the leeway here.
It is my great honor to be able to recognize one of my
constituents who is here as a panelist today. Dr. Cathy Cahill
is the director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Integration, or ACUASI--another good acronym--and is a
full professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of
Alaska Fairbanks.
Dr. Cahill's education background includes degrees in
applied physics for her bachelor's degree and atmospheric
sciences for her master's and Ph.D. She also researched
transatlantic aerosol transport during a Fulbright Fellowship
to Ireland for her post-doc.
For many years, her research focused on the sources,
transport, transformation, and impacts of atmospheric aerosols,
including the effects of atmospheric aerosols on soldiers in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and the long-range transport of pollution
from China into the Arctic.
In order to measure the altitude of aerosols crossing the
Pacific Ocean, Dr. Cahill started designing aerosol samplers
for unmanned aircraft.
After a 2014-2015 sabbatical to Washington, DC, in which
she served as a congressional fellow to the United States
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Cathy
returned to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and became the
director of ACUASI, which is regarded as a national leader in
UAS research.
Dr. Cahill, I really want to thank you so much for coming
all the way to DC to share your expertise with us. I know it is
a long trek. And I really look forward to hearing what you have
to share with us today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mrs. Peltola.
Now, Dr. Cahill, you are recognized for 5 minutes for your
testimony.
TESTIMONY OF CATHERINE F. CAHILL, Ph.D., DIRECTOR, ALASKA
CENTER FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, UNIVERSITY OF
ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Ms. Cahill. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of
the Aviation Subcommittee, my name is Cathy Cahill. And as the
Representative just stated, I am the director of----
Mr. Collins [interrupting]. Ma'am, do you mind turning your
mic on?
Ms. Cahill. OK. Got it. Thank you.
I am the director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Integration at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. ACUASI is the University of Alaska's Center of
Excellence for drones and is one of the top drone research
programs in the country.
However, the testimony I am giving today is in my personal
capacity as a private citizen and based on my professional
experience. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Alaska.
ACUASI leads one of the seven FAA-designated UAS test sites
and one of the eight FAA BEYOND program partnerships. ACUASI is
a core university in the FAA's Center of Excellence for UAS
Research, also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS
through Research Excellence, or ASSURE. More acronyms.
As a result, we are engaging with the best and brightest
civil and governmental agencies and entities to develop and
implement cutting-edge drone technologies, support research,
help the FAA collect and analyze data to support the safe
integration of drones, and developing the workforce pipeline
needed to support the drone industry.
The ACUASI team is primarily composed of people who live in
the aviation-focused State of Alaska, and we see daily use
cases where drones can positively impact aviation safety.
Currently, Alaska has the highest number of pilots, traditional
aircraft, and drones per capita, as well as the highest rate of
aircraft fatalities.
Many infrastructure surveillance activities that could be
conducted via drone are being conducted using pilots and
observers flying in difficult conditions. Most of us know
pilots and observers who have been injured or killed conducting
animal surveys or monitoring pipelines.
Additionally, more than four out of every five Alaskan
communities are only reachable year-round by air. We do not
have a last-mile delivery problem like Wing. We have a last-
hundreds-of-miles delivery problem. Diapers, milk, medical
supplies, and other necessities need to get to our villages,
and that is a real challenge. So, being able to deliver these
supplies and goods on a more regular basis using drones will
greatly improve the quality of life in these communities, while
improving aviation safety by removing a pilot from those risky
missions.
We are also working to advance safety technologies and
practices that are applicable to both drones and traditional
aviation.
Combined, these facts uniquely position me to raise some
critical factors for your consideration in the 2023
reauthorization bill. Some of the most important issues are:
We need to extend the seven FAA test sites authorizations
for another 5 years. Currently, they expire on September 30,
2023.
We need to be able to codify the new 49 U.S. Code 44803(c)
waivers that are finally beginning to allow the test sites to
conduct civil operations to assist companies in meeting the
test and evaluation required for drones under 300 pounds to
become type-certified.
Additionally, we need to codify the ability for the test
sites to do the same in the future for drones over 300 pounds.
We need to be very careful in terms of expanding the test
site program by standing up new test sites. Instead, provide
funding to the current test sites to bring additional
operational areas across the country into the already
established test site program that has a proven safety record.
We already can do this with the authorities we have. The Alaska
test site has done this at locations across the country.
Please extend the FAA's BEYOND program beyond its current
expiration date of October 25, 2024.
Please provide the universities associated with ASSURE
cost-match relief. Right now, a 1-to-1 match is prohibiting
greater participation in the program.
And please extend the ASSURE program for an additional 10
years to leverage the experience we have.
A key issue here is that we need to expand the FAA's
counter-drone authority beyond the airport environment to
ensure that we do not interfere with the safety of the entire
national airspace safety system.
And, please, we need to be able to provide the FAA with the
research exemption to allow the purchase of foreign-made drones
for destructive--repeat: blowup--testing during counter-drone
system tests. The FAA needs to prove that these systems are
effective at removing all drones being flown in a nefarious or
hazardous manner from our airspace without impacting national
airspace security systems.
We need to update the current rules and regulations to
allow for drone technology to enter the airspace, but please do
not create them from scratch.
These are a few of my recommendations for the
reauthorization bill. Thank you very much for allowing me to be
here, and please see my written testimony for additional
information.
[Ms. Cahill's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Catherine F. Cahill, Ph.D., Director, Alaska
Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, University of Alaska
Fairbanks
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and Members of the
Subcommittee, my name is Cathy Cahill and I am the Director of the
Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). ACUASI is the University of
Alaska's Center of Excellence for UAS and one of the top UAS research
programs in the country. ACUASI is unique in that it has multifaceted
roles as lead of one of the seven FAA designated UAS Test Sites and one
of the eight BEYOND sites, and a core university in the FAA's UAS
Center of Excellence (a.k.a. the Alliance for System Safety of UAS
through Research Excellence--ASSURE). As a result, our team is engaged
with the best and brightest commercial and governmental entities on
cutting-edge UAS technologies, helping FAA collect and analyze the data
needed to support the safe integration of UAS into the National
Airspace System (NAS), and developing the workforce pipeline that will
produce the engineers, scientists, pilots, cargo handlers, drone
mechanics, and other jobs needed by UAS end users, operators, and
providers to support the developing drone economy. Being in Alaska
allows us to safely test new technologies, policies, and procedures in
a state that is dependent upon aviation to conduct missions of import
such as long-distance cargo delivery to remote communities, medical
supply delivery, long linear infrastructure surveillance, mapping and
surveying, and mammal monitoring. Our diverse portfolio and academic
standing allows us to demonstrate, observe, and evaluate the risks
associated with UAS use in both military and civil environments. Our
community and professional relationships enable us to safely advance
UAS and aviation technologies. Combined, these facts uniquely position
me to raise some critical factors for consideration in the 2023 FAA
Reauthorization. This written testimony is provided to you through my
personal capacity as a private citizen and based on my professional
experience; it does not necessarily represent the views of the
University of Alaska.
Alaska is an aviation state (https://dot.alaska.gov/stwdav/). We
have the highest number of pilots, traditional aircraft, and drones per
capita in the country and 82 percent of all Alaskan communities can
only be reached year-round via aircraft. Please let me restate this
fact for emphasis: more than four out of five communities in Alaska are
dependent on year-round aviation. Any improvements we make to the
routine servicing of these communities has a direct impact on the
quality of life of the residents in those communities. Routinely
transporting cargo, such as diapers and milk, to the communities might
not be an exciting operation, but it greatly improves the quality of
life in that community by reducing cost and increasing access to fresh
foods and other necessities. We also have a large number of aviation
accidents and fatalities (https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/
2019/11/04/rate-of-alaska-fatal-plane-crashes-tops-national-average/),
so aviation safety is of serious concern in the state. Many missions,
including pipeline surveillance, mapping, animal counting, and cargo
delivery, are currently being done using traditional aircraft which can
be dangerous. These could be more safely and efficiently conducted
using drones flying Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) of their
pilots, if a reasonable set of technologies and policies and procedures
can be developed and implemented by: the drone community, the larger
aviation community, and Federal regulators. Improving aviation safety
while improving the quality of life in Alaska's remote communities is
why ACUASI has been working for years with partners, especially the
State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and
those remote communities. Collectively we work to develop concepts of
operations for conducting these missions, work with aircraft
manufacturers and technology providers to identify and implement new
technology based solutions to meet the challenges of safely flying
BVLOS. We also work directly with regulators such as the FAA and the
Federal Communications Commission to develop the policies, procedures,
and permissions required to conduct these operational missions. Our
ceaseless efforts in advancing and enhancing aviation safety in Alaska
have led to the following realizations and are the foundation to my
recommendations for the 2023 FAA Reauthorization legislation.
The FAA UAS Test Sites
The FAA and Congress have not funded, granted permissions, or
utilized the current seven FAA UAS Test Sites to their fullest
potential. The intent of Congress behind the seven FAA-approved UAS
Test Sites appears to have been for the Test Sites to assist companies
with the research, development, test, and evaluation of new drone
technologies and the safe integration of that technology into the
National Airspace System (NAS); however, when the Test Sites were stood
up, their scope was constrained to conducting public aircraft
operations as identified in 49 U.S. Code Sec. 40125:
49 U.S. Code Sec. 40125--Qualifications for public aircraft status
(2) Governmental function.--
The term ``governmental function'' means an activity undertaken
by a government, such as national defense, intelligence
missions, firefighting, search and rescue, law enforcement
(including transport of prisoners, detainees, and illegal
aliens), aeronautical research, or biological or geological
resource management.
This requirement greatly limited the ability of the Test Sites to
assist commercial operators with the testing and evaluation required to
certify their aircraft. As soon as an aircraft was no longer a
prototype being used for aeronautical research, the Test Sites could
not help the company fly the aircraft and develop the hours needed for
the manufacturer to demonstrate the safety of the aircraft in the NAS.
The seven Test Sites are safety-focused and are uniquely skilled and
positioned to facilitate this safe transition. Additionally, the FAA
interpreted this requirement as a definitive list of public aircraft
operations, instead of as a `such as' list that could be added to, so
the Test Sites and other public aircraft users were not allowed to
conduct infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, etc.) monitoring by state
Departments of Transportation, training of drone users, demonstrations
of the technology for potential public use cases, and other operations.
The public aircraft restriction also meant that the Test Sites
could not charge companies for flights; the Test Sites could only
charge for providing assistance in accessing operational airspace, such
as applying for the permissions required for the company to fly in a
specified airspace, and the use of their facilities. Because the Test
Sites did not receive any direct funding from Congress or the FAA to
develop those facilities, it was a struggle for all of the Test Sites
to develop the facilities required for their customers to do their
required testing. Congress has since directed limited funding for
research at the Test Sites, but they are required to go to a Qualified
Commercial Entity through a Broad Agency Announcement competition
process that results in the Test Sites receiving a small portion of the
funding allocated to the project for very specific and limited support.
I recommend providing the Test Sites with baseline funding to support
their facilities and facilitate safer, easier access and support for
drone manufacturers and technology providers.
In spite of the public aircraft and funding limitations, the Test
Sites have collected important aviation safety data on new aircraft and
technologies, including Detect and Avoid (DAA) technologies that will
allow a drone to spot other aircraft in the air and autonomously avoid
them. Additionally, after many years of requesting relief from the
public aircraft limitation and Congressional and State pressure on the
FAA, on February 6, 2023, the FAA's University of Alaska UAS Test Site
finally received the first 49 U.S. Code Sec. 44803(c) waiver that
allows the Alaska Test Site to conduct civil operations for the test
and evaluation of drones under 300 pounds and charge for their efforts.
Between February 6 and March 24, 2023, three of the other six Test
Sites also received U.S. Code Sec. 44803(c) waivers and the other Test
Sites are expected to get their waivers in the near future. These
waivers allow the Test Sites to finally do what they should have been
allowed to do for vehicles of this size when they were stood up ten
years ago. The industry is now expanding into aircraft that are heavier
than 300 pounds and the Test Sites are the logical, safe place for this
testing as well. We currently are working with aircraft manufactures
developing aircraft of this size or converting traditional cargo
aircraft to autonomous systems. The Test Sites are currently only
authorized through September 30, 2023, and should be extended by at
least five years to continue their important work and fully implement
the capabilities available using the 44803(c) waiver to help companies
get their drones and drone technologies certified for use in the NAS.
I have heard rumors that organizations are requesting the expansion
of the FAA UAS Test Site program. I strongly disagree with that
premise. The current Test Sites have established and proven procedures,
repeatable operations, and proven safety records that are unmatched in
the industry and will be difficult to match for any new Test Site.
Additionally, the current Test Sites have not been supported
financially by the FAA in spite of our good partnership with the FAA
Test Site Program Managers and our provision of quality data sets to
the FAA and adding additional sites will make that problem more acute,
especially since new Test Sites could potentially be immediately
provided with the waivers that the current Test Sites just received
after years of hard work. Further, there is a risk that this would
dilute the already limited funding coming through the Qualified
Commercial Entity program. In addition, if Congress wants to expand the
integration of drones into the NAS, including operating flights at the
height of the Chinese surveillance balloon or above, altitudes that
could be used to expand cellular communications capabilities, support
disaster response, collect weather data sets and more; the current Test
Sites have experience in these flight regimes and could increase their
capacity to support customers and partners interesting in operating at
these altitudes. We can also expand our operations to support those
regions and entities that desire to be test sites through the processes
and procedures we use to operate our ranges in Oregon and Hawai'i.
These were set up after the Test Site authorizations were granted to
the University of Alaska for the entire Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range
Complex instead of for Alaska, Hawai'i, and Oregon separately. We have
been using these policies and procedures to bring additional
operational areas across the country into the University of Alaska UAS
Test Site. All seven current Test Sites have the ability to do this.
This additional scope and support would require additional funding and/
or through our ability to charge for 44803(c) test and evaluation
support.
We also recommend that the term `governmental function' in 49 U.S.
Code, Section 40125 be redefined to: 1) allow the FAA's Test Sites
collect data on and oversee the research, development, test, and
evaluation (i.e., aeronautical research) of all drones, not just those
for Federal government use without requiring a 44803(c) waiver to be
able to conduct civil operations, and 2) allow infrastructure
inspections, public demonstrations, training and education, and all
other activities that are in the public interest that are not currently
considered `public operations' but are in the public's interest.
Suggested wording changes are highlighted in red:
49 U.S. Code Sec. 40125--Qualifications for public aircraft status
BEYOND
The FAA's BEYOND program provides eight state, local, or tribal-led
teams with assistance in navigating the regulatory and technical
challenges associated with conducting BVLOS operations. In Alaska, the
BEYOND program supports our long, linear infrastructure monitoring
(e.g., the Trans-Alaska Pipeline), medical supply delivery, and large
drone cargo delivery between remote communities efforts. In addition to
providing technical and regulatory support to allow us to fly safe,
pioneering missions in these three mission areas, the BEYOND program is
quantifying who our stakeholders are and how we are engaging with them
to best determine how to move the public and other stakeholder, such as
the General Aviation community, acceptance of drones forward as drones
increasingly enter the NAS. This program is a benefit to the all
elements of the aviation community as it addresses the safe integration
of drones flying BVLOS in the NAS using real-world operations as the
use cases and quantifies the economic benefits of routine drone
operations. BEYOND should be continued beyond its current expiration
date of October 25, 2024.
FAA's UAS Center of Excellence (a.k.a. the Alliance for System Safety
of UAS through Research Excellence--ASSURE)
The ASSURE program has been conducting quality aviation safety
research that leverages the expertise of the universities and
identified partners. ASSURE research efforts support a broad cross
section of technical research areas for the FAA by bringing teams of
subject matter experts, technologists, and researchers together to
focus on key FAA-identified knowledge gaps. For example, important
ASSURE research includes studies on the effects of drones impacting
people and other aircraft, the effectiveness of different detect and
avoid technologies in spotting traditional aircraft and drones in the
NAS, how to effectively integrate large drone cargo and urban air
mobility platforms into airport infrastructure and the potential
economic impacts of those technologies as they are adopted. The
research products resulting from these studies are centered on
improving safety and providing inputs for new guidance and regulations.
The ASSURE universities receive funding through the program, which
has been a major advantage to our participation in ASSURE, but the
program requires a 1:1 cost match that is difficult for many schools to
meet. The ASSURE program is requesting relief from the cost match
requirement to allow greater participation in the program. The program
also is seeking a ten-year, no-compete extension to be able to leverage
the infrastructure, national and international partnerships, and
expertise developed by the ASSURE team during the current research
efforts into long-term research support and success for the FAA.
Remote Identification
Remote Identification (a.k.a., Remote ID or RID) is the ability of
a drone to provide identification information to other parties during
flight. The Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Final Rule is a
new regulation (Part 89 in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations)
requiring all drone operators to buy a drone with standard RID
equipment on it, equip their drone with a module that will broadcast an
RID signal, fly at a FAA-Recognized Identification Area, or seek
special authorization to operate the drone without an RID starting on
September 16, 2023. Remote ID provides law enforcement and other
agencies with information on the location of a drone's ground control
station, and hence the location of the operator, of a drone that
appears to be flying in a reckless or illegal manner. ACUASI team
members are concerned about the safety of our drone operators in cases
where we are flying legally, but an anti-drone person receives our
Remote ID signal and intercepts our users in a hostile manner.
Counter-UAS
Unmanned aircraft systems have a tremendous potential to increase
aviation safety by doing the dirty, dull, and dangerous flights that
currently put pilots at risk, improve cargo delivery to remote areas,
deliver packages quickly, effectively and economically, provide
broadband communications to remote areas, improve maritime domain
awareness, facilitate Search and Rescue, assist law enforcement,
monitor infrastructure, and a host of other positive use cases.
However, it has been demonstrated that drones also can be used to
conduct war, disrupt airports, commerce and transportation, support
terrorism, and conduct other nefarious acts. Therefore, the U.S. needs
to develop, test, and implement safe counter-UAS (C-UAS) technologies
that will allow the discrimination between authorized drones,
unauthorized drones, and traditional aviation and allow the safe
removal of rogue drones from the NAS by authorized individuals.
Counter-UAS technologies have the potential to adversely impact
authorized drones, traditional aircraft, people or property on the
ground, and/or safety systems in the NAS. As a result, the authority
for conducting C-UAS activities has been limited to five agencies
(i.e., DOD, DOE, DHS, DOJ, and the FAA) to ensure the highest levels of
safety and security while protecting the public, drone operators, and
others from potential collection and misuse of personally-identifiable
information. The testing of C-UAS technologies, including some of the
detection and tracking systems, has been limited due to their potential
violation of sections in Title 18 U.S.C. including the Pen/Trap
Statute, the Wiretap Act, the Aircraft Sabotage Act, the Computer Fraud
and Abuse Act, and others, and in 49 U.S.C., under Aircraft Piracy.
Additionally, countermeasure technologies themselves are frequently
classified due to their value to national security. Therefore, the
number of companies able to test C-UAS technologies is limited and
requires the participation of one of the entities listed above to
access restricted airspace and deploy the countermeasures. Remote ID
will increase C-UAS technology's effectiveness by providing information
on the locations of all authorized drones in an area, thereby allowing
security officials to separate authorized drones from unauthorized
drone, but rogue drones most likely will not be broadcasting RID
signals or broadcasting false signatures, so other forms of C-UAS
detection, tracking, and identification are needed.
The FAA's authority has been limited to the testing of potential C-
UAS systems at five airports. This is not sufficient for the FAA to
understand the effects of the C-UAS systems on the range of safety
systems, such as First Responder communications systems and
navigational aids, deployed across the NAS, or in non-airport locations
including critical infrastructure. The FAA needs to be given a wider
authorization to allow it to test these systems away from airports
without the need to partner with another agency, which may have a
different agenda for the testing, and a duplicative approval process
that slows down testing approvals. Additionally, the agencies that have
full C-UAS authorities should have their authorities renewed for a
longer period of time.
C-UAS researchers need be able to purchase a wide, representative
variety of the types and configurations of the drones most commonly
used in the NAS to effectively test the ability of C-UAS systems to
detect, track, identify, and/or mitigate those drones. The tested
drones need to include aircraft made by foreign manufactures on the
list of banned organizations because those aircraft make up a large
portion of all drones registered and flown in the U.S. The FAA and the
FAA UAS Test Sites involved in current and upcoming C-UAS testing need
an exemption from the ban on the purchase of those aircraft so they can
support the C-UAS system testing and evaluation by providing the
systems with challenges from the most common types of drones found in
the NAS.
ACUASI, as a UAS Test Site, BEYOND site, ASSURE member, etc., has
yet to test mitigation systems due to our not having the authority to
do so. However, we have conducted DAA testing, which is very similar to
the detection and tracking piece of C-UAS, and we are partnering with
organizations possessing the authorities to support the research
necessary to determine the safety of the systems in the NAS. We need to
test these technologies in Alaska due to our extreme environmental
conditions, large number of General Aviation and commercial aircraft
that could be affected by a C-UAS system, and our proximity to Russia.
Right of Way Rules
ACUASI has been participating in efforts, such as the BVLOS
Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), to establish the right of way
rules for drones, especially those operating under 400 feet above
ground level (AGL), the focus of the BVLOS ARC, Integration Pilot
Program, and other efforts. We believe that most of the long-distance
drone flights that will be conducted in Alaska will occur at altitudes
above 400 feet AGL due to improved satellite, radar, ADS-B, and other
navigational and communications availability and safety of flight
(e.g., terrain avoidance) if the communications link is lost. However,
our team believes that we must participate in the low-altitude
operations discussion to ensure that Alaska's aviation interests are
protected. As an example, many drone operators are pushing for the
airspace below 400 feet AGL to be set aside for BVLOS drone operations
without a DAA requirement by stating that no one flies under 400 feet
AGL. Anyone who has spent any time flying around Alaska knows that many
Alaskans, especially General Aviation pilots, fly under 400 feet AGL.
They also know that pipelines, railroad tracks, and other
infrastructure serve as navigational aids during deteriorating weather,
which conflicts with some potential infrastructure shielding proposals.
In the rest of the country, agricultural aircraft (a.k.a. crop dusters)
and helicopters routinely fly at these altitudes and some visual routes
at high density airports are at these altitudes. Additionally, on
approach to Sacramento Metropolitan Airport, I observed a crop duster
fly below high-tension power lines, which would not be allowed under
potential shielding proposals.
The ACUASI team believes that the current rules and regulations are
a good starting point for discussing what a fully-integrated NAS should
look like. There are some rules and regulations that need to be updated
to allow for drone technology to enter the airspace with traditional
aircraft, but in our opinion, we should keep what currently works and
make minor modifications to fix what does not, not create new
regulations from scratch.
As an example of a regulation that needs to be fixed is the `see
and avoid' clause of 14 C.F.R. Sec. 91.113(b). Currently, no drone can
meet the regulations for avoiding other aircraft in the airspace as
written in this clause. According to the FAA, the word `see' in 14
C.F.R. Sec. 91.113(b) cannot be met using any method other than a
human eye onboard an aircraft. The FAA's concern is that if an aircraft
loses link with the ground control station, then streaming video would
cease and the pilot would not be able to see any aircraft near the
drone. Additionally, there can be significant time lags in streaming
video that could result in an aircraft not being spotted until a
collision cannot be avoided. Therefore, we recommend the following
wording change to allow for the deployment of an on-aircraft system
that can autonomously spot other aircraft in the air and avoid them.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
This paves the way for using DAA technology onboard the drone to
help the drone give way to the traditional aircraft and maintain well
clear. Onboard DAA technology also could be added to traditional
aircraft with designs that limit the pilot's sight to keep them from
colliding with aircraft they cannot see or to all aircraft to prevent
distracted pilots from flying into other aircraft as has happened
across the U.S., including several accidents in Alaska. Additionally,
onboard DAA technology prevents the aircraft from violating well clear
even if the link between the ground control station and the aircraft is
lost, a distinct possibility in the challenging communications link
conditions found in Alaska. Onboard DAA is a major stepping stone to
safe, fully-integrated drone operations in Alaska. The FAA should fund
significant DAA test and evaluation efforts to ensure the development
of a small, light-weight DAA systems that operate in all conditions and
are able to fit on a small drone without significantly decreasing the
ability of that drone to carry a payload.
Some other major stepping stones to safe, fully-integrated drone
operations are improved weather information, enhanced communications
(e.g., satellite communications, cellular communications, etc.), and
fused airspace information displays. These technologies could provide
the backbone for the integration of large drone cargo and passenger
transport, a.k.a. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), with traditional
aviation between remote communities in Alaska and for locations across
the country. The FAA, FCC, National Weather Service, and other Federal
agencies need to provide the State of Alaska and other organizations
funding to allow for the build-out of the infrastructure required to
implement such a system and build Alaska's future transportation
system.
Workforce development
Last, but by no means least, ACUASI is working to develop the
workforce needed to support the incoming drone economy. As the
University of Alaska, and in conjunction with Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) providers across Alaska, ACUASI is
encouraging young minds, as well as the minds of military personnel
transitioning to civil life, traditional pilots looking to retire from
a life in the cockpit, and all others, to consider a career in a drone-
related endeavor. We are developing curricula for people to get
certified in drone operations or to achieve a degree in aerospace
engineering. More importantly, we also are identifying what new jobs
are going to be required to support the field in the future. For
example, currently the pilots who fly cargo into our remote communities
unload the aircraft. In the future, we will need personnel to assist in
the loading and loading of the cargo drone. We also will need drone
mechanics, business owners, insurers, programmers, safety inspectors,
and a host of other professionals. We will need to train scientists,
real estate agents, cinemaphotographers, and teachers how to use the
technology. We need payload developers and data analysts to analyze the
data from novel payloads. There is an entire workforce associated with
drone technology and its uses.
The potential for the drone economy to be transformative in the
State of Alaska is tremendous. I am excited that this cutting-edge
technology may allow residents of Alaska's remote communities, often
Alaska Natives who have lived in their communities for generations, to
remain in the place they love and still have a high-tech career. The
kids that our team engages during outreach events in these communities
may no longer have to chose between their community and fast-paced,
technological jobs. They see that no matter what their interests are,
they will be able to participate in the drone economy. This will help
alleviate the Alaska brain drain to the continental U.S. Additionally,
students from across Alaska understand the value of aviation in their
lives and bring that to the drone economy. They understand aviation
safety and how drones can further that endeavor. We need to make sure
that students, whether traditional or non-traditional, from across the
U.S. see how they can participate in this up and coming field. Funding
for outreach and training is essential for developing this workforce.
The impact of the STEM efforts funded by ASSURE are a great example of
how a single entity, ASSURE, can positively impact a wide variety of
students including under-represented populations and show them the
potential for a future in drones. This same impact can be felt in
similar communities across the country. This is an inspiration model
for our next generation and efforts of this type need to be funded
throughout the FAA.
In summary, Alaska is the logical place for the safe testing and
implementation of drones for uses of import to Alaskans and the rest of
the U.S. population. We have a need for drones. We have minimal ground
hazards. We have a population that understands aviation and aviation
safety. And we have a program, ACUASI, that is leading the way to safe
drone integration in the NAS. Thank you for your help in making our
efforts come to fruition across our great country.
This ends my prepared statement and I would be happy to answer any
questions you might have.
Mr. Collins. Thank you.
Next, Chief Roxana Kennedy, you are recognized for 5
minutes for your testimony.
TESTIMONY OF ROXANA KENNEDY, CHIEF OF POLICE, CHULA VISTA
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Ms. Kennedy. Thank you.
Good morning, Chairman and Ranking Members of the
committee, it is an honor to be here today.
My name is Roxana Kennedy, and I am the chief of police for
the Chula Vista Police Department. I have been in law
enforcement for over 30 years, and I lead an agency with over
400 sworn and civilian personnel. Chula Vista is the second
largest city in San Diego County, with 52 square miles and a
population of approximately 275,000 residents.
My organization has developed an innovative and strategic
way to respond to emergency calls for service despite low
staffing and a growing community. These are two real concerns
for law enforcement agencies.
My goal today is to highlight the tremendous value of
uncrewed aerial systems in law enforcement operations and how
drones benefit and keep communities safer.
In 2018, Chula Vista Police Department was selected as the
only law enforcement agency to participate as a part of the
FAA's Integration Pilot Program, and the same year we launched
our Drone as First Responder program, commonly known as DFR.
For those of you who aren't aware or familiar with the
concept of DFR, let me explain.
Our drones are stationed on one of five strategically
placed rooftops throughout the city, with a pilot in command at
each location for airspace awareness.
Inside the police department, in our DFR operations center,
we have an experienced sworn officer, also known as a
teleoperator, who can launch and control any of the drones at a
moment's notice. When someone calls dispatch and needs help,
our teleoperator selects the closest drone to respond.
Once overhead, the teleoperator essentially becomes the
incident commander and directs responding officers or fire
personnel to that emergency and provides critical information
to those on scene.
Additionally, the drone footage is livestreamed to police
and fire personnel to provide real-time information.
Our drones are responding to actual calls, not randomly
patrolling our city. In the past 5 years, we have flown over
14,000 successful missions. And for the first time in 10 years,
we have met our priority 1 response time, largely due to DFR.
Our average response time is just under 2 minutes.
In police work, we don't have a crystal ball. We never know
what we will encounter. And there can be unpredictable
consequences. Let me give you an example of a DFR success
story.
There was a call for service to a local taco shop in our
city. Multiple calls came in from frightened patrons reporting
a man sitting at a table waving a gun around acting strangely.
His behavior was concerning, and based upon details, we were
unsure whether the subject was under the influence or
experiencing a mental health crisis.
Our teleoperator launched a drone and was able to arrive on
scene within 1 minute and started providing invaluable
information to responding officers.
As the teleoperator watched from above, he noticed at one
point the subject moved the gun toward his mouth. The concern
was this person was going to commit suicide. Instead, the
subject placed a cigarette in his mouth and then lit the
cigarette with what appeared to be a gun. You could clearly see
him now puffing on the cigarette and blowing smoke in the air.
In reality, it was a cigarette lighter, not a gun. This
information was provided to responding officers, creating a
clearer picture in their minds, which changed their response.
A traditional police response to this call could have ended
tragically because of limited information. The ability to view
the scene before officers arrived saved lives. This is by far
the best deescalation tool I have seen in my law enforcement
career.
Our staff maneuvered through the FAA regulations, navigated
the COA process, worked through technology issues, and has
fought tooth and nail at times to keep our program going with
no funding.
While our relationship and support with the FAA team has
been amazing, there are some things the FAA can do to better
assist law enforcement agencies implementing a DFR program.
The application process for COAs and waivers provides
little to no feedback of what needs correction. Understanding
early on what is needed would help streamline the process.
Better communication from the FAA to applicants on delays in
the process will be immensely beneficial.
Recently, the FAA approved a complete BVLOS authorization
for another agency's DFR program. This approval is a huge step
and a win for law enforcement agencies. However, the FAA's
inconsistencies regarding COAs and waiver approvals creates
confusion. We recommend the recent approval of what some call
the digital visual observer become a standard option for COAs,
hence removing the remote-pilot-in-command requirement.
As we build upon the future of drones in law enforcement,
we recognize and value protecting public privacy, securing
safely the data we collect, and maintaining transparency.
In closing, drones are not a replacement for officers; they
are an enhancement. Drone technology is crucial in keeping our
officers, our community, and the subjects we contact safer.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our story today, and
I look forward to your questions.
[Ms. Kennedy's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Roxana Kennedy, Chief of Police, Chula Vista
Police Department
Introduction
Good morning, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and committee
members. Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you today about FAA
reauthorization and harnessing the innovation of Flight to Deliver for
the American People. I cannot think of a better time to highlight the
innovation of drone technology and how law enforcement's use benefits
the safety and security of the American public.
I am the Chief of Police of the Chula Vista Police Department
located in California. The City of Chula Vista is a beautiful city
located in the southern portion of coastal San Diego County. It is the
second largest city in the county, and boasts more than 52 square miles
of coastal landscape, canyons, rolling hills, mountains, quality parks,
and miles of trails. Our southern edge of the city is only seven miles
from the U.S. and Mexico border. Chula Vista has an approximate
population of over 275,000 and growing with the development of our
bayfront, which includes the development of a 535-acre hotel and resort
property, convention center, parks, and residential housing.
You may be wondering why a Chief of Police from a mid-size agency
in California is talking with you today. Our city has been one of the
fastest-growing cities in our nation. As a result, I have had to adjust
public safety strategies to meet rapid changes in the needs of our
community. We have embraced the use of technology to ensure my
department keeps up with the changes in population demographics,
traffic density, the location and scale of public safety calls for
service, and other factors, all of which result in increased demands
from our community at a time when our department is facing hiring
challenges that most if not all police departments are experiencing
today.
I have been in law enforcement with the Chula Vista Police
Department for over 30 years. I have seen innovation and technology go
from nonexistent and minimal, to crucial and essential tools for the
safety and effectiveness of our officers. When I began my career,
technology was limited. We hand wrote our police reports, on paper
report forms in pencil in case we made a mistake; there were no mobile
data computers, and we would receive limited call information from a
dispatcher over the radio. It was up to my partners and I to react and
cope with whatever scene that we were thrust into. Sometimes that
worked out well; other times, it was challenging to say the least. In
police work, we don't have a crystal ball and usually can't see
whatever we may be about to face. Without the ability to adequately
prepare for what our officers will encounter, our profession leaves so
much to chance, which can sometimes result in unpredictable
consequences. Let me explain in detail about the Drone as First
Responder program, and how it helps give officers real-time information
before they arrive at a crime scene so that they can be better prepared
to keep themselves and our community safe.
Overview
In 2018, the Chula Vista Police Department (California) pioneered a
new concept in rapid response to police emergencies: Using uncrewed
aerial systems (commonly known as drones) to pro-actively respond to
emergency calls. The concept was so revolutionary that in May of 2018,
it was chosen as the only municipal program in the nation a part of the
FAAs Integration Pilot Program (IPP).
The Drone as First Responder concept is different than traditional
drone programs in that it is proactive rather than reactive. Instead of
launching a drone after an officer is already on scene, Chula Vista's
DFR program stations drones at permanent locations throughout the city
and respond proactively to emergencies as soon as they happen.
The intent of the program is to get a drone on scene before
responding officers arrive. Certified teleoperators can evaluate the
situation remotely and relay information to officers and field
supervisors. The drone can also feed live-streaming video of the
incident to commanders and first responders. This helps personnel
determine the best tools, tactics, and resources to safely mitigate a
problem--often before officers arrive on scene.
History of the DFR Program
In December 2015, the Chula Vista Police Department formed a UAS
committee and began studying the use of technology in our public safety
operations. The Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) committee met dozens of
times to explore best practices, policies, and procedures regarding
using UAS technology within law enforcement. In 2017, we started
tactical operations and deployed drones in the field.
Prior to implementing the UAS Program, Chula Vista Police
Department discussed its plan for UAS operations in the media, in
public forums, and posted information about the project on the Chula
Vista Police Department website. This outreach included a mechanism for
the public to contact or email the UAS Team to comment on Chula Vista
Police Department's UAS policy, to express concerns, or provide
feedback. It is important to note that, out of respect for civil
liberties and personal privacy, Chula Vista Police Department's UAS
policy specifically prohibits the use of UAS systems for general
surveillance. After exhaustive planning and research, Chula Vista
Police department activated its UAS Program in the summer of 2017 to
support tactical operations by our first responders.
Beginning on October 22, 2018, with strong support from the
community, we began deploying drones from the rooftop of the police
department headquarters to 911 calls and other reports of emergency
incidents, such as crimes in progress, fires, traffic accidents, and
reports of dangerous subjects. This unique Concept of Operations
(CONOPS) for drones developed out of a partnership between Chula Vista
Police Department and third-party entities. Chula Vista Police
Department was a part of the San Diego IPP Team, selected as one of
only 10 teams among hundreds of applicants as part of the FAA's
Integration Pilot Project (IPP). The IPP was a federal initiative
designed to help integrate drones into the National Air Space (NAS).
Chula Vista Police Department's CONOPS is called Drone as First
Responder (DFR), and it is a transformational method of policing that
has demonstrated the ability to increase officer and community safety
and reduce overall police response times. DFR provides the ability to
see what is going on at an incident before emergency personnel arrive
on scene. In addition to the overhead perspective that traditional air
support has always provided, DFR allows a trained incident commander to
``virtually'' arrive on scene first, sometimes minutes before officers
are in harm's way.
The drone has a powerful on-board camera that streams HD video back
to the department's real-time operations center where the teleoperator,
who is a trained critical incident manager, not only controls the drone
remotely, but communicates with the units in the field to give them
information and tactical intelligence about what they are responding
to. The system also streams the video feed to the cell phones of the
first responders, supervisors, and command staff, so they can see
exactly what the drone is seeing.
The DFR Program continued to expand its capabilities with the
ultimate goal of providing the ability to respond to any location in
the city within minutes. In May 2019, the FAA authorized Chula Vista
Police Department to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS waiver).
This allowed the drones to fly up to 3 miles in any direction from the
launch site (within city limits). Moving from a 1-mile flight radius to
3 miles increased the area of service exponentially.
In August 2019, Chula Vista Police Department partnered with
private entities in our city and expanded its operations from one
launch site to two launch sites in the city. The addition of the second
site allowed the police department to provide DFR coverage over the
entire western portion of the city. This area is roughly 30% of the
City's geographic area but, due to its density and commercial activity,
is responsible for about 70% of the priority calls for service.
In March 2021, we again made history as the first in the United
States to obtain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization to
launch from anywhere in the city. In addition, Chula Vista Police
Department formed business community partnerships with other third-
party entities in strategic locations in the eastern parts of the City
to add three more launch sites. With the addition of the three new
launch sites, we now have five launch sites available to Chula Vista
Police Department, which allows the DFR Program to provide city-wide
coverage and can launch drones to much of the geographical area of
Chula Vista (see below figure 1).
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 1. DFR launch locations
Additionally, Chula Vista Police Department was the first in the
nation to obtain a two-to-one waiver, allowing us to launch two drones
from each location. Flight time is limited for each drone but having
the ability to launch two drones from each location gives us
uninterrupted coverage when the community needs us most.
DFR Program Staffing
The Chula Vista Police Department's DFR program includes two
dedicated full-time police officers who are teleoperators for the
drones. The teleoperators work from a dedicated office space within the
police headquarters building, located near the watch commander's office
and the police department's Real Time Operations Center. Additionally,
when our DFR program started the FAA regulations required additional
personnel to always maintain direct visual observation of the UAS while
in flight.
At that time, the FAA prohibited using technology or virtual
presence to meet this requirement. As a result, the Police Department
must also maintain a physical presence of at least one Pilot-in-Command
(PIC) at each launch site to directly view and monitor the airspace
around the drone, who can take immediate control of the drone if
necessary to avoid an accident. To meet this requirement, the Police
Department utilizes a private third-party company to provide staffing
to fulfill this FAA requirement for Pilots-in-Command.
Current Status of the DFR Program
Since the program's inception, DFR has responded to more than
14,000 calls for service. In a statistically significant number of
situations (over 25% of the time, or 3,509 deployments), DFR avoided
the need to send ground units to the scene. Most of these calls for
service (without DFR support) would have otherwise required a two-
officer response. In addition, the DFR program allows the Police
Department to have a drone resource on the scene of an emergency much
quicker than ground units.
As seen in Figure 2, on average, since the start of our DFR
program, a drone arrives on the scene of a call in just under 2
minutes. The drone's rapid arrival allows the teleoperator to relay
information to responding officers and helps document crimes-in-
progress to enhance subsequent criminal investigations and prosecution.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 2. Drone as First Responder Dashboard (October 2018 to March 26,
2023)
Transparency
Transparency and building trust with our community is so important
to Chula Vista Police Department that we created a dashboard for our
community. Often the community mistakes any drone as a law enforcement
drone. Beginning in April 2021, Chula Vista Police Department along
with third party vendors partnered to provide information on every
flight by a Chula Vista Police Department drone.
Chula Vista Police Department uses drone software to track all
drone flights launched by the department to achieve public
transparency. The drone flight dashboard displays the date, time,
incident or case number, and flight path. Chula Vista Police Department
's policies prohibit drone operators from intentionally recording or
transmitting images of any location where a person would have a
reasonable expectation of privacy, except where authorized by a warrant
issued by a judge or in emergencies. See figure 3 below.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 3. Drone as First Responder Flight Data
Privacy
Our community's privacy is of the utmost importance, and the Chula
Vista Police Department is committed to maintaining and protecting the
privacy rights of our community. One way we ensure our community's
privacy is when clearing a call, the camera is automatically pointed to
the horizon when returning to the launch location. The Chula Vista
Police Department's use of drones is intended to enhance its response
to calls for service. As such, drones are only used during an active
response to an emergency or other call for police assistance, and the
videos captured constitute investigatory records exempt from disclosure
under California's open record laws.
In addition, any video that may not fall under the investigatory
category may be shielded from disclosure under various other California
state laws, such as the Welfare and Institutions Code and the Vehicle
Code. The Chula Vista Police Department prohibits drone operators from
intentionally recording or transmitting images of any location where a
person would have a responsible expectation of privacy, such as private
backyards or inside private buildings, except where authorized by a
warrant issued by a judge or in emergencies.
Data Collection and Storage
Video and photos collected by DFR are stored to conduct police
investigations and subsequent prosecutions. Accordingly, videos and
photos are generally accessible to police investigators for official
use only. Like all police records, video and photos may also be subject
to additional release under the same rules and restrictions as Body
Worn Camera (BWC) Video and other items of evidence. Generally, UAS
photos and videos are considered part of the investigative record.
Therefore, they are unavailable under the California Public Records Act
(CPRA) or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
I am aware of concerns with foreign drone technology and the
potential for access to confidential law enforcement information. Our
drone data does not utilize the onboard software from the drone
manufacturer. From the onset of our program, we have used an encrypted,
U.S.-based software program to bypass the drone manufacturer's systems.
Our data is encrypted and stored on U.S.-based servers that meet
federal requirements for confidential law enforcement databases.
Additionally, the Chula Vista Police Department owns ALL its data.
Chula Vista Police Department does not share or sell any of its data
with any 3rd party companies. Third party companies cannot access our
data from the Chula Vista Police Department.
The Chula Vista Police Department's use of foreign drone technology
is driven solely due to capabilities and equipment of the foreign drone
system. This includes flight time and distance and most importantly the
optical and digital zoom with the camera. I am hopeful that American
made drone companies will be able to manufacture a credible option to
their foreign competitors. I feel law enforcement agencies are
struggling to keep up with rising crimes rates.
It is my understanding that American made drones that are capable
of all the necessary requirements for a DFR program are still many
years away of being a proven replacement. Being forced to use a less
suitable drone will cripple, if not halt, a successful drone program.
Cost factors are also a significant concern for law enforcement
agencies.
Success Stories
Person with a gun (Figure 4)
Let me give you a few examples of DFR success stories. There was a
call for service to a local taco shop in our city. Multiple calls came
in from frightened patrons reporting a man sitting at a table waving a
gun and acting strangely. His behavior was concerning, and based on the
details, we were unsure whether the subject was under the influence or
experiencing a mental health crisis.
Our teleoperator launched a drone, arrived on the scene within a
minute, and provided invaluable information to responding officers.
As the teleoperator operator watched from above, he noticed the
subject moved the gun toward his mouth at one point. The concern was
this person might be preparing to commit suicide. Instead, the person
placed a cigarette in his mouth while talking and then lit the
cigarette with what appeared to be a gun. You could see him now puffing
on the cigarette and blowing smoke. In reality, it was a cigarette
lighter, not a gun. This information was provided to incoming officers,
which helped create a clearer picture in their minds and changed the
response of the arriving officers.
A traditional police response to this call could have ended
tragically. However, the ability to view the scene before officers
arrive saves lives. This is just one of the hundreds of examples of
technology and innovation keeping officers and our community safer.
Drone as First Responder is the best de-escalation tool, I have seen in
my law enforcement career.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 4. Photo depicts a subject with what appears to be a gun but is
a cigarette lighter.
Domestic Violence Call (Figure 5)
Another example is when dispatch received a call about a domestic
violence incident between a male and a female. Unfortunately, no
officers were available to respond at the time, but our teleoperator
heard the call and launched the nearest drone. The caller reported that
one half of the dispute was on a motorcycle, and the other half was in
a car. The caller continued stating the female in the car was trying to
run into the male on the motorcycle.
Once overhead, the teleoperator saw a white vehicle driving
erratically in reverse, chasing a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was
forced to ride on the sidewalk to avoid being run over by the car. The
teleoperator immediately recognized the severity of the call and asked
Dispatch to clear officers from other calls to respond to this evolving
emergency.
During the call, the white vehicle is seen trying to ram the
motorcyclist multiple times, even hitting the motorcyclist while he is
stopped. The video is dramatic, and as it escalated, the motorcyclist
was captured on video driving down an alley; trying to get away from
the pursuing car.
The teleoperator was able to monitor the incident and direct
officers to the scene. Once officers arrived and through their initial
investigation, the vehicle driver was arrested for domestic violence.
The motorcyclist was also arrested; the motorcycle he was driving was
reported stolen.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 5. Photo depicts a driver trying to run motorcyclists over.
Person with a gun (Figure 6)
An additional example is our dispatch center received a call of a
person with a gun at our marina area. This area in our city is very
popular and at times can be filled with hundreds of pedestrians and
vehicles. Dispatch began receiving multiple calls of a person with a
gun at the marina. The only other information received was that the
person was in a red vehicle.
Our teleoperator heard the call and launched the drone. Once the
teleoperator arrived on scene, there were multiple cars at the marina
but was lucky there was only one red car. As the teleoperator zoomed in
with the camera it showed a female holding a weapon and pointing it
towards the water. The female could be seen manipulating the weapon.
The teleoperator directed ground units to the female and her
companions. They learned the weapon was just a BB gun.
Without the technology of DFR, this situation could have ended
tragically.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Figure 6. Photo depicts person handling what appears to be a firearm.
Missing Juvenile at Risk (No photo)
My last example is regarding a missing at-risk juvenile. One summer
afternoon, dispatch received a call from a mother frantic, reporting
her son was missing. The mother explained that her elementary school-
aged child had run away. She continued stating that her son became
upset, got out of the car, and ran in the opposite direction. The
mother quickly lost sight of her son and immediately called the police,
panicked, and worried about her son's whereabouts.
Our teleoperator launched the closest drone to check the area for
the at-risk juvenile. Within minutes, our drone operator located a
young child running in and out of traffic, who seemed lost or
disoriented. The child matched the physical description given by his
mother, which was relayed to officers in the area also looking for the
child.
The teleoperator directed grounds units to the child's location.
The officers were able to reunite the child with his mother. The child
was found several blocks from where he initially ran from his mother.
This call could have ended very differently without the use of our
Drone as First Responder program.
Recommendations
Our staff has had to learn FAA regulations, navigate the COA
process, work through technology issues, and fight tooth and nail at
times to keep our program going with no funding. However, the FAA's
support and guidance have been integral to our success. And while our
relationship with the FAA Team has been amazing, there are some things
they can do better to assist law enforcement agencies in implementing a
DFR program such as ours.
1. FAA'S COA Application Processing System (CAPS) Webpage
The website is cumbersome and difficult to navigate.
It is not user friendly.
Additionally, the FAA requires a single user be
registered to enter the monthly required COA flight data in the CAPS
system. Only one user is allowed to enter information for any
government agency changes. The website should allow multiple users per
organization this is to prevent any single point of failure and allow
an alternate or backup user to complete requirements.
2. Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) Agent
Assistance
LEAP Special Agents should be more available to
agencies looking to apply for or renew COAs and waivers. There are over
18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States and very few LEAP
agents which makes it challenging to locate and contact the LEAP agent
for assistance.
3. New Technology Progression
FAA should continue to support law enforcements use
of drone technology. Recently the FAA authorized a completely BVLOS
authorization for another law enforcement agency's DFR operation. This
is huge step and a win for law enforcement agencies using drones.
However, The FAA's inconsistencies when it comes to COA
and Waiver approvals create confusion. We recommend the recent approval
of what some call the ``digital visual observer'', become a standard
option for COA's. Removing the Remote Pilot in Command requirement will
reduce staffing costs allowing more law enforcement agencies the
ability to have a DFR program such as ours.
Conclusion
In closing, the last few years have been challenging for law
enforcement. Recruitment, hiring and retention are now at an all-time
low. Law enforcement needs technology to help us meet the needs of the
American people. Although, drones are not a replacement for first
responders they are an important enhancement for modern policing.
For the last five years, Chula Vista Police Department has blazed a
path that I never imagined was possible when I was appointed chief six
and a half years ago.
Our success is a pleasant surprise after a lot of hard work,
sacrifice, and trial and error.
We know the work we are doing is laying the foundation for the FAA
to help other agencies and drone programs throughout the country and we
are doing our best to help others realize the benefits of drones for
good.
This endeavor has forged a pathway for other public safety agencies
to follow our lead to establish their own innovative programs
appropriate to their communities and airspace.
The Drone as First Responder program is de-escalation at its best.
By using drones, we provide officers, dispatchers, and supervisors with
invaluable information. This allows officers to view potential hazards
and develop sound strategies and tactics before rushing into
potentially dangerous situations. The use of drones by law enforcement
is one of the best tools for protecting our communities and harnessing
the innovation of flight to deliver for the American people.
Mr. Collins. Thank you.
Dr. Stuart Ginn, you are recognized for 5 minutes for your
testimony.
TESTIMONY OF STUART GINN, M.D., MEDICAL DIRECTOR, WakeMed
INNOVATIONS, WakeMed HEALTH AND HOSPITALS
Dr. Ginn. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Cohen, distinguished members
of the Aviation Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to
testify today.
My name is Stuart Ginn. I am an ENT physician and surgeon
at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina,
where I also serve as the medical director of innovations. I am
also the cofounder and president of the Coalition for Advanced
Health Mobility, and a lifelong aviator and former flight
instructor and airline pilot.
WakeMed helped to develop the first drone-based medical
package delivery system through our participation in the
Integration Pilot Program. What we have seen in advanced health
mobility makes it clear that uncrewed aircraft systems can
improve healthcare access, save lives, and bring new
efficiencies to healthcare logistics.
I will outline three example use cases demonstrating how
UAS can position to enhance public health.
First, the creation of UAS routes connecting medical
centers and blood banks, enabling the expeditious transport of
blood products to support trauma in critical care systems.
Research has shown that UAS can reduce delivery times by 50
percent, mitigating blood supply and distribution issues and
potentially improving outcomes for critically injured or ill
patients.
Second, UAS could become a frontline tool for emergency
response within communities. An obvious example is the delivery
of automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to patients
suffering sudden cardiac arrest. Every minute that passes
before defibrillation results in a 7- to 10-percent reduction
in survival, and AEDs are often inaccessible in communities.
Similar time-critical deliveries could include epinephrine,
naloxone, or albuterol rescue inhalers.
Third, UAS can deliver medications and devices to support
remote and virtual healthcare services. Access to reliable
transportation to retrieve prescriptions or receive in-person
medical care is often limited in both rural and urban
communities, resulting in patients not receiving needed care.
WakeMed was privileged to participate in the FAA's
Integration Pilot Program and the current BEYOND program in
partnership with the North Carolina Department of
Transportation's team. Our initial UAS operation focused on the
routine delivery of test samples from an outpatient facility to
WakeMed's main campus laboratory. The UAS program augmented the
ground courier network and provided more efficient delivery of
lab specimens.
While the program demonstrated the technology's utility,
WakeMed made the decision to pause UAS operations due to the
limited scalability afforded under the current regulatory
regime. Specific regulatory limitations included the types of
payloads that could be delivered, route expansion capabilities,
flying beyond visual line-of-sight, or BVLOS, flying over
people, and highly automated operations.
WakeMed remains committed to advanced mobility. However,
like other healthcare systems, we have been unable to continue
investment until the regulatory environment evolves to meet the
opportunity.
For UAS operations that provide public health benefits, we
should consider risk more holistically, including not only the
risk to aircraft and people on the ground but also the risk of
not conducting an operation--a concept referred to as ``dynamic
risk.''
Dynamic risk has been well-studied as a framework for
adoption by several leading entities and may be best understood
through the AED delivery use case. We have a technological
capability to deliver an AED to a patient in cardiac arrest so
that a bystander can begin defibrillation, for instance. In
communities where first responders may take up to 15 minutes to
arrive, the UAS may arrive up to 8 minutes faster. This
potentially results in an 80-percent improvement in survival.
The relative value of conducting this type of operation is
self-evident. However, under current regulations, it is not
possible.
It is important to note that the dynamic risk model does
not suggest a reduction or decreased emphasis on aviation
safety. What I am suggesting is updating the processes being
adopted from traditional aviation to better align with the
opportunities and benefits UAS provide.
In addition, we need to understand that the UAS industry is
at an inflection point. Innovative companies in this space are
operating with little to no revenue or profit, awaiting
development of a regulatory framework that can support UAS
integration and operations at scale. These innovators require a
mature regulatory framework to offer products and services to
healthcare customers with more palatable economics.
I provide the Aviation Subcommittee with two
recommendations for consideration as part of the 2023 FAA
reauthorization: One, instruct the FAA to recognize and
incorporate the concept of dynamic risk in approving
operational requests that provide a clear public benefit; and,
two, include a funded pilot program that will enable further
testing, evaluation, and deployment of BVLOS and highly
automated UAS operations in industries that provide a clear
public benefit.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look
forward to answering any specific questions from the
subcommittee.
[Dr. Ginn's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical Director, WakeMed
Innovations, WakeMed Health and Hospitals
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, distinguished Members of the
Aviation Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify before
you today to share my perspective on priorities associated with the
upcoming FAA Reauthorization.
My name is Dr. Stuart Ginn, I am an ear, nose and throat (ENT)
physician and surgeon at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North
Carolina, where I also serve as the hospital's Medical Director of
Innovations. WakeMed is a private, not-for-profit healthcare system
with three hospitals totaling 970 beds, including Wake County's only
Level I Trauma Center, and several free-standing full-service Emergency
Departments distributed across our community. WakeMed serves as the
safety net hospital system serving one of the fastest-growing
metropolitan areas in the United States and employs nearly 12,000
community members in our region. WakeMed is committed to improving the
health and well-being of our community by providing outstanding and
compassionate care to all and works to remain a leader in patient
safety, innovation, and education.
Prior to working in healthcare for the past the past two decades, I
began my career in aviation. At just 14 years old, I started learning
to fly, earning my private pilot certificate and eventually becoming a
certified flight instructor (CFI). Ultimately, I received my commercial
pilot certification and subsequently served as a First Officer at a
United Express carrier.
In my role as Medical Director of Innovations, I have had the
privilege, over the past several years, to leverage both passions to
bring advanced aviation technology to our health system in an effort to
prove uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) can be utilized to improve
overall quality and access to healthcare. Our efforts, working with the
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and all of our
industry partners as part of the FAA's Integration Pilot Program (IPP)
and BEYOND Programs, have been an incredible experience and we have
learned a great deal.
I was so inspired by our efforts in North Carolina that I wanted to
make sure that hospitals and health systems across the country were
aware of these opportunities and had the basic tools necessary to get
air operations up and running. So, in 2021, I co-founded the Coalition
for Advanced Health Mobility (CAHM), where I currently serve as
President.
What we've seen in advanced health mobility makes it clear that
this technology can revolutionize healthcare access, save countless
lives in emergency response situations, and bring health logistics to
new levels of efficiency. However, we have also faced substantial
barriers to implementation in our efforts to integrate and scale the
technology to better serve our community. Over the next several minutes
I would like to share my thoughts on how we can seize this opportunity
and work collaboratively to find innovative solutions to break through
the chokepoints keeping us from reaching full capability in this area.
Opportunity for UAS in Healthcare
UAS technology presents an incredible opportunity for both the
aviation and healthcare industries. As an aviator, I can appreciate all
the benefits that UAS bring, including lowering barriers to access,
aviation-related jobs, and utilizing a greater percentage of the
National Airspace System (NAS). As a healthcare professional, UAS
present an opportunity to provide low cost, rapid response capabilities
to deliver high-value medical payloads between facilities and directly
to those in need, extending the reach of healthcare facilities and
providers and delivering new forms of flexible healthcare
infrastructure. The result is the ability to address critical public
health needs using traditionally underutilized airspace while improving
opportunities for access to aviation and achieving a high level of
operational safety.
I've prepared three sample use cases which I believe represent
relevant examples of how UAS are positioned to enhance public health.
Blood Product and Sample Delivery: A critical and feasible early
use case is the creation of UAS routes connecting medical centers and
enabling the expeditious transport of blood products to support trauma
and critical care systems. Research has shown UAS can reduce blood
product delivery times by 50%, improving outcomes for critically
injured or ill patients.\1\ Blood and laboratory samples, vaccines,
testing kits, and other supplies can also be transported between
facilities, greatly improving access to these supplies and devices and
improving patient care. This is consistent with WakeMed's program
findings when delivering blood samples across the WakeMed Raleigh
Campus, reducing delivery times from 44 minutes per delivery on average
to 20 minutes.
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\1\ (Li, et al. 2022)
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Emergency Response Delivery: Emergency medical services (EMS)
continue to see rapid advancement in technologies, best practices, and
potentially lifesaving tools that often take far too long to implement.
UAS could become a front-line tool for emergency response systems. One
of the most obvious examples is the delivery of automated external
defibrillators (AEDs), which are compact, portable devices capable of
delivering an electric shock to a patient in cardiac arrest. Patients
who experience sudden cardiac arrest, who may have no prior medical
history of heart disease, have a 5% survival rate in the United
States.\2\ According to the same study published by the American Heart
Association, data shows survival rates from cardiac arrest double when
bystanders apply an AED before emergency responders can arrive. Every
minute that passes while a patient waits for defibrillation results in
a 7% to 10% reduction in survival.\3\ This presents a significant
opportunity for UAS to be deployed for rapid delivery of AEDs to
patients in the community where distance from a healthcare facility or
personnel would otherwise impact their survival. There are many areas
across the country where UAS delivery could dramatically reduce
response times compared to traditional EMS due to terrain, population
density, or traffic congestion. Other examples of emergency response
applications include delivering epinephrine (EpiPen) for severe
allergic reactions, Naloxone (Narcan) for treatment of overdoses,
albuterol rescue inhalers for respiratory distress, and glucose or
dextrose for severe hypoglycemia, all potentially fatal conditions
without immediate medical intervention.
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\2\ (Pollack, et al. 2018)
\3\ (Cheskes, et al. 2020)
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Prescription and Medical Device Delivery: UAS may provide patients
with the option to have their prescriptions or other healthcare devices
to support virtual care services delivered via air transport. Access to
reliable transportation to pick up prescriptions or receive in-person
medical care may not always be an option, resulting in patients not
receiving needed care. Remote health is also evolving rapidly in the
wake of the pandemic, resulting in healthcare systems across the
country prioritizing innovation in remote healthcare and expanding how
health services are delivered. There are devices a patient can use at
home that provide a virtual healthcare physician with important data
needed for patient diagnosis and treatment. These devices could be
delivered from a healthcare facility directly to a patient to support
virtual care services.
While I focus this presentation on small UAS, there are ample use
cases for crewed and uncrewed advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft, as
well. These would include emergency response, the transport of doctors
and patients between facilities, and supporting larger medical cargo
deliveries between centers and across larger regions. Please take this
small subset of use cases as a glimpse of the potential for UAS to
provide public health benefits, and note there are many use cases not
discussed, such as organ transfer and natural disaster response, to
name a few.
Progress in UAS Medical Package Delivery
The FAA's UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) was established in
2017 as the result of a presidential memorandum to enable enhanced
drone integration into the NAS.\4\ The program evaluated several use
cases across diverse environments to collect data to inform regulatory
changes necessary to facilitate safe, scalable, and repeatable
operations, while also providing valuable data on the societal and
economic implications of wide-scale implementation.
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\4\ (Trump 2017)
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WakeMed joined the NCDOT IPP Lead Participant team because of the
potential for UAS to support system growth, expand our geographic
service footprint, address longstanding logistics challenges impeding
care delivery, increase transparency in the supply chain, and work
towards effective UAS integration into routine healthcare system
operations. Other North Carolina healthcare systems delivered personal
protective equipment (PPE), transfusion materials, pharmaceuticals, and
vaccinations. NCDOT team partners completed about 12,000 medical
package deliveries under the FAA IPP and have completed about 6,000
thus far under the FAA BEYOND Program.\5\
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\5\ (Block 2023)
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WakeMed's initial operation with UAS manufacturer Matternet and UAS
operator UPS Flight Forward focused on the routine delivery of test
samples from an outpatient surgical center and clinic to WakeMed's main
campus laboratory. The UAS delivery augmented ground courier deliveries
on the route and provided for faster, more efficient delivery of lab
samples between those facilities. To enable this operation, UPS Flight
Forward was required to obtain FAA approval to carry hazardous
materials (HAZMAT) and local airspace coordination with medical
helicopter operations was required. UPS Flight Forward went on to
achieve the first Uncrewed Standard Part 135 Air Carrier certification
from the FAA in 2019 and Matternet developed one of the first FAA type-
certified UAS in the United States.\6\
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\6\ (AUVSI News 2019); (Federal Aviation Administration 2022)
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Ultimately, WakeMed and our partners in the IPP completed 1,663
safe flights, serving 6,648 patients in need, and drastically cutting
the average medical delivery time from an hour to only a few minutes,
enabling patients to both rapidly receive a diagnosis and begin
treatment.\7\
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\7\ (See Footnote 5)
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In August of 2021, WakeMed reassessed the cost-benefit of our UAS
program to determine whether the program's demands and benefits aligned
with the costs of competing priorities. The challenging decision was
made to pause the UAS program on the basis that its limited scale did
not support feasible economics or capabilities for the overall delivery
system. This appears to be an emerging theme among other healthcare
systems engaged in UAS innovation. While WakeMed remains a partner for
the NCDOT BEYOND program, we, along with other healthcare systems, are
unable to continue to financially invest in a technology that faces
continued regulatory constraints towards commercialization and
scalability.
Other healthcare systems across the country have also initiated
pilot programs or demonstrations to investigate how UAS can improve
healthcare services. In April 2019, the first organ was flown 2.8 miles
from an organ procurement non-profit on the outskirts of Baltimore to
the University of Maryland Medical Center in the city's urban core.\8\
This delivery occurred outside of the IPP program but signaled to
medical professionals and advocates in healthcare that we were on the
precipice of substantial advancement in the industry. In January 2021,
the State University of New York's (SUNY) Upstate University Hospital
began UAS transport of COVID-19 testing kits from the downtown Syracuse
hospital to nearby laboratories.\9\ Other healthcare systems invested
in UAS medical package delivery include University of California San
Diego Health, Novant Health, Vidant Health, Atrium Health, Beaumont
Health, Cardinal Health, Hutchinson Regional Health System, and others.
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\8\ (Maryland Today Staff 2019)
\9\ (Geddes 2021)
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Challenges to UAS Medical Package Delivery
The largest impediment to healthcare systems deploying and
sustaining UAS medical package delivery programs are the current
regulatory constraints. Let me start by saying I think the FAA has
worked under challenging circumstances to adapt regulations that have
proven to be effective at maintaining U.S. leadership and safety in
traditional crewed aviation. However, adapting and applying these
regulations has been burdensome relative to the risk of the proposed
operations. WakeMed would still be flying, potentially on a larger
scale, if not for the immense regulatory constraints that ultimately
made it too difficult to continue investment in the program.
For healthcare systems to adopt UAS technology, the operations need
to be scalable with reasonable economics to support the financial
investments in standing up and integrating a UAS program. WakeMed
learned this firsthand as program growth was significantly constrained
by regulatory approval processes which were out of our control. Some
examples of these pain points include: limitations on what types of
payloads could be delivered with UAS, limited route expansion
capabilities, restrictions on flying beyond visual line of sight
(BVLOS), restrictions on flying over people and vehicles, and any
significant level of automation. A healthcare system is highly
incentivized by UAS operations that can quickly scale, adapt to new
payloads as needs arise, and deliver across a larger geographic region
in both rural and urban settings.
As an example, WakeMed attempted to implement a new use case at the
beginning of the pandemic leveraging our existing UAS system to support
an expanded COVID testing network. Our operator petitioned the FAA for
operational approval with supporting documentation to deploy UAS for a
distributed testing model to improve access to early COVID testing
where it was desperately needed. The idea had broad support from within
WakeMed and presented an opportunity to build on the successful
deployment of UAS for lab specimen transport to uniquely support public
health in our region. Ultimately, the request was not approved and the
public health benefits we were trying to achieve could not be realized.
The constraints of scaling operations due to regulatory barriers
have also limited healthcare investments in important infrastructure to
sustain operations and improve operational efficiencies. These include
investing in infrastructure integration, both physical and digital,
developing multimodal transportation systems interfaces, integrating
into the healthcare operation, and more. The pilot programs to-date
have never truly relied on UAS to deliver medical packages; they have
always been ancillary, with other transportation alternatives as the
primary modes.
I am aware of several other healthcare systems who have also had to
slow or pause UAS operations due to lack of regulatory progress to
approve UAS operations. WakeMed is not an anomaly, this is happening
across the United States as pilot programs struggle to transition into
sustained operations. The technology is ready. The regulatory
foundation is not.
What is Needed to Enable Public Health Benefits
The FAA has taken the approach of defining acceptable levels of
risk for commercial and general aviation that considers air and ground
risks in safety case analyses. The standards developed for crewed
aviation have set a high bar for safety, which makes sense because an
incident in the air is catastrophic to those directly impacted onboard
and potentially non-participating individuals on the ground. The FAA
has applied the same safety methodology and processes to UAS, targeting
equivalent levels of safety for small uncrewed aircraft operating in
the NAS. I believe the FAA's approach has been the most conservative,
especially for existing airspace users to prevent mid-air collisions,
but is a static approach for evaluating risk for UAS operations.
For operations that provide public health benefits, we should
consider risk more holistically to include not only the risk to
aircraft and people on the ground, but also the risk of not conducting
an operation. This concept is referred to as dynamic risk where the
risk of performing an operation is evaluated against the benefits that
operation provides.
Dynamic risk has been well studied as a framework for adoption by
several leading entities including NASA, the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), and the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA). The FAA found in their IPP Final Report that
identifying potential societal and economic impacts is important for
safely integrating UAS package deliveries and recommended the FAA
measure and quantify the societal and economic impacts of UAS
operations. The FAA UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation
Rulemaking Committee (ARC) Final Report recommended the FAA assess and
evaluate the societal benefits and consider those benefits as part of
the ``overall risk and rewards balance''. Additionally, MITRE, a
Federally Funded R&D Center (FFRDC), released ``A Holistic Approach for
Assessing Drone Benefits, Safety, and Societal Acceptance'' which
outlines an approach for considering the potential risks and benefits
of a proposed UAS operation as part of a broader NAS risk assessment.
Dynamic risk may be best understood through the AED delivery use
case presented earlier. The risk of mortality after suffering from
sudden cardiac arrest increases by 7% to 10% for every minute of delay
before defibrillation.\10\ A UAS could be launched, fly beyond visual
line of sight, and drop an AED to nearby bystander to begin
defibrillation all within minutes in a rural community, which may have
otherwise taken up to 15 minutes for first responders to arrive. The
previously mentioned study shows that UAS may arrive between 1.8 to 8
minutes faster compared to traditional medic units, resulting in a
12.6% to 80% improvement in the chance of survival. In this case, where
every second matters, saving just a few minutes provides substantial
public health benefits by improving the chance of an individual
surviving following a cardiac arrest. Few would question the necessity
of conducting this type of operation when the choice is between either
increasing an individual's chance of survival by 80% versus the
potential air and ground risk of flying a UAS the in the NAS at an
altitude at or below 400 feet in a rural environment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ (See Footnote 3)
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It is important to note the dynamic risk model does not suggest a
reduction or decreased emphasis in aviation safety. No aircraft should
fly beyond visual line of sight if it has not been designed to do so or
if it does not have reasonable safety mitigations in place. What I am
suggesting is to update the antiquated processes being adapted from
traditional aviation to better align with the opportunities UAS may
provide to benefit society and healthcare systems like WakeMed.
In addition, we need to understand the UAS industry is at an
inflection point. Companies have been working tirelessly since before
the FAA IPP kicked off in 2017, operating for years with little to no
revenue or profit while awaiting development of a regulatory framework
to enable UAS integration and scalability. Investment in use cases that
support critical societal needs will enable further testing and data
collection for advanced and complex UAS operations. The public has a
higher tolerance for risk for use cases with clear public benefit. As
such, public health applications should continue to be an early focal
point for FAA programs especially for advanced UAS operations, such as
BVLOS and highly automated operations. Safety data and best practices
achieved in these high-value operations can then be utilized to enable
further industry maturation.
Summary and Recommendations
Healthcare systems have demonstrated a desire to integrate UAS into
their day-to-day operations and to leverage the technology to deliver
innovative services within their communities, creating substantial
public health benefits. These benefits include increasing access to
healthcare services, delivering lifesaving medicines and equipment
within communities, and improving the economics of delivering
healthcare, to name a few. Healthcare systems like WakeMed are ready to
leverage the positive momentum from the IPP and BEYOND programs to
develop scalable, flexible, UAS-based systems to augment healthcare
infrastructure and enhance public health. Unfortunately, the current
regulatory framework has inhibited innovation in the healthcare domain
as lead times for regulatory approvals and operational economics have
made it difficult to sustain investment in UAS programs. These
challenges have also limited healthcare investment in internal
infrastructure and integration that would enable broader adoption
within the healthcare system.
I provide the Aviation Subcommittee two recommendations for
consideration as part of the 2023 FAA Reauthorization:
1. Include language in the FAA Reauthorization to recognize and
utilize the concept of dynamic risk in approving operational requests
that provide a clear public benefit. Dynamic risk will leverage what
has worked well for traditional aviation and right-size risk
considerations against public benefit for public health and other
operations that provide societal benefits.
2. Include a funded pilot program in the FAA Reauthorization that
will enable further testing, evaluation, and deployment of BVLOS and
highly automated UAS operations in industries that provide clear public
benefits. The implementation of a dynamic risk model will require
further testing and evaluation of UAS in real-world environments, in
parallel to developing the necessary risk models.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify and I look forward to
answering any specific questions from the Subcommittee.
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AUVSI News. 2019. ``UPS Flight Forward Awarded First Full Part 135
Standard Certification Operate UAS.'' AUVSI Technology 1. https://
www.auvsi.org/industry-news/ups-flight-forward-awarded-first-full-
part-135-standard-certification-operate-uas.
Block, Joseph, interview by Dr. Stuart Ginn. 2023. Program Manager,
North Carolina (DOT) Lead Participant--FAA BEYOND Program (March).
Cheskes, Sheldon, Shelley L. McLeod, Michael Nolan, Paul Snobelen,
Christian Vaillancourt, Steven C. Brooks, Katie N. Dainty, Timothy
C. Y. Chan, and Ian R. Drennan. 2020. ``Improving Access to
Automated External Defibrillators in Rural and Remote Settings: A
Drone Delivery Feasibility Study.'' Journal of the American Heart
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Federal Aviation Administration. 2022. ``Airworthiness Criteria:
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Unmanned Aircraft.'' Federal Register. February 25. https://
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airworthiness-criteria-special-class-airworthiness-criteria-for-
the-matternet-inc-m2-unmanned.
Geddes, Darry. 2021. ``It's [a] bird. It's a plane. It's a Drone.''
Upstate Medical University--News. January 20. https://
www.upstate.edu/news/articles/2021/2021-01-20-droneland.php.
Li, Qiang, Jing Xia, Fangmin Ge, and Mao Zhang. 2022. Blood delivery by
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PIIS2214-109X(22)00272-8/fulltext.
Maryland Today Staff. 2019. ``In a First, Unmanned Aerial System
Delivers Organ for Transplant.'' MarylandToday--Research. https://
today.umd.edu/first-unmanned-aerial-system-delivers-organ-
transplant-53b72f5c-c800-4332-927c-b17b04e36601.
Pollack, Ross A., Siobhan P. Brown, Thomas Rea, Tom Aufderheude, David
Barbic, Buick E. Jason, Jim Christenson, et al. 2018. ``Cardiac
arrest survival greatly increases when bystanders use an automated
external defibrillator.'' American Heart Association; Circulation
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survival-greatly-increases-when-bystanders-use-an-automated-
external-defibrillator?preview=3165.
Trump, Donald J. 2017. ``Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of
Transportation.'' U.S. Department of Transportation. October 31.
https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/presidential-
memorandum-secretary-transportation.
Mr. Collins. Thank you.
The chair has been notified there will be a series of votes
occurring on the House floor. The committee shall stand in
recess, subject to the call of the chair.
[Recess.] [12:12 p.m.]
Mr. Yakym [presiding]. The Subcommittee on Aviation of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will reconvene
the previously recessed hearing.
And before I yield myself time to ask questions, we do have
a question from the committee here directed to Mr. Woodworth.
I am going to yield you 1 minute to explain what exactly
you have here in the room with us.
Mr. Woodworth. Thank you, Chairman.
I am an airplane designer, and so, the comment about being
a Spruce Goose I took to heart.
So, this is our airplane. This is the one that we--this
isn't a model of it; this is an actual plane that we use to do
package delivery around the world today. So, it is about 10
pounds, carries about 3 pounds of stuff, and it goes and
delivers boxes.
Mr. Cohen. Is that the real deal?
Mr. Woodworth. Yes, sir, that is a real airplane.
Mr. Cohen. Not quite the Spruce Goose?
Mr. Woodworth. Sorry, I couldn't hear you, sir.
Ms. Cohen. Not quite the Spruce Goose.
Mr. Woodworth. Not quite.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Adam.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions.
I would like to thank each of our witnesses today for
taking time to study your respective fields and lend your
expertise as we continue to work on the FAA reauthorization.
For the last 120 years, the United States has been the
leader and the elite innovator in aviation since its very
inception, but I am concerned that we are starting to cede that
ground to foreign nations.
Mr. Woodworth, I want to dig into something in your written
testimony that really caught my eye. You state that Wing's most
mature and high-volume operations are in Canberra and Logan
City, Australia.
Is this indicative of the United States ceding that
leadership role? And what is Australia doing that the United
States isn't doing that caused those two cities to become your
leading markets?
Mr. Woodworth. Thank you for the question.
And, yes, in very broad strokes, I think that it comes down
to what I mentioned in my testimony about being predictable and
pragmatic.
So, there are, what we call in aviation, performance-based
standards and outcomes-based rulemakings. So, this is basically
like you sort of fit the rules to the size and the risk of the
thing that you are talking about.
Australia was one of the first nations and their aviation
authority, their CASA, was one of the first organizations to
adopt those sorts of standards and rulemaking, and so, we found
it as a place where we could go and operate in the way that
would be representative----
Mr. Yakym [interrupting]. Mr. Woodworth, do you mind
pulling your mic a little bit closer? I am told that it is not
coming through the video.
Mr. Woodworth. Sorry about that.
Mr. Yakym. There you go.
Mr. Woodworth. So, Australia and their aviation regulator,
CASA, was one of the first aviation regulators in the world to
adopt those sorts of performance-based standards and
rulemaking. And that presented a framework where we could go
and do commercial delivery of packages beyond visual line-of-
sight for compensation. And that was really a first-in-the-
world type of opportunity.
Interestingly, the idea for this came from the United
States. So, the idea around performance-based rulemaking, the
idea around these sorts of standards creation is an idea
created in the U.S. It is just that the U.S. has fallen behind
in the implementation of it. So, that is why we fly mostly in
Australia today.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you. That is helpful.
And also to Mr. Woodworth, I look at the FAA
reauthorization landscape, and I see a lot of proposals that
fall underneath the FAA reorganization. But whether it is
moving around responsibilities or creating new offices and
elevating certain technologies, we have to balance the merits
of each of these proposals against the fiscal state of the
Nation, also against the prospect of making the FAA even more
unwieldy than it is today.
And so, I am working on legislation that would create a new
Office of the Associate Administrator for UAS Integration,
because I think that drones like yours shouldn't necessarily be
treated like someone like Cessna or Boeing as it relates to
authorizing that aircraft to fly domestically. We need to
acknowledge their unique attributes as well as their unique
challenges. And we should give them visibility within the FAA
so they don't fall by the wayside, as it seems like is
happening right now.
But, Mr. Woodworth, you are on the ground doing this stuff,
so, my question for you would be: Would creating an Associate
Administrator position at the FAA help Wing and others in your
industry?
Mr. Woodworth. Yes, we believe it would.
So, the UAS Integration Office has been around for a while
now. They are who most of us, as stakeholders, coordinate
through almost on a daily basis for advancing the integration
of UAS. And they do a lot of the work, they do a lot of
coordination, but they do not have decisionmaking, rulemaking,
or approval authority.
And so, I think that by elevating the position of that
office, creating a new position with it that has the ability to
really make decisions and implement approvals, it would take
the folks who are doing a lot of the work and give them the
authority to follow through with it.
Mr. Yakym. Great.
And if you could have the level of predictability that you
are looking for within the FAA reauthorization, are there
additional investments that you would make into research and
development and developing additional technologies once you
fully deploy this one domestically?
Mr. Woodworth. Absolutely.
So, we view ourselves as a delivery company that happens to
use airplanes to do that delivery. And as an airplane designer,
like, you are not going to use this same airplane to go and
deliver every box in the U.S.
So, you are going to need different kinds of airplanes, you
are going to need different CONOPS, you are going to need all
sorts of different use cases to meet the needs of your
constituents. And so, I believe that it is fundamental to have
a framework that can adopt that.
Mr. Yakym. Great.
And, also, speaking of my constituents, I want to recognize
five of my constituents who are here today, two from Goshen and
three from New Carlisle. I thank you all for coming.
And I yield back.
And now I would like to recognize the ranking member, Mr.
Cohen, for 5 minutes of his questions.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Woodworth, first of all, can you concisely tell us what
you think we should pass to have the public understand their
interactions with drones and different types of new flight
vehicles?
Mr. Woodworth. I think it comes back to the recommendations
I put forth, and the first two are the keys in that.
So, one, establish a target level of safety. So, say what
the bar that we are building to is. And then, two, establish a
certification framework that is right-sized to that.
Mr. Cohen. Do you think there will be people that will
complain about privacy issues, with these vehicles flying over
maybe their swimming pools?
Mr. Woodworth. So, that is a question we often get, and I
appreciate it. And I think that there is a path forward for the
responsible integration of these systems into national airspace
and into everyone's daily lives. We take privacy very seriously
in our operations, and I know a lot of the other operators here
have expressed similar thoughts.
As you said, holding up the cell phone, with any new
technology, there are going to be questions about how it is
used, how it develops. And I think that bringing it back to
building a framework where the Government has the ability and
authority to both introduce and regulate those consequences, I
think, would provide mitigations.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you.
Dr. Cahill, let me ask you a couple of things.
First of all, you mentioned BEYOND in your testimony. Do
you know if that is an acronym?
Ms. Cahill. Initially, it was not an acronym. They named
the program ``Beyond,'' and someone said, ``Well, it has to be
an acronym,'' so, they came up with one. And none of us can
remember it.
Mr. Cohen. That is appropriate.
Did you recognize Mr. Young here? [Indicating portrait of
the late Congressman Don Young.]
Ms. Cahill. I am delighted to see the painting of
Congressman Young here. It reminds me of where I could be,
which right now happens to be a lot colder and does not have
cherry blossoms.
Mr. Cohen. He was a beloved member of this committee and
this Congress, and bipartisan and just--Mr. Young. And I love
the fact he has got all forms of transportation in there,
except these new ones, the AAM and the UA-whatever, but they
were beyond him.
Thank you.
What do you see in Alaska? Alaska has so many areas you
can't get to except by airplane. How do you see drones and
these other vehicles helping Alaska? And do you see them
replacing helicopters? Are any of these vehicles that are
manned replacing helicopters as vehicles to take people up to
see the glaciers?
Ms. Cahill. Ranking Member Cohen, I do. I see them
supplementing in certain cases and replacing in others.
At the moment, we are flying our pipelines, like the Trans-
Alaska Pipeline, using helicopters on a regular basis to look
for encroachment, look for leaks, et cetera. That is a very
hazardous mission. If I remember correctly, there have been no
fatalities but there have been injuries doing that mission. If
we can do that routinely with a drone, with the right
instrumentation, we can get excellent data and remove that
hazard.
In cases of doing passenger transport and cargo delivery to
the communities, this is something where there is going to be a
perpetual need to get cargo to those communities that right now
are not served by road. Eighty-two percent of our communities
are only accessible year-round by air.
So, being able to bring in drones on a regular basis to
supplement what is required to be maintained in terms of the
balance between passenger and cargo aircraft through the
Essential Air Service program is going to be a case where the
drones can supplement this but we can't necessarily completely
and totally replace it.
Mr. Cohen. And how about with visiting the glaciers, which
is a nice thing to do? I had the opportunity to do it in a
helicopter. Do you think these smaller vehicles would be able
to do that, or are the winds too much of a risk?
Ms. Cahill. I think in the distance, in the future, once we
have proven the reliability of the autonomous systems or the
remotely piloted systems, the urban air mobility concept, we
would be able to use them for visiting glaciers.
Of course, we need to be very, very careful about the
conditions we are flying in.
Mr. Cohen. Right.
Ms. Cahill. You don't want to be flying in icing
conditions. You need to be careful about, you know, if you
happen to be really cold on the glacier. There are strong
winds, katabatic winds, that come off the glacier.
So, there are a series of things that we would want to make
sure that we had tested and evaluated first to ensure that
aviation safety.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you.
Dr. Ginn and anybody on the panel that can offer me
something: When we have these vehicles up there in the sky,
that could be an impediment to commercial aviation that we have
today.
What safety procedures, regulations, laws, do you think we
need to pass to protect around airports? I know I have seen in
Los Angeles sometimes there is a drone flying around the
airport and all of that. What do we need to do about that?
Dr. Ginn. Well, thank you for the question, Congressman.
I will start by saying that I am here in a capacity as a
physician. I don't consider myself an aviation expert. However,
I can say from experience, based on the operations that we
conducted at my healthcare system, where we actually had to
deconflict drones from EMS helicopters in real operating
airspace on the ground at our healthcare system, we had to do
that process manually, meaning there was not a platform for us
to use.
Air traffic control services were not available to us for
the--or our operator, I should say, for the drone. So, that
process was carried out manually. Phone calls. Our operator had
to call the helipad control to determine if there was a
helicopter there or coming or going before we flew.
I think in the future, there needs to be a framework that
allows technology to take a role for things like unmanned
traffic management systems so that these systems, that are
operating closer to the ground and operate very differently
than aircraft, are visible or somehow integrated into that
National Airspace System in a way that maintains the level of
safety that exists in aviation now.
I don't have the specific answer to how that will get done.
I think we have to let the operators operate first and then
start working on integration.
Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Doctor.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Cohen.
We will now go next to Mr. Johnson for 5 minutes.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you to the witnesses for your testimony today.
And I am happy to be a part of this hearing, where we are
looking into the reauthorization of the FAA and we are focusing
on the importance of drones and AAM to the advancement of our
Nation.
Drones are used in many ways, including traffic monitoring,
search and rescue efforts, and medical assistance.
Another way we have seen them deployed in my home State of
Georgia is in response to hurricanes. Georgia Power began
incorporating unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as
drones, into their hurricane response protocols, and it quickly
became a game-changer. Drone pilots can fly the drones to areas
they cannot yet access by car or on foot and obtain a bird's-
eye view of the power infrastructure damage, and this allows
the crews to earlier access what supplies are needed to restore
power.
Regarding healthcare, Dr. Ginn, drones are being used by
medical professionals in the delivery of medical care, such as
getting medicine and lab reports to end-users. Are there other
ways that drones are used in the healthcare delivery system?
And what are some of the challenges that you want to bring to
our attention today?
Dr. Ginn. Well, thank you for the question, Congressman.
I think what we have seen in advanced mobility in real life
and in our healthcare system, is a lot of potential to create a
new layer of flexible technology infrastructure that can
support our ability to reach to our patients and into our
community in new ways. It is all about the services we can
deliver and where we can deliver those services in our
communities.
There are obvious high-value use cases we have talked about
today--AEDs, lifesaving operations. But I think that the real
benefit to healthcare systems and to healthcare infrastructure
in this country will be when our healthcare systems have access
to this technology and can direct it themselves, meaning can
tell us how to use it, how will this technology reach into
communities, help solve disparities in access to healthcare,
mitigate distance, mitigate transportation deserts, and
essentially serve as this flexible layer of infrastructure we
can deploy to take care of our patients in our communities.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you.
Chief Kennedy, drone operations present both risks and
benefits to public safety, and you have testified as to
benefits. And, in fact, many public safety and security
agencies are actively working on the safest, most expeditious
way to detect and mitigate an errant drone.
What can you tell us about some of the challenges that come
with operating in airspace with other drones, some of which are
errant?
Ms. Kennedy. Thank you, Congressman Johnson. I appreciate
the question.
The challenge that we have in law enforcement right now is
with counter-drones. We know who the drones are that are
responding from a public safety standpoint, but when it comes
to the drones that are out there in the recreational mode, we
don't know who those drones are right now.
And the hope is that we are going to have the remote ID
shortly. I know the FAA is working on that, and hopefully that
will go into play in September. And my recommendation is that,
not only should law enforcement drones have remote ID, but all
drones should have remote ID. That will be beneficial to law
enforcement in knowing who is up in the sky and why they are up
in the sky.
In the San Diego region, where we are at, there are many
challenges that we face with drones that are coming across the
border and dropping packages into our prison systems there. And
it is very difficult for us to know who those drones are.
So, we have a lot of work to do, but I am very thankful
that we are having these conversations. And we are working with
the FAA to have these discussions. I know I will be sitting on
the counter-drone FAA committee to have these open discussions
about the challenges that we face in law enforcement, on both
sides.
Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you.
I have run out of time, and I will yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Menendez for 5 minutes.
Mr. Menendez. Thank you, Chair.
And I just want to thank all of the witnesses for not just
being here today, but also leading on this issue and making
sure that we are being thoughtful as a committee about this
advance in technology and what it means from a regulatory
perspective and making sure that we are thinking about this in
a really smart way. So, I appreciate all that you are doing.
Just a quick question, and I am not sure it has been
alluded to any of the written testimony or your comments here
today.
And I will start with you, Mr. Woodworth.
As we move towards having greater access and greater number
of unmanned aircraft--I also sit on the Homeland Security
Committee, and the subcommittee I sit on is Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Protection. And so, whenever I deal with new
technologies, what I am thinking about is, is there a
cybersecurity component to this? Is there a vulnerability that
we should be thinking about?
Because a lot of the framework that we have discussed is
under our jurisdiction here on T&I and making sure that we are
being thoughtful about our airspace and how we utilize it, but
I would just love to get your thoughts if there is anything on
the other side of the House, in terms of what I personally
cover, that we should be thinking about so we can make sure
that we are being thoughtful across the board as we contemplate
this new technology?
Mr. Woodworth. Thank you for the question, Congressman.
I think to follow up on some of the statements over there
from the other witnesses on traffic management and having more
aircraft operating in a safe space, there is an important role
that UAS traffic management plays in managing that airspace.
And I think that there are a number of good conversations
happening. There are a bunch of technologies that already have
been demonstrated and built by the industry to show that that
works.
On the counter-UAS side, I think that there have been a
number of bills put forward. There have been a number of
conversations that have happened. I think all have merit on
this front. And I think that the topic of counter-UAS is an
important one, because you can build all the rules, but if
people don't comply with the rules, then what is the next step?
For the cybersecurity side, for us--I can only speak to our
experience and solutions. But for us, it was, sort of, the best
defense is--to protect--a good offense. It is, like, we have
been proactive in designing for assessing different threat
environments, looking at what different vectors in the system
there may be and mitigating those upfront.
For us in particular, and for a lot of delivery
applications, there is no live video link from the aircraft.
And there is no, like, person there flying stuff. So, the
opportunities to interdict with the aircraft are low by design.
And I think that that applies to a lot of the commercial use
cases where, when you add in that layer of automation, it
provides a layer of protection for nefarious intent.
Mr. Menendez. Sure.
Dr. Cahill, along similar lines, anything you are seeing
and that we should be thinking about here in Congress to make
sure that we are being proactive in some of the challenges that
we may be facing?
Ms. Cahill. So, Congressman, in terms of the security here,
it is something we are very concerned about. And we are flying
larger aircraft. So, we are, in May, with one of our partners,
going to be flying an autonomous Cessna Grand Caravan. So, we
are not talking small aircraft with no hazards associated. So,
we are very, very concerned about what the encryption is going
to be to make sure that it is not broken.
With most of our smaller drones, our 300-pounders, et
cetera, we are not flying with cameras. Just like CEO Woodworth
said, we are doing still pictures in a lot of our operations.
And, for example, we have flown over 30,000 nautical-miles
beyond visual line-of-sight with Transport Canada over the St.
Lawrence Seaway looking for North Atlantic gray whales. They
are still pictures. And we don't look at the pictures. We have
an artificial intelligence program identify the whale on the
image and send a lat/long and that whale picture.
So, we are doing our best to avoid collecting anything that
would be privately identifiable information. And we are trying
to make sure that our links are not jammed, hacked, all of
those other things, to ensure the safety of the aircraft and
the airspace.
Mr. Menendez. I appreciate that.
And I yield the remainder of my time.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Menendez.
I now recognize Mr. Van Drew for 5 minutes.
Dr. Van Drew. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you all for being
here today. As you know, I am a big supporter of what you do.
And we just want to go forward. We really do.
And I am just--by way of history that you all know already,
but I thought it was worth a review. The golden era of American
aviation began in 1903--it is hard to believe so much has
changed--when the Wright brothers built the first functioning
aircraft in Ohio and took off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
And 75 years ago, we entered the Jet Age, which dramatically
expanded the safety and accessibility of air travel.
Today, we find ourselves on the cusp of the third era of
aviation, which will be known as the era of advanced aviation.
Advanced aviation is an umbrella term to describe a way of
technologies that includes drones, and includes advanced air
mobility, supersonics, digital avionics, high-frequency air
traffic tools, and many, many others. And it is a new and
useful way of describing aviation technologies that have not
yet been integrated into our National Airspace System.
The era of advanced aviation will last for the next 75
years. And the harsh reality is that the United States is
falling behind, and we can't have that happen. Stakeholders
tell me that while we still have the best technology in the
world, a complete lack of clear regulation is preventing
businesses from investing in the United States of America.
For the United States to lead the era of aviation, we must
establish a long-term framework. The current trajectory is
unacceptable. If we do not act, we are going to lose our global
aviation leadership.
My personal focus on this year's reauthorization is the
organizational structure of the FAA. The frank truth is that
the FAA is operating on an uncoordinated, 50-year-old
organizational model. It should change.
The FAA admitted as much in 2021 when the agency submitted
itself a reorganization proposal to Congress. There were
serious issues with the proposal. I opposed it, and this
committee formally opposed it. However, that proposal made it
clear there was a need to improve the organizational structure
of the FAA.
I have spent the past 2 years developing what I believe and
some others who have looked at it believe is a good plan to
facilitate that organizational change. And I don't have to tell
you how important the FAA is to me, to my district, to my
people, to my employment. My plan will take the Office of
NextGen and evolve it into an office of advanced aviation. This
office will coordinate technology integration across the FAA.
Technology is so important. Congress has been talking about how
horizontal integration is important for years. This is a plan
on finally how to get it done.
A key component of the plan is to establish an advanced
aviation coordination unit. The coordination unit will allow us
to build teams of experts from across the FAA to tackle
technological changes. My plan also includes the use of the
FAA's data portal to create an online clearinghouse system that
will allow stakeholders to track their certifications and
submit inquiries related to the status of the project.
This new system allows the FAA to keep track of projects
more easily across business lines. With this new system, we
will improve the aviation stakeholder experience, stimulate
investments in the United States, and put our country in
advanced aviation.
There is an updated version of the Advanced Aviation Act
coming out soon, and I thank the many people who have worked
with me to create a quality piece of legislation. I look
forward to unveiling the plan and encouraging my colleagues and
industry stakeholders to work with my office, and, of course,
the chairman and this committee to see and set the FAA on the
right path. We will make sure that the United States leads the
world in 21st-century aviation.
I have one question. To Mr. Woodworth with Wing: When you
apply for the FAA certification or operational approvals, how
often do you end up having the same conversations again and
again? Does it seem like the offices that you are interacting
with are not always coordinated with each other?
Mr. Woodworth. As I said in my testimony, I think that the
FAA has a lot of very smart, very hard-working individuals. But
there has been a challenging framework of getting to an answer.
So, we started our type certification process nearly 4
years ago. And we are not complete. We finished the flight test
program for our type certification almost 2 years ago. And that
data exists.
So, I think that there is lots of room to improve that
process, to provide clarity, to provide single-threaded
decisionmaking. And we welcome any proposals that help
facilitate that.
Dr. Van Drew. Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. You bet.
I now yield 5 minutes to the ranking member of the full
committee, my distinguished colleague, Mr. Larsen.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you very much. I will try
not to take 5 minutes because I get the privilege to blow in
here and blow out of here and cut in line. So, I know how angry
people are right now, my colleagues are, for cutting in line.
But, Dr. Cahill, in your testimony, you testified about not
supporting the expansion of the number of test sites. Can you
talk a little bit about that?
Ms. Cahill. Certainly, Ranking Member Larsen. The test
sites right now--there were seven test sites that were set up
to support the FAA and constituents doing tests and evaluation
of aircraft. And when it was set up, we were given the
authority to be able to expand our operations to other areas
across the country.
And so, the University of Alaska and the Alaska test site
have brought in ranges and operations in States across the
country: Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Hawaii. We have got sites
in Texas, Arizona. We are working on Pennsylvania.
So, we already have the ability to bring other
organizations into the test site program under the authorities
already granted our test sites. That would bring them in under
the umbrella of policies and procedures that are already well-
established and have proven a very strong safety record.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. And this applies not just to the
Alaska test site, but to the other six?
Ms. Cahill. All seven test sites have that authority.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Awesome. Yes.
And then one of the other restrictions that we had a
discussion of yesterday--it is kind of a sensitive topic around
here--but you need to test drones regardless of where those
drones are made because sometimes you need to test them, to
blow them up, right? Or to do something with them so we
understand what they can do. And in part, that is some of the
DJI Chinese-made drones, which is about 80 percent of the
market. And you are restricted from doing that. Is that
correct?
Ms. Cahill. That is correct. So, for counter-drone testing
right now, it takes nearly an act of God in order to get an
approval to buy one of the foreign systems that is on the list
of banned manufacturers. But we need to be able to do the
destructive testing, especially the counter-drone testing,
because they are 80 percent of the market.
We see them being used very effectively right now in the
war in Ukraine, and we need to make sure, for the sake of our
national security, that any counter-drone systems we are
deploying in our airspace are effective at removing those
particular drones from the airspace without adversely impacting
aviation safety and the safety of the NAS.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. So, it ends up being a national
security and a homeland security issue?
Ms. Cahill. It is a national security, homeland issue. But
the five authorities right now that can do the counter-drone
testing and evaluation are DoD, which has an exemption
provision, DHS, DOE, DOJ, and for a very limited five airports,
FAA.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes, right. Thanks. I just wanted
to bring that up and just get it on the record because it may
be something that we have to discuss and walk through as part
of FAA reauthorization, or not. But I wanted to be sure that we
aren't ignoring that limitation that could actually advance our
security if you were allowed to do destructive testing. Yes.
Thank you very much. I yield back.
Mr. Collins [presiding]. Thank you, Mr. Larsen.
The Chair now recognizes myself for 5 minutes of
questioning.
As we have been talking to people in hearings or just in
person, there is this common theme. It really doesn't matter
which group I am talking to or which committee I am
representing and talking to people about. It seems like that we
have certification problems left and right. We have an agency
that is not up to date or doesn't seem to want to get up to
date or modernize and use the newest technology. We have
Europe, who is--you are able to get things certified quicker,
and then get it to the U.S., and then get it certified here.
And it shouldn't be that way. Or we run into permitting
problems, or we run into the same thing that I hear over and
over and over again, and it is China. The China problem. So, I
think what I want to focus on real quick and for the next
minute or two is just China.
Chief Kennedy, during my discussions with UAS
manufacturers, I keep hearing that China has cornered a
substantial share of the drone market and that law enforcement
agencies are being forced to buy Chinese drones and rely on
that technology produced and funded by the CCP. Is law
enforcement generally concerned about using Chinese technology?
Ms. Kennedy. Certainly, we are concerned. And so, we take
precautions in that area.
So, right now, for the DFR drones that we use, the only
drone that is capable with the optical zoom lens to get into
the 200 zoom optical lens is the DJI Matrice 300 that we use.
So, what we have done at our department is we use--our drones
do not utilize the onboard software from the drone
manufacturer. From the onset of our program, we took that into
consideration. We have used an encrypted U.S.-based software
program to bypass the drone manufacturer systems. Our data is
encrypted and is stored on U.S.-based servers that meet Federal
requirements for confidential law enforcement databases.
So, if there was an alternative for us, we would certainly
be willing to use that alternative. But I think we are, quite
frankly, to be just to the point, there is discussion, and
there are U.S. drone companies right now working towards that.
We keep hearing that it is just around the corner. But we have
not seen that. If we were banned from using DJI drones right
now, it would halt us. We would not be able to fly the DFR
mission.
Now, certainly there are other drones that we use for
tactical operations. We call those reactive drones. Those
drones can be used on SWAT operations, or to search into
buildings and canyons. But DJI drones right now are the only
option that we have.
Mr. Collins. Good. I think that is going to tee up my next
question for Mr. Woodworth.
Why does China have such a large share of this drone
market?
Mr. Woodworth. I think that some of it can be placed on the
regulatory environment in the U.S. Up until part 107 existed,
there wasn't a path to fly drones commercially in the United
States. It just didn't exist. And so, there was a multiyear gap
where use cases weren't possible in the United States. And so,
I think that other developers got an advantage on that front.
I think some other elements of it are just related to the
globalization of the supply chain and where most consumer
electronics are built today. But I think the industry, as a
whole, is starting to see us pull away from that and into more
U.S.-based manufacturing. We----
Mr. Collins [interrupting]. Let me ask you this way because
I am running short on time.
Mr. Woodworth. Yes.
Mr. Collins. I listened to your opening statement. How is
the FAA hampering development and integration of new unmanned
systems to American airspace?
Mr. Woodworth. I think it really is--it comes back to
Chairman Graves' opening statement of, like, we are a student
trying to take a test, and we don't know what the subject is.
So, it is, like, I don't know if I am going to walk in the room
and it is going to be a biology test or a spelling bee. I think
it is that predictable nature of it that is really hampering
the industry at the moment.
And so, anything that this committee can do to help
facilitate making that process more predictable, more
pragmatic, would be super helpful.
Mr. Collins. All right. Thank you. That is all I have. I
yield back.
The Chair yields 5 minutes to Ms. Titus.
Ms. Titus. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to ask Dr. Cahill, I believe you were on the
FAA's Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight Operations Aviation
Rulemaking Committee. And I noticed there are some people who
aren't real happy with some of the recommendations that came
out of there for coordinating different types of aviation and
who has the responsibility and the right-of-way.
I think in my own district, which is Las Vegas--the Las
Vegas strip includes the airport. So, you have got commercial
aviation. You have got general aviation. You have got
helicopters flying down the strip and out to the Grand Canyon.
And now you are going to have drones in that airspace.
Could you talk a little bit about how that process worked,
and how everybody has kind of got a seat at the table?
Ms. Cahill. Congresswoman, thank you for that question. I
would be happy to.
In the rules-of-way aspect, there are a lot of diversity of
opinions. And what came out of the Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight
Operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee--also known as the
BVLOS ARC--the recommendations--we, as the University of
Alaska, did concur that we could live with the recommendations
that came out of it. But there are definitely concerns in terms
of some of the recommendations, especially in that low-altitude
airspace.
For us, we are, in Alaska, not really looking at that high-
density operation with the helicopters on the strip. What we
have is a whole bunch of pilots flying under 500 feet because,
in the rules and regulations as they stand in the FAA, it is
legal to fly under 500 feet because we are in a rural area.
And the crop dusters--I grew up in northern California.
They fly under 500 feet, and they also fly under power lines.
So, if you start talking about shielded operations, there is
going to be a shift in the way some people need to approach
this. And that is part of the challenge. It is, how do you
balance the need for people to do operations at low level with
communications between drones that may not have detect-and-
avoid and manned aircraft, and also, at the same time, allow
everybody to have access to the airspace?
And so, that was the major debate, is how did we ensure
that? And it may vary, depending on where you are. If you are
in a highly urban environment where aircraft are not supposed
to fly within 500 feet of a structure, you may have a very
different situation than you have in Alaska. And so, anything
that comes out in those rules and recommendations really does
need to be balanced for where you are operating and how you are
operating.
Ms. Titus. What is the kind of timeline for putting these
in place? Or what are the next steps now that you have got all
this input?
Ms. Cahill. So, at the end of the Aviation Rulemaking
Committee process, we handed our recommendations over to the
FAA. And I think we were told that it would be probably about a
2-year timeline to be able to work those through the FAA
process, to come up with a series of rules and regulations, put
them out for public comment, and then be able to finalize the
recommendations.
Ms. Titus. OK. Well, thank you. I hope they don't push off
that deadline like they have done so many times--2 years, 2\1/
2\, 4, whatever.
Also, I want to ask you about the test sites because Nevada
was one of the original seven test sites. And they have
agreements with UNLV, DRI. It seems to be working pretty well.
But do you think they have been successful? Do you think
there is anything we can do to help them push aviation along or
bring more people involved as stakeholders with them? I know in
Alaska, it sounds like they have been pretty successful. Could
you give us some best practices, maybe?
Ms. Cahill. We would be happy to help the folks at the
Nevada test site. They, of course, just moved it from UNLV up
to UNR, which is my alma mater for my Ph.D.
Ms. Titus. Oh, really?
Ms. Cahill. And we would be happy to assist. It is a case
where, I think, the university has grabbed it, and you
definitely have some players in industry that are based in Reno
who are furthering their efforts. So, I think there are things
that we can do to help assist them and get them stood up. The
new 44803(c) waivers that we just got, we can help work with
them to try to get to a point where they can operate with those
waivers.
Ms. Titus. I agree with you. I don't think we necessarily
need to create more test sites, but we need to plus-up the ones
that already exist and help them do better, because when they
were first created, they didn't do much for the first couple of
years because we didn't quite know what to do. But now, it
sounds like they are getting more in the game.
Ms. Cahill. If I can respond to that one, Congresswoman.
The FAA never funded the test sites. So, the fact that we have
seven test sites still in existence is in tribute to everybody
busting their tails in order to get funding in and to really
work hard to try to advance this. These are passions because it
would have been very easy to walk away.
Ms. Titus. Well, thank you very much.
I yield back.
Mr. Yakym [presiding]. Thank you, Ms. Titus.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Payne for 5 minutes.
Mr. Payne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I would like to ask
some questions about how uncrewed aircraft can be integrated
into a dense urban environment, like my hometown of Newark, New
Jersey. Our airspace has to manage commercial airliners from
Newark Liberty, emergency response, and sightseeing
helicopters, and general aviation aircraft as well. The
addition of UAS to this congested airspace presents challenges
that will have to be overcome together.
Chief Kennedy, how has your department been able to work
with other operators in your airspace as you expand your UAS
operations?
Ms. Kennedy. Thank you, Congressman Payne. We are very
blessed in the city of Chula Vista. We are Golf airspace, which
is the best airspace that you can fly in. But we do work very
closely. Every day, we notify the Notice to Air Missions daily
by calling the towers, and we share our daily operations with
them and the entire city. So, we make sure that we are working
together on that, as well as we file NOTAMs on an annual basis.
But more importantly, I have even had the opportunity--we
fly from 150 feet to 400 feet in Chula Vista. I am familiar
with other agencies. There are only about 20 agencies in the
United States that fly DFR operations right now. So, we are
very much in a new process of going outside the norm of what we
do.
I just had an opportunity to travel to Georgia. The
Brookhaven Police Department, they fly in Delta space. So, they
have other challenges in that area. But when you work together
as a team, and you coordinate, and you make sure that you are
contacting the right authorities, you are able to work through
it.
And the whole goal is to have the ability for our law
enforcement partners and our fire partners to make sure that we
are getting to our community when they need us most, and we are
sharing the accurate information about what emergencies that we
are dealing with so that everybody goes home safely. That is
our goal.
Mr. Payne. Thank you. And can you please share how you
engaged with your community as you began drone operations? What
sort of feedback did you receive, and did you chance any
operations based on that feedback?
Ms. Kennedy. Yes. Thank you very much.
We started working with our community in 2015 well before
we ever put one drone in the air. And we reached out to many of
the activist groups in our community and invited everyone in.
We had forums. We had open discussion. We wanted to find out
what our community really wanted. Were there concerns?
And as we have continued, as we have received some national
and international interest, it has brought on an interesting
conversation with many people. And there are tremendous
concerns with the community in regards to privacy.
And what we do in Chula Vista is we listen to our
community. We have the ability to have them send us emails
through our UAS website as well as provide a lot of information
through our webpage that gives flight data. So, the community
can actually go and see where we flew. Usually, 4 hours later,
they can see where we went, why we went there.
Mr. Payne. OK.
Ms. Kennedy. And so, it has been interesting to hear
concerns.
And I heard people mention earlier about the backyards and
people looking into their backyards. And like I said, we fly
from 150 feet to 400 feet.
Mr. Payne. Right.
Ms. Kennedy. And what happened is we decided that--you know
what? I can understand why the community feels that way. So, as
we return on a flight, automatically, when we push the ``home''
button, we return, and our cameras tilt upward to the sky.
Mr. Payne. OK.
Ms. Kennedy. And we don't want the community to think that
we are looking in on them.
Mr. Payne. Thank you. My time is dwindling. Let's see.
Mr. Woodworth, can you please share with us how UAS
operators can engage in beyond visual line-of-sight operations
in a densely populated urban environment?
Mr. Woodworth. Thank you for the question, Congressman.
Mr. Payne. Very quickly, as my time is----
Mr. Woodworth [interrupting]. All right. Right now, today,
we do it in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That happens to be what
most call the Mode C veil. So, all the aircraft that are
operating in there are equipped. Our airplanes have ADS-B in on
them so we can listen for crew traffic, and our operators have
displays where they can also look for crew traffic. So, we do a
lot of aviation outreach. We have built technologies to help
facilitate that cooperative airspace.
Mr. Payne. OK. Thank you.
And I will yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Payne.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Westerman for 5 minutes.
Mr. Westerman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the
panel today.
Mr. Woodworth and Dr. Cahill, I have the most agricultural
aircraft operations per capita in my district than any other
district in America. While I am supportive of new entrants to
the national airspace, including UAS, I am concerned about the
FAA possibly allowing drones to have the right-of-way in the
sky.
Agricultural aircraft routinely fly at low altitudes. And
in a 2015 study by the University of Colorado, manned aircraft
had trouble finding and tracking smaller sized drones. I don't
want drones to be put at risk, and I certainly don't want
pilots and manned aircraft to be put at risk.
I am concerned about the Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight
Operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee's recommendations to
allow drones to have right-of-way in the air in certain
circumstances. Safety of manned aircraft seems more important
to me than drones. I just want to know if you both can discuss
that issue?
Ms. Cahill. I guess, Congressman, I get to take the first
shot at this one.
In terms of the operating with manned aircraft in these
areas, there are, it looks like, some technological advantages,
which will allow us to be able to cooperatively share the
airspace. But it is going to take cooperation in order to do
this.
And so, for us to know that there are, for example, crop-
dusting operations occurring in an area, we would most likely
try to avoid that area. If we know where your aircraft is, we
can avoid you. It is the cases where we have noncooperative
traffic, where people have not told us where they are, they are
not broadcasting, they haven't filed anything saying they are
flying in that area--that is where it becomes a challenge.
Because drones, by and large, can't carry detect-and-avoid
technology on them and be able to do the mission they need to
do.
The weight of the current detect-and-avoid technologies is
fairly high. And you want to make sure that you are able to
actually use the drone for what you need it for. So, it needs
to be a lot of communication and potentially reserving of
airspace to make sure that both the drones and the manned
aircraft can be flown in the same area without there being a
potential for conflict. The last thing we want is a collision.
Mr. Westerman. Right. Have you been to an agricultural
aviation--have you seen a crop duster? I have ridden on one. It
is a whole other world. But I would encourage you to get out in
the field and talk to the agricultural aviation pilots and to
understand how their business works. And there are some great
complexities, I believe, in trying to maintain communications
and to keep traffic where traffic should be and not have these
collisions, which would be devastating.
Mr. Woodworth. Yes, sir. It is a very important
conversation to have. And I think that, as Dr. Cahill said, as
you brought up, that learning experience and the communities
talking to each other is a foundational element of all of this.
So, we were a participant in the ARC, as you were. And we
are a strong supporter of the work done, but we do recognize
that there are a number of recommendations that there wasn't
full agreement on.
We think that, as an industry, there is this common goal
and advantage of having airplanes know where other airplanes
are, and there are a number of technical solutions that are
emerging to help facilitate that. So, we welcome the
conversation. We want it to be a cooperative airspace. We want
to do the right thing so that we are not disrupting parts of
the aviation ecosystem that have existed for a long time.
I came out of aviation. All of my best friends are pilots.
It is, like--I understand the problems. And I want to make sure
that we, as an industry, are bringing solutions, and we are
doing it with an open mind and an open conversation.
Mr. Westerman. All right. These agricultural aircraft, you
can think of them like tractors in the air and not very high
off of the ground. And they do very, very important work,
especially in my district. So, I hope you all will take note of
that and work on the right solutions so that everybody wins in
this situation.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Westerman.
Are there any further questions from members of the
subcommittee who have not been recognized?
Seeing none, what I would like to do is, for a few minutes,
enter into a second round of questioning. And I yield myself 5
minutes for further questions.
Dr. Ginn, aside from being a surgeon, you were also a
former commercial airline pilot, as I understand it. Can you
speak to some of the concerns that pilots have with drone
operations and how we may be able to lay some of those concerns
to rest?
Dr. Ginn. Sure. And thank you for the question. It has been
a long time since I have been an airline pilot, but I am an
active aviator. And I can tell you that, obviously, pilots and
aircrews are quite concerned about encountering an uncrewed
aircraft at the wrong place and at the wrong time, perhaps not
unlike we are concerned about encountering a large bird or a
flock of birds.
The concerns are valid. I do think there are operational
considerations that make it highly unlikely. For one thing,
obviously the risks are higher in terminal areas for aircraft.
You know, departing and arriving in airports. And so, airspace
restrictions are already tighter in those areas and presumably
would remain so for unmanned aircraft.
There is also maybe the fact that unmanned operations may
be separated to some extent from regions of the airspace where
manned aviation occurs currently. So, I think in reality, it is
unlikely and rare for them to encounter those aircraft.
However, I do think it would be important to have systems
and technologies available that essentially create visibility
bidirectionally between those aircraft, similar to ADS-B, which
is a system that allows aircraft to see each other
electronically without onboard radar.
And surely, there can be solutions in terms of increasing
that level of transparency so that everybody operating in the
airspace is aware of everybody else. And to some extent, that
can be automated.
Mr. Yakym. Great. Thank you.
And my second question is for Chief Kennedy. When you send
a drone out to a scene, how do you coordinate with air traffic
control and other manned aircraft to ensure that safety is
maintained?
Ms. Kennedy. It is constant communication that we have. And
we yield to manned aircraft. That is what we are trained to do.
It is important. We are always going to yield that way. We are
able to monitor through technology and mitigation systems that
we have at our department, and that is what our teleoperators
and our pilots are trained to do.
And so, when we fly, as I mentioned before, 150 to 400
feet, many of the people--I was on a helicopter the other day,
and as we started flying back into Chula Vista, they
immediately gave the notification to that pilot that there is
low-flying aircraft in the area. And it made me feel safe that
we were all working together. So, I think it is a coordinated
effort.
Mr. Yakym. Great. Thank you. And I yield back.
Are there any other Members who would like to be recognized
for a second round of questioning?
The Chair recognizes the ranking member of the full
committee, Mr. Larsen.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes. Thanks.
And this question is for the Chief. It is related. Because
one of the conflicts that we hear about isn't between, say--
although we hear about it, the presence of an airplane, the
presence of a drone in the airspace. Another conflict that we
have is the presence of State and local governments trying to
regulate airspace versus the Federal Government through the FAA
being the sole regulator of the airspace.
And so, part of addressing that is ensuring you are doing
outreach to your local communities to say, this is the program,
this is what we are doing.
Can you explain to us a little bit--maybe some lessons you
have learned about doing outreach to your community to
alleviate concerns? Either privacy concerns or any concerns
about you operating in the airspace.
Ms. Kennedy. As I mentioned earlier, the community and the
voice of the community is extremely important. We are only as
good as the support that we have from our community. And so, we
do a lot of outreach with our community.
And our dashboard is one of the ways that shares--hopefully
you have an opportunity to look at our website and look at all
the information we provide. The flight data, where we go, all
the frequently asked questions, how you can reach out to us,
what the concerns are.
I have even had many of the people from the activist
community come to my department, and we have conversations. And
I want to hear, what are best practices for law enforcement?
What things are concerning you? And we make changes based upon
that because we are in a new territory right now.
And so, I think it is just important to have that
communication and have that opportunity to share, and for them
to come in and actually see what we are doing. Because if you
don't see it, you might visualize it completely differently
than what we are doing. We put a lot of effort into protecting
our community in the skies as well as on the ground, and the
information we share is making a huge difference.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. I didn't catch it in your
testimony. How many other police departments have something
similar?
Ms. Kennedy. I believe right now, there are approximately
20 DFR agencies throughout the United States. It is very new
technology. Like I said, we were the first to do it. We have
trained probably close to 60, 65 agencies that are coming to us
and learning from us and the best practices.
And we believe--I am so passionate about what we are doing
and what it means for our community. I am just so thankful to
have an opportunity to be here before Congress to explain what
we are doing.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes. And we are pleased to have
you. And I want to go back to my main point.
It is the conflict between local and State governments
certainly legitimately being responsive to their constituents
about concerns about drones in their airspace, but as for
regulating airspace, it is important that we have a single
regulator of that airspace and don't create a patchwork of
rules. We do that well enough already, and we don't need help
doing the patchwork bit.
So, I think what you are talking about, there may be some
lessons learned that can alleviate the pressure for other local
elected----
Ms. Kennedy [interrupting]. Right. We don't want them to
have to reinvent the wheel. We want to share what we have done,
what has worked, what hasn't worked, what the challenges are,
and that is what we have been doing.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes. Great. All right.
Thank you very much. I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Ranking Member Larsen.
Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for
questioning?
Seeing none, that concludes the first panel for today. And
I would like to thank each of our witnesses for your testimony.
I would now like to ask our second panel of witnesses to
please take their seats.
[Pause as second panel takes their seats.]
Mr. Yakym. All right. Our second panel today consists of
experts in the electric aircraft powered-lift space. These
aircraft are likely to enter commercial operations in the next
few years and will start their operations with a pilot on
board.
Unlike drones, these AAM aircraft will be able to
communicate with air traffic and can operate under traditional
flight rules. This is a distinction worth drawing between this
panel and our previous panel.
I would like to welcome our witnesses and thank them all
for being here today. I would like to take a moment to explain
our lighting system to our second panel. There are three lights
in front of you. Green means go. Yellow doesn't mean slow down.
It means you are running out of time, so, hurry up and wrap it
up. And red means that you should be concluding your remarks.
I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses' full statements
for the second panel also be included in the record. And
without objection, so ordered.
As your written testimony has been made part of the record,
the subcommittee asks that you limit your oral remarks to 5
minutes.
And with that, Mr. Kyle Clark, you are recognized for 5
minutes for an opening statement.
TESTIMONY OF KYLE CLARK, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
BETA TECHNOLOGIES; JoeBen BEVIRT, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, JOBY AVIATION; CHRISTOPHER BRADSHAW, PRESIDENT AND
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BRISTOW GROUP INC., ON BEHALF OF THE
HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL; AND CLINT HARPER,
ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY EXPERT AND COMMUNITY ADVOCATE
TESTIMONY OF KYLE CLARK, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
BETA TECHNOLOGIES
Mr. Clark. Excellent. I have been trying to teach my kids
that yellow means slow down, so, it has been an experience
teaching them to drive.
Thanks for having me here. It is really meaningful for you
all to take the time to listen to the important stuff that we
are working on in electric aviation. And I am excited to be
here with my friend JoeBen and Chris, one of our customers at
Bristow, and to talk a little bit about what we are doing at
BETA, and also, why it is so important to focus on this
industry as a Nation.
The future of aviation across the world is going to be
electric. It is clean. It is reliable. It is sustainable. There
are more and more reasons that we are realizing through test
and development as to why electric is the future of aviation.
And electric, by the way, is not just battery electric. It
includes hybrid. It includes hydrogen electric. And it is
exciting because electric is fundamentally safer, it is more
reliable, it is more cost-effective, and it is sustainable.
There are not a lot of reasons not to lean into electric
aviation. It is not for every mission today, but it is getting
there.
I am from BETA Technologies. We are up in Vermont. We are
a--I used to say small company, but we are growing. There are
about 500 engineers back at BETA right now likely watching--
some of them watching this with bated breath, looking for
clarity from the FAA on how to go about completing the mission
that we signed up to pursue.
And that is what I am effectively here to ask for, is for
this committee to provide direction, funding, and to compel the
FAA to lean into the resources and the expertise to certify
electric propulsion.
At BETA, we have taken a little bit different of a track
towards AAM. Mr. Larsen, as we have talked in the past, we are
focused on rural access, logistics, cargo, medical
applications. First, with fixed-wing aircraft, and then moving
into aircraft to take off and land vertically. And then moving
into urban air mobility and passenger missions. It is a
mission--cargo and logistics--that we can solve today.
And that is why we have leaned into that. It is pragmatic.
It is simple. And with a little bit of regulatory unblock--and
I am not asking for anything special for our industry. Just
simple clarity. Simple clarity and a stationary goalpost gives
us the ability to execute on our mission.
We all know, and we have heard about it a lot. America has
a history of innovating in aviation. And that innovation is
driven to more economical, more sustainable, and most
importantly, safer and safer aircraft. Again, electric is
fundamentally safer.
At BETA, we developed a battery system that--we partnered
with the FAA and NIAR, the National Institute for Aviation
Research, to drop a full-voltage battery from 50 feet, and it
passed on the first test. And that is pretty remarkable. That
didn't happen with gas-powered airplanes, it turns out. It took
a long time to get to the level of safety that we are starting
from. There is a fundamental foundation of an engineered
product and a battery in our case that we can build a safety
platform from.
I think it is also important to note that we at BETA are
not just focused on the aircraft. We are also focused on the
charging systems, on the training of the pilots. And these are
two more areas that the FAA needs clarity on allowing this to
flourish.
The vertiport standards that have been published in draft
form are ambiguous and not necessarily helpful to the industry.
They are divergent from existing heliport standards. And the
pilot licensing requirements are--although there has been
progress made in the SFAR, it hasn't been absolute clarity,
certainly not to the point that allows us to work with our
customers and advance that discussion.
The interesting thing about this industry is that a lot of
people don't think it is real. We have been flying our aircraft
all across the country. Out in California, JoeBen is flying
their aircraft daily. We are flying multiple aircraft daily up
in Vermont.
And it is interesting. We flew across to Missouri. We flew
down through Arkansas. And the most common response we get when
we get to airports--people will come over and be like, what are
you guys doing? That thing is electric? And his face just,
like, drops. It is an amazing thing.
When Secretary Buttigieg sat in our aircraft, he looked at
me and said, you flew this here? And this was down in
Louisville from Vermont on our own charging network. We built
the network halfway across the country. It is coming down the
east coast. The Department of Health and Human Services has
supported a network with us from Florida across to Mississippi.
It is real. It is here. And we are making the transition at
BETA from being an engineering company, and the entire industry
is moving into a manufacturing industry. And we are bringing
the aircraft.
What we need is a simple regulatory unblock in clarity.
That is it. It is not complicated. The technology is here, and
we are ready to get to work.
[Mr. Clark's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Kyle Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
BETA Technologies
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of BETA
Technologies at today's hearing titled ``FAA Reauthorization:
Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver for the American
People.'' Our nation is at a pivotal moment in aviation history where
we have the chance to maintain--and expand--our global leadership in
the race for innovative aviation technologies, so long as we have a
clear regulatory pathway and support from the government to get there.
I appreciate the chance to testify as Congress considers the role of
new entrants in FAA Reauthorization, and look forward to sharing how
Advanced Air Mobility will benefit communities across the country.
BETA Technologies (``BETA'') is a leading developer and
manufacturer of electric aircraft, electric motors, and multimodal
vehicle charging infrastructure based in the United States. Burlington,
Vermont is home to our R&D headquarters as well as our primary
production and manufacturing facility. We currently have over 500
employees spread across a footprint that extends beyond Vermont,
including: Plattsburgh, New York; Springfield, Ohio; Raleigh, North
Carolina; and Washington, DC. We have raised significant capital from
American investors to build our electric aerospace company and, in
turn, develop American-made technology and the jobs to go along with
it.
BETA is building a fully integrated electric aviation system that
we're selling to many of the top aircraft operators in the world. Our
products include: the CX300, an electric fixed-wing aircraft, or
conventional takeoff and landing aircraft (CTOL); the ALIA-250, an
electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL); multimodal
charging infrastructure; and, a program to train future pilots and
maintainers. These Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies will unlock
connectivity for communities all over the United States, increasing
access to healthcare, e-commerce, and passenger travel.
We have firm orders from operators including UPS, Bristow, United
Therapeutics, BLADE Urban Air Mobility, and more. We are also
partnering with the U.S. government to explore government use cases and
accelerate the deployment of AAM aircraft and multimodal electric
chargers to service both ground vehicles and aircraft.
BETA Technologies is developing two all-electric aircraft models.
BETA's approach capitalizes on three major benefits of electric
flight: significantly lower operating cost compared to jet- or turbine-
powered aircraft, zero operational emissions, and a fundamentally safe
and reliable option for aviation. Advances in aviation technology have
often been hindered by regulatory hurdles, prolonged timelines for
certification and commercialization, and a lack of ability for small
businesses to contribute to the industry. But a surge in ingenuity,
government partnership, and American investment has inspired a more
economical and sustainable era of aviation.
Our country is at a defining moment in history to recognize the
economic, healthcare, and environmental opportunities of Advanced Air
Mobility. If our government can help us harness this innovation, the
United States will remain uniquely positioned to become the global
leader in emerging aviation technologies.
Electric Aviation is Here
BETA is focused on creating solutions that enable operators to
bring the same expedient delivery, healthcare, and passenger
capabilities available in urban areas to Americans in rural and hard-
to-reach places, all while lowering cost and reducing emissions. Our
simple, reliable, and safe electric aircraft and charging
infrastructure provides that solution. This technology has matured to a
level that enabled BETA to fly our aircraft halfway across the country
multiple times--using our charging infrastructure along the way--to
introduce electric aviation to communities all over the country.
Eliciting Critical Thinking in Electric Aviation
BETA's initial aircraft design was driven by a desire from United
Therapeutics (UT) to transport organs in a reliable, efficient, and
environmentally friendly way. UT, a biotechnology company founded in
Maryland, is developing an unlimited supply of organs for transplant by
using advanced materials and 3D printing to repair organs for
transplant, significantly increasing the availability of these life-
saving products for patients in need. Initially, BETA and UT signed a
contract to elicit critical thinking in electric aviation. This
resulted in BETA's first eVTOL prototype, AVA, which we designed to
demonstrate the ability to carry organs from manufacturing facilities
to hospitals. We went from an initial concept to our first flight test
in just ten months, ultimately completing over 100 record-setting
flights.
UT became BETA's first customer and, since then, we have evolved
our design by applying our learnings to create two highly-efficient,
simple, and certifiable aircraft models that are advancing through the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification process right now.
Demonstrated Technical Progress
BETA has been flying electric aircraft for more than five years,
and in that time we've reached a number of technical milestones.
Currently, we have two full-scale pre-production aircraft that we fly
nearly every day, logging more than 22,000 miles on our fixed-wing
airplane to date. Last year, we completed a successful hover campaign
on our current eVTOL pre-production aircraft, and test pilots from the
FAA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army have flown our fixed-wing airplane.
A market survey certificate from the FAA has put our engineering to the
test, allowing us to fly our fixed-wing prototype on multiple real-
world flights, stopping at municipal airports along the way in New
York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Arkansas to
introduce this technology to both rural and urban communities.
Real-World Use Cases with Real-World Partners
AAM marks a transformative era not only for the aviation industry
but the entire U.S. transportation system. It unlocks access and new
capabilities, shifting the paradigm in how we move goods and people
within and between our communities. For BETA's customers, this means
quickly delivering organs for transplant for patients in Missouri, a
quiet, clean transportation option for passengers between rural and
urban areas in the Pacific Northwest, additional disaster response in
hurricane-prone areas in Louisiana, and increased e-commerce
capabilities in hard-to-reach places in Tennessee.
Showing the real-world use cases for electric aviation has garnered
firm orders for our aircraft from commercial customers. Bristow, a
leader in global vertical flight solutions currently offering
helicopter transportation for civil and government services, will use
both versions of BETA's aircraft to safely and reliably move passengers
and time-sensitive cargo to strategic locations between regions in
Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. UPS will use BETA's eVTOL for point-to-
point logistics to transform the middle mile express cargo industry,
drastically reducing the risk, complexity, and handling for missions
and provide relief for over-loaded systems, extend drop-off and pick-up
times, and enable more Premium Direct service to rural areas. United
Therapeutics will use both versions of BETA's aircraft to deliver
organs safely and quickly between its facilities and hospitals. BLADE
Urban Air Mobility will use BETA's eVTOL to quietly and safely
transport passengers in a sustainable way.
We're also gaining traction with our government partners as they
work to meet modern-day challenges. We're partnering with the
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an
agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
to deploy multimodal charging infrastructure that will support public
health preparedness along the gulf coast, including Mississippi,
Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, and Alabama. This will enable eVTOLs to
transport medicine, patients, and equipment in a disaster-response role
in hurricane-prone areas.
Our contracts with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army through the
Agility Prime program allow DOD to exercise military use cases for
electric aircraft and multimodal charging infrastructure to support
critical resupply and strategic personnel transport. Agility Prime has
been an essential part of BETA's success to date, accelerating our
progress and spurring commercial investment as we seek FAA
certification for our aircraft. The practical features of BETA's
eVTOL--including runway and fuel independence and a low noise profile--
make it a valuable and versatile solution in defense applications.
Building a Nationwide Charging Network
What good is an electric airplane if you have nowhere to charge it?
To ensure access to widespread, publicly available charging, BETA is
developing rapid charging stations that are nonproprietary and use an
existing electric vehicle (EV) standard in use by other Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). BETA is partnering with airports, Fixed
Base Operators, and our customers to deploy this technology and make
the future of electric transportation a reality. Moreover, we're
working with other electric aircraft OEMs to collaborate on
infrastructure deployment early in the commercialization of electric
aviation.
BETA is installing publicly accessible multimodal chargers at
general aviation airports across the nation. We currently have sixty
five sites permitted, under construction, or online and charging. The
first route is already built and operational--spanning from Vermont to
Arkansas--and this year we'll complete the east coast network and
connect Florida to Missouri.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
BETA's Charge Cube, equipped with a 50-ft. retractable charging reel.
Multimodal and Interoperable
To prepare to meet the demands of electric aviation, BETA has
designed the Charge Cube, which safely and efficiently charges electric
aircraft as well as ground-based EVs including cars and buses. This
charger abides by universal charging standards so that it can be
utilized on any EV that is Combined Charging System (CCS1) compliant.
BETA's charging stations are already being used in both on- and
off-airport environments to help electrify critical segments of our
nation's transportation system. For our fleet customers like UPS, it
gives them the option to charge their electric ground fleet (i.e.,
delivery trucks and vans) and meet their emission reduction targets.
This technology, especially in mobile, ``deployable'' form, is also
being explored by the DOD to meet its energy demands at military bases
and installations and provide flexibility in austere locations.
Publicly Accessible Chargers at Airports
The footprint of BETA's Charge Cube is minimal yet effective,
making it sought-after by other electric aircraft OEMs and a seamless
integration into existing airport infrastructure. At four feet tall,
this charger is designed to fit underneath an aircraft wing and offer
an immediate touchless experience to users. It quickly powers aircraft
by providing continuous 350 kilowatt output which will enable BETA's
aircraft to charge in just 50 minutes.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
A pilot plugs the all-electric ALIA aircraft into BETA's Charge Cube.
Because it is multimodal, BETA's charging infrastructure gives
airports an edge as they seek to electrify. It powers their EV ground
fleets today while giving them the tools necessary to adopt the next
generation of aviation technology. Moreover, multimodal charging allows
airports to offer additional services and amenities to their
surrounding community. In the future, it will help attract more pilots
and air traffic.
Perhaps the best demonstration of this dual purpose is BETA's
charging installation at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in
Ohio: a charger in the parking lot provides the only Level 3 fast
charging between Dayton and Columbus, seeing frequent use from electric
cars and trucks, while the charger located on the airport apron powered
BETA's electric aircraft during several missions that passed through
Springfield. In these cases, both aircraft and ground vehicle chargers
are able to use the same power source and converter.
Airports like the one in Springfield are vital to connecting our
nation's communities. The local airport is an essential way for people
and businesses to stay commercially connected to the rest of the
country and serves as a lifeline for medical response, cargo, and other
critical services. By placing chargers at airports in rural and
suburban areas, airports can become part of the adaptation to EVs and
residents can gain access to services otherwise nonexistent in the
area. On a broader scale, these installations enable the FAA to point
to existing locations where electric aircraft can safely land and
charge--a critical first step for AAM integration into the National
Airspace System (NAS).
BETA recognizes that we're charting new waters when installing
electric aircraft charging on airports. We are working closely with the
FAA Office of Airports to ensure installations do not face unnecessary
permitting delays or regulatory barriers that will impede the
electrification of transportation. BETA has encouraged the FAA to
develop standard operating procedures for infrastructure installations
to streamline approvals and reap the benefits for airports,
communities, and businesses alike.
Government Investment in Charging Infrastructure
BETA's charging network has laid the groundwork for electric
aviation adoption. However, in order to further support the industry,
partnerships between industry and the government will be necessary to
bring this infrastructure to scale. To that end, BETA supports measures
that will assist in and accelerate the planning and deployment of AAM
infrastructure. We appreciate Chairman Graves (R-LA) and Ranking Member
Rick Larsen (D-WA) for their work on the Advanced Aviation
Infrastructure Modernization (AAIM) Act, an important first step to
securing federal support for AAM infrastructure.
Additionally, as funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is spent to build a nationwide network
of EV charging, our government cannot afford to miss this opportunity
to build for the future. The United States is just now adapting our
ground infrastructure to catch up to the technological innovations of
the automotive industry and fully realize its benefits. As we look to
the future, we are in a rare and fleeting moment where the next
advances in technology are clear. We have the tools to have a broad and
seamless adoption of electric aviation when the time comes; now we need
to build.
To enable this, BETA is paying close attention to the IIJA's
National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, where
the bulk of EV infrastructure dollars are coming from. This program
provides state funding to deploy EV charging infrastructure for
automobiles along designated Alternate Fuel Corridors. However, this
program misses the opportunity to allow states to install multimodal,
on-airport charging infrastructure that supports both EV ground
vehicles and aircraft. Without tapping into this unique capability,
many states will miss the chance to gain additional services, like
cargo and medical transport from EVs, to their communities. To this
end, BETA has encouraged the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to
consider the economic and equity impacts of multimodal charging
availability at airports in rural areas across the country.
We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that our nation
can best leverage multimodal charging infrastructure by making
investments in today's transportation system that will set us up for
success in the future.
Leveraging Existing Infrastructure
There are more than 5,000 public airports in the United States, but
more than 70% of domestic travel is conducted through less than 1% of
airports \1\. Electric aviation can utilize existing infrastructure at
general aviation (GA) airports, which is especially helpful to reach
rural communities. With its improved efficiency and affordability, this
technology can help revitalize these airports. BETA's fixed-wing
electric aircraft will leverage this infrastructure to provide
increased access to underserved communities and bring new opportunities
for job growth and economic stimulation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ National Aeronautics and Space Administration Report ``Regional
Air Mobility: Leveraging our National Investments to Energize the
American Travel Experience'' (2021).
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However, in certain locations, BETA's eVTOL aircraft will need
vertical infrastructure for takeoff and landing in certain locations.
Our aviation system already has a robust network of airports and
heliports that can help ensure a successful entry-into-service for
eVTOLs. However, the FAA is currently working to draft design guidance
for ``vertiports'' that eVTOLs will be required to use. To provide
interim guidance for vertiport design, the FAA published Engineering
Brief (EB) No. 105 \2\ in September 2022. BETA appreciates the time and
resources FAA has dedicated to this effort; however, we are concerned
by the limitations it places on the integration of eVTOLs into the NAS.
BETA has encouraged the FAA to create a design standard that is
consistent with what the industry needs and can use, while ensuring
safety remains the priority. We hope that the FAA will accelerate and
prioritize this in time for type certification of eVTOLs and, in the
meantime, allow eVTOLs to use existing infrastructure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Federal Aviation Administration Memorandum ``Engineering Brief
No. 105, Vertiport Design'' (2022).
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Importance of Maintaining Global Leadership in Aviation
The United States is currently the world leader in aviation. We
applaud the Administration for its efforts to support and enable AAM,
recognizing that this moment provides a significant opportunity to
maintain--and expand--American leadership. In recent years, AAM has
attracted over $7 billion in new investment \3\. This investment has
given the United States a leg up to become a global leader in the
electric aviation industry. Yet we are in the midst of a global race
for innovative aviation technologies and many countries in Asia and
Europe, through regulatory clarity, are positioned to progress more
quickly, putting our leadership at risk. Developing and scaling AAM in
a way that enables the United States to be first to market is critical
for our economy, national security, and global leadership.
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\3\ Axel Esque and Robin Riedel, ``A milestone year for future air
mobility,'' Future of Air Mobility, McKinsey & Company, February 8,
2022. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-
insights/future-air-mobility-blog/a-milestone-year-for-future-air-
mobility
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AAM Unlocks Domestic Industry
AAM provides us with a unique opportunity to foster American
leadership and ingenuity with 21st century technology. BETA has created
more than 500 high-paying jobs across North America since our creation
five years ago, primarily in non-urban locations. As we grow and
advance, we will continue to scale our business with hiring that
supports a domestic supply chain, an engineering corps, and a
manufacturing operation.
But AAM is more than a company or a product--it is an industry. As
the domestic AAM industry reaches commercialization, it is expected to
create hundreds of thousands of high-skilled manufacturing, design, and
infrastructure jobs by 2040, all while placing a renewed emphasis on
domestic manufacturing. This economic growth and job creation will echo
through the entire supply chain.
AAM Strengthens United States' Global Competitiveness
Innovation in aviation leads to additional capabilities for our
military and ensures that technologies can be developed domestically
before our global competitors beat us to it. DOD has recognized this
and established the Agility Prime program in 2019 to accelerate
development of new technologies.
BETA has participated in the Agility Prime program since its
inception. It has helped us to accelerate our path to FAA type
certification, gain access to U.S. Air Force engineering expertise and
test infrastructure, and evaluate use cases for military missions. The
first crewed flight of an Agility Prime electric aircraft was in BETA's
fixed-wing prototype in March 2022, a milestone for the program and for
the AAM industry. It was another proof point that electric aviation is
real and it's here.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot Maj. Jonathan Appleby and BETA Test Pilot
Camron Guthrie fly ALIA.
The investment Agility Prime has made in our industry has propelled
us from developers to companies now entering production, and has given
us a competitive edge globally. A report by the Department of the Air
Force transmitted to Congress on August 3, 2022, titled ``Report to
Congressional Committees \4\,'' cites the many successes of the
program, including the acceleration of R&D, leverage for commercial
investment, and collaboration with the FAA on aircraft certification
and flight standards for operators, maintainers, and levels of
autonomy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Department of the Air Force ``Report to Congressional
Committees,'' August 3, 2022.
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Perhaps most notably, though, is Agility Prime's support for a
domestic AAM industry that will ensure our nation remains dominant in
the race to build electric aircraft. Agility Prime's investment in AAM
so far has been a display of American leadership that will allow the
AAM industry to outpace our global competitors.
Utilizing a Whole-of-Government Approach to Ensure Success of AAM
The success of the AAM industry requires cooperation from all
levels of government. With all relevant parties working together, AAM
will be best positioned for seamless integration into our communities.
BETA applauds enactment of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and
Leadership Act (Public Law 117-203), which will ensure efforts to
integrate new technologies into the aviation system are coordinated
across the government. We thank Chairman Graves (R-LA) and Ranking
Member Larsen (D-WA) for their leadership on this legislation, and the
DOT as it works with other departments and agencies to secure continued
leadership in this industry.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. Secretary of Transportation sits in BETA's ALIA aircraft at UPS
WorldPort.
Important first steps have been taken, including the FAA's
establishment of the type certification basis and its work to develop a
Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for pilot training and
operating rules for eVTOLs. But we still have a lot of work to do to
get AAM ``off the ground'' here in the United States.
Maintaining the Safest Airspace in the World
We believe that the FAA can and should ensure a predictable
regulatory framework that supports innovation and global competition
while maintaining safety in the national airspace as the priority. As a
company of aviators, we share the FAA's goal to preserve our national
standing as the safest environment in the world for aviation. That's
why BETA is intensely focused on creating the safest aircraft possible.
BETA's aircraft endure full-scale piloted flight tests on an almost
daily basis. The success of our flight test program has won us an FAA
market survey certificate that allows us to put our products to the
test in real-world flights outside of our test facility and is why the
first crewed flights of an electric aircraft by Air Force and Army test
pilots was in BETA's fixed-wing aircraft. In 2023, the FAA's very own
test pilots also conducted a qualitative evaluation of the aircraft,
following nearly a year of safety assessments.
BETA has also partnered with the National Institute for Aviation
Research (NIAR), located at Wichita State University in Kansas, to
conduct the industry's first FAA-sponsored drop test of a full-scale
battery pack. The results of this test not only provided data to refine
NIAR's simulation model for future testing for the AAM industry, but
also proved that BETA's full-scale battery pack design can safely
withstand the impact of a 50-foot drop, which is an important step in
the certification process.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
BETA partners with NIAR and FAA to conduct first-ever 50-foot drop test
of full-scale battery system.
We recognize that our engineering rigor and safety orientation will
keep us on target for FAA certification. Moreover, we believe this
paves the way for the rest of our industry's success as electric
aircraft developers go down the same path. As such, a clear pathway to
certification is needed to not only support innovation, but help
maintain the safest airspace in the world.
Committing the Necessary Resources and Staffing
As aviation enters a new era, the FAA is experiencing an influx of
applications from new entrants who are introducing new and novel
technologies and systems to the FAA. BETA recognizes this and has
chosen to take a stepwise approach to the certification process,
beginning with our electric motor, then our fixed-wing airplane, and
ultimately our vertical takeoff aircraft. Because electric aviation has
strict energy and power-density requirements for flight, it brings a
new and unique set of requirements for the FAA to consider for
certification, including high energy-density batteries, high torque-
density electric motors, distributed electric propulsion systems, and
fly-by-wire flight controls. Because the FAA has never certified
electric propulsion for commercial use, a body of specialized subject
matter experts (SMEs) that understand the technology is necessary to
advance type certification applications.
Further, as the FAA determines the airworthiness criteria to
establish the level of safety performance for AAM aircraft,
coordination, collaboration, and communication across its teams is
paramount. This requires additional staff in FAA's policy and
certification offices and on the teams responsible for implementing
airworthiness criteria. We encourage the FAA to hire and train
additional technical experts who will keep pace with advancements in
technology and support new entrants' certifications and operations in
the NAS.
Conclusion
Our nation is on the cusp of a new era of flight, and BETA is eager
to bring the economic, healthcare, and environmental benefits of AAM to
communities across the United States. This year's FAA Reauthorization
comes at a critical time, giving Congress the chance to provide the
additional direction to the FAA that will get electric aircraft
certified and into the airspace in a safe, reliable way. The following
items require swift progress in order to bring AAM to fruition in the
United States:
Continued progress toward the type certifications of the
aircraft, including adequate staffing and appropriate technical
resources for AAM;
Transparency and certainty in the regulatory process,
including timely promulgation of an SFAR that ensures the broadest pool
of eligible pilots;
Common infrastructure that enables accessible and
efficient charging for all AAM aircraft; and,
Global harmonization among international aviation
authorities to allow AAM to scale at a global level.
If the United States can make progress on these key issues, our AAM
industry will be positioned to deliver benefits of this innovation to
your diverse communities across the country. BETA appreciates the
Subcommittee's leadership and willingness to engage with industry, and
for the opportunity to testify. We look forward to working with you to
ensure that the United States remains the leader in aviation for
decades to come.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Clark.
Mr. Bevirt, it is good to see you again, sir. Welcome. I
now recognize you for 5 minutes of testimony.
TESTIMONY OF JoeBen BEVIRT, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, JOBY AVIATION
Mr. Bevirt. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the
opportunity to come and speak with all of you. And I really
appreciate your leadership in this pivotal year as we look to
FAA reauthorization.
My name is JoeBen, and I am the founder and CEO of a
company called Joby Aviation. Like BETA, we are building
electric aircraft and electric vertical takeoff and landing
aircraft.
We are at a defining moment in aviation. And this is the
first propulsion revolution that we have seen since the dawn of
the Jet Age. And I am proud to say the team at Joby has been
hard at work leading the charge in developing these really
important new technologies.
We spent more than a decade developing, testing, and flying
these aircraft. And we believe this will change the way people
move, both in rural communities and in urban communities around
the world and introduce millions of people to the freedom of
flight and bring emissions-free and quiet aviation into
reality.
Today, we are beginning to ramp up our manufacturing
efforts. And we are starting that with our pilot manufacturing
facility in Marina, California. And in the next few months, we
are going to be selecting a site for our phase 1 manufacturing
facility, which will give us the ability to ramp up to hundreds
of aircraft per year.
And we have made great progress in certifying our aircraft
in partnership with the FAA. The best and the brightest in the
agency have put tens of thousands of hours into defining,
documenting, and executing on the certification path tailored
to our aircraft. We have already begun to execute the tests and
analyses necessary to prove our aircraft meets those safety
standards. And it is critical that the FAA stays steadfast in
that path, as Kyle talked about.
This new era of electric aviation, it is here today. And it
is imperative that we stay steadfast in our focus, the FAA's
focus. And for American companies, it is imperative that
Congress is consistent. As you look to draft this year's FAA
reauthorization bill, I ask that you please consider the
following themes.
First, it is vital that the FAA continue to provide a
reliable environment for companies commercializing next-
generation aviation technology like Joby. We must progress on
the current, well-defined type certification path for pilot
eVTOL aircraft.
Second, the FAA must publish a timely Special Federal
Aviation Regulation, or SFAR, to guide our day-to-day
operations. The agency is committed to delivering this by
December 31, 2024. And while we are pleased to hear that they
are a month ahead of schedule, we need Congress to ensure that
the SFAR is completed on time as well as create an interim
policy to enable commercial operations if that process stalls.
Third, we ask that you confirm eVTOL aircraft can use the
thousands of existing public airports and heliports as they are
designed to do. Our national aviation heritage is anchored in a
mix of public and private infrastructure, totaling nearly
20,000 airports and heliports. New innovation in flight can
revitalize much of this infrastructure, presenting new
opportunities for mobility in both rural and urban communities.
And finally, the next era of aviation will require a robust
workforce, including skilled manufacturing technicians,
aircraft maintainers, pilots, and ground staff. We are doing
our part to lower the barriers of entry to introduce a wider
group of people to careers in aviation. At our facility in
Marina, we are hiring Salinas Valley locals for apprenticeship
programs that include paid on-the-job training and nationally
recognized aerospace certifications. In New York City, we are
partnering with Aviation Career and Technical Education High
School to develop curricula on electric aircraft for the next
generation of maintainers.
We ask for your support through rigorous and equitable
workforce development programs that leverage modern technology
and bring more bright minds to careers in our industry.
Likewise, we ask that you ensure the FAA has the workforce it
needs to keep up with the development of revolutionary
technology here in America.
American leadership requires a strong, bold, and
collaborative FAA that maintains consistency in its
policymaking and fosters an environment where companies like
Joby can bring the next generation of aviation to the world in
the cleanest, safest, and most inclusive way possible.
Thank you very much for your time, your service, and your
leadership, and I look forward to your questions.
[Mr. Bevirt's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Joby Aviation
Introduction
Good morning Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and
distinguished members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Subcommittee on Aviation.
My name is JoeBen Bevirt, and I am the Founder and CEO of Joby
Aviation, a California-based company leading the charge in the emerging
industry of advanced air mobility (AAM).
Since 2018, I have served as a member of the Board of Directors and
the Executive Committee for the General Aviation Manufacturers
Association (GAMA). Currently, I serve as the Chair of GAMA's Electric
Propulsion and Innovation Committee (EPIC), where companies involved in
AAM develop consensus to create an environment that supports the
efficient design, production, operation and maintenance of electric
vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs. Additionally, Joby
is a member of the National Business Aviation Association's Advanced
Air Mobility Roundtable, which serves as a forum for high-level policy
planning with sector leaders to chart a course for the integration of
AAM technologies into the nation's airspace system.
At Joby Aviation, we are proud to be at the forefront of the era of
electric aviation. Our primary focus is the development and
certification of our piloted, all-electric aircraft, designed to
transport up to four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with zero
operating emissions and low noise, which we intend to operate as part
of an aerial ridesharing service.
To ensure the success of AAM, I encourage the Committee to consider
two key themes. First, confirm the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) remains focused on the implementation of straightforward policies
companies can utilize on their first day of operations. For piloted
aircraft like Joby, this means utilizing the existing system to the
fullest extent practical; these aircraft are designed to work with
existing airports, existing heliports and today's air traffic control
system.
The second is to maintain the United States' position as the global
leader in aviation. This requires strong regulatory and policy
leadership from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA). The country must maintain the FAA path
developed over the last decade, then take lessons from initial
operations to make the aviation system even more vibrant. Success, in
many ways, will come from the priorities you set in this year's FAA
reauthorization bill and in your oversight of the agencies and
regulators.
As this Committee considers definitions for AAM in the FAA
reauthorization bill, we suggest it to be defined as the next
generation of inhabited aircraft with advanced automation, electric
propulsion and/or low noise signature that are intended to open new
opportunities for air transportation. We believe this definition
supports a broad portfolio of technologies for the limited purpose of
policy development.
The FAA's path
The FAA spent the last decade working across applicants,
researchers and standards bodies to create a thorough and well-designed
path for the design, certification, and operations of electric aircraft
that builds on the remarkable safety learnings from decades of
traditional aircraft certification projects. As the global eVTOL market
continues to expand, standing behind these key policies along with
consistent and reliable decision-making by the FAA will be crucial in
ensuring that the U.S. aviation industry continues to thrive.
At Joby, we applied for type certification with the FAA in 2018 and
since that time, thousands of key decisions have been documented across
the program. Joby is quickly moving into the implementation phase of
certification, and now has the majority of our area-specific
certification plans approved by the FAA. These plans cover crucial
aspects of Joby's aircraft design, performance, and safety features,
demonstrating our commitment to meeting or exceeding regulatory
requirements. By working closely with the FAA, Joby has ensured that
the novel technologies included in our aircraft design align with the
necessary airworthiness criteria and safety standards.
Our regular engagement with the FAA is built on the transparent and
collaborative relationship established over the last five years of our
certification program. As we move from policy development into
oversight execution, it is important for FAA certification resources to
be available to review test plans, witness testing and accept final
reports.
Continued U.S. leadership in both technology development and
regulatory definition requires minimizing unnecessary changes that
delay progress. Consistent decision-making by the FAA is vital not only
for the successful certification and integration of eVTOL aircraft into
the National Airspace System (NAS), but also to ensure the
competitiveness of the American aerospace industry in the global
market. Maintaining a stable and predictable regulatory environment is
key to securing America's leading position in the next era of aviation
technologies.
Foreign regulators in China and Europe are working to form their
own regulations for electric aviation. If the FAA fails to maintain its
leadership position, other countries will dictate how future aircraft
are manufactured and operated, putting American companies at a
disadvantage in the global market.
Following the FAA decision to regulate eVTOL aircraft as powered
lift, the agency needs to provide operating rules for this class of
aircraft. These rules will be issued through Special Federal Aviation
Regulations (SFAR), which the FAA has committed to delivering by
December 31, 2024.
We were pleased to hear that the agency's proposed SFAR has been
forwarded from FAA to DOT one month ahead of schedule, but there is
more to be done. We hope Congress will partner with us to ensure the
process is completed on time, as well as create an interim policy to
enable early commercial operations if the rulemaking process misses
this deadline or a company achieves type certification prior to rule
completion.
A long-term solution for the future of vertical aviation infrastructure
Joby appreciates the leadership of Chairman Garret Graves, Ranking
Member Rick Larsen and Ranking Member Dina Titus for ensuring passage
in the FY 2023 Omnibus of the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure
Modernization Act (AAIM Act), authorization for planning grants to
facilitate the investment in Advanced Air Mobility infrastructure. An
investment in community planning is an important step when thinking
about infrastructure, especially in considering how to maximize the
infrastructure that already exists.
Our national aviation heritage is anchored in infrastructure.
Thanks to decades of investment, the U.S. is home to nearly 13,000
airports and 6,000 heliports. This system, which is a mix of both
public and private infrastructure, has enabled our aviation industry to
flourish over the past 50 years. AAM will present new mobility options
for people in rural and urban communities and help revitalize much of
this infrastructure.
For the long-term success of the aviation industry, it is critical
that eVTOL aircraft can operate out of all forms of aviation
infrastructure--including airports and heliports--as well as permit new
sites to support industry growth. If eVTOL is unable to use existing
aviation infrastructure, it will drastically impact our nation's
ability to lead in the future of flight since it will require all new
infrastructure to be permitted for operations to begin.
We must have a clear pathway to day-one operations for existing
infrastructure. While we are pleased with the FAA's Office of Airports'
proactive approach to new entrants, a lack of clear direction and
guidance at the federal level, with respect to existing heliports and
airports, has resulted in confusion and ambiguity at the state and
local level. Our eVTOL aircraft, like most others undergoing type
certification, has been designed to use existing heliports and airports
on day one.
We would encourage Congress to establish a definition in U.S. Code
for heliports that indicates they are used or intended to be used by
any aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing. We believe that
existing frameworks for heliport design, planning, permitting and
approval are suitable both for heliports and future vertiports. As we
look to the future, we see vertiports as a type of heliport that can
meet community needs through appropriate noise standards and
limitations.\1\
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\1\ See, https://transportation.house.gov/calendar/
eventsingle.aspx?EventID=405816
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Workforce Development
We often focus on the transportation benefits made possible by AAM,
but the revolution in electric propulsion has widespread economic
benefits, including clean technology jobs in manufacturing and
operations. AAM is estimated to add nearly $1 trillion and 400,000 jobs
\2\ to the economies around the world that invest in it. At Joby, we
are committed to playing our part in driving this economic driver and
creating a more sustainable and efficient transportation system for
all.
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\2\ See, https://panetta.house.gov/sites/panetta.house.gov/files/
documents/2023.02.23_DOT_
AAM%20Leadership%20Letter.pdf
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The industry will need to grow its workforce, including skilled
manufacturing technicians, aircraft maintainers, new pilots, and new
ground staff. We're doing our part to cultivate a vibrant and diverse
workforce.
For example, we're partnering with Aviation Career & Technical
Education High School in New York City--a unique high school offering
rigorous instruction and equitable access to aviation curricula
followed by steady work as aircraft maintainers.
In Marina, we're working with Monterey Bay Drone, Automation and
Robotics Technology (DART) Initiative and the James Irvine Foundation
to establish apprenticeship programs that include paid on-the-job
training for Salinas Valley locals interested in upskilling.
We're laying the groundwork for a pilot academy that will radically
reduce the economic cost of becoming a commercial pilot and lower the
barrier to entry.
As this Committee considers FAA Reauthorization, we kindly request
policies that broaden access to aviation careers, such as the expansion
of the Aviation Workforce Development Grant, decrease the cost of
flight training, fund apprenticeship programs, and explore new
technologies, such as the use of virtual reality for flight training.
Ensuring Maturation of Industry after Commercialization
We are grateful to Chairman Garrett Graves, Congresswoman Sharice
Davids, and members of the Committee for introducing and passing the
``Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Coordination and Leadership Act,'' which
created an interagency working group intended to coordinate efforts
``necessary for [the] maturation of the AAM ecosystem in the United
States, particularly passenger-carrying aircraft.''
We support the interagency working group's efforts, as codified, to
``grow new transportation options; amplify economic activity and jobs;
advance environmental sustainability and new technologies; and support
emergency preparedness and competitiveness \3\.'' Collaboration and
information-sharing among the members of the interagency working group
is crucial to long-term maturation of eVTOLs, as regulatory, policy and
infrastructure decisions made today can support the future growth and
development of the AAM ecosystem.
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\3\ See, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/
516/text
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We hope the working group will expand upon the strong foundation of
U.S. government leadership on AAM technology and commercialization
displayed by NASA, through its ongoing research with industry partners
into acoustics, airspace modernization, and aircraft operations; and
the Department of Defense's Agility Prime program, which has actively
invested in emerging aviation technology development for many years.
Conclusion
This is a defining moment for aviation--the first propulsion
revolution the world has seen since the dawn of the Jet Age, with the
potential to bring people and goods closer together than ever before,
in both rural and urban communities. As cleaner and quieter aircraft
are introduced into the market, it is imperative that the United States
continue to set the global standard for aviation safety while
championing the industry's transition to climate-neutral methods of
flight.
I thank you for your time, your passion, and your leadership.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Bevirt.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Christopher Bradshaw for 5
minutes of testimony.
TESTIMONY OF CHRISTOPHER BRADSHAW, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BRISTOW GROUP INC., ON BEHALF OF THE
HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
Mr. Bradshaw. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Cohen, and
members of the committee, thank you for having me here today.
My name is Chris Bradshaw, and I am the president and CEO
of Bristow Group. It is my pleasure to be here today on behalf
of our trade association, Helicopter Association International.
As the global leader in innovative and sustainable vertical
flight solutions, Bristow makes the world a safer and more
productive place by delivering safe, efficient, and reliable
aviation solutions around the globe.
I am here to talk about our organization and the pragmatic
approach we are taking as an experienced vertical lift operator
entering the field of advanced air mobility, or AAM. First,
though, I would like to take a moment to talk about safety,
which is Bristow's number-one core value and our highest
operational priority.
This is evidenced by the long-running success of our Target
Zero safety culture and safety-focused approach in all that we
do. New technology is revolutionary, but safety and operational
excellence are evolutionary. In the case of Bristow, our safety
culture and safety management system have evolved and matured
over 75 years since the founding of the company in Alaska in
1948.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Bristow employs more than
3,000 people, and has a presence on 6 continents with aircraft
in 17 different countries. Here in the U.S., our main bases of
operation are in south Louisiana where we provide personnel
transportation and search-and-rescue services to our commercial
clients and the U.S. Government throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition to our offshore energy services business, we
provide dedicated search-and-rescue services to sovereign
nations, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and
elsewhere.
Today, I want to talk about AAM and how Bristow fits into
that emerging landscape. We believe AAM will play an important
part in the future of aviation. These new technologies have the
potential to make certain missions more efficient, quieter,
more accessible, and more sustainable. Indeed, we believe AAM
represents a powerful opportunity to accelerate sustainability
within our industry.
We view AAM as a natural extension of Bristow's core
competencies, and we see multiple avenues for Bristow to
participate in the emerging value chain. We think AAM will
first serve the cargo and logistics needs of our existing
customers with personnel transport coming later.
Bristow believes an incremental approach to adoption--think
crawl, walk, run--is best. We also see various opportunities to
expand vertical flight services into entirely new markets,
including regional air mobility and eventually more urban air
mobility missions as well.
Bristow has strategically partnered with multiple leading
AAM equipment manufacturers that are developing aircraft
targeted to fulfill different mission profiles. At the core of
these partnerships, Bristow intends to lend critical safety,
operational, certification, and logistics expertise to help
guide the launch of these new solutions.
It is very exciting to be sitting here next to Kyle Clark
of BETA Technologies. We intend to purchase up to 50 of their
eVTOL and/or eCTOL aircraft, and we look forward to providing
personnel transport and logistic services, utilizing these
aircraft once they are certified.
With all of this potential, we need the FAA's support.
Bristow has a good working relationship with the FAA, and we
are grateful for the work they do day in and day out to oversee
the safe and proper functioning of our industry. As it relates
to AAM and the introduction of new technologies, though, we
fear the U.S. regulatory framework lags in comparison to that
of other global jurisdictions.
We know that the FAA's number-one priority is safety. That
is our number-one priority as well. Yet, opaque processes and
shifting timelines are less than ideal. Additional clarity and
expediency from the FAA are required to support U.S. leadership
in a competitive global marketplace.
Additionally, there is a need to attract and develop the
next generation of the aviation workforce that will be required
to pilot and maintain these aircraft. We are asking, with
Congress' help, that the FAA adopt the ICAO guidance that
provides a logical and pragmatic approach to operating powered-
lift aircraft in the national airspace and would help to
address the anticipated AAM workforce shortage as the new
technology enters operation.
We also support the expansion of the workforce development
grant that was begun in the last FAA reauthorization.
Specifically, we would like to see rotorcraft included in the
eligible pool of these critically important grants.
At Bristow, we are very excited to be lending our expertise
as a mature and proven operator of vertical lift aircraft to
drive innovation with our partners in the AAM space. AAM and
these next-generation propulsion systems and technologies are
essential to the longstanding sustainable growth in the
vertical flight industry.
It is my privilege to be here today, and I look forward to
answering your questions. Thank you.
[Mr. Bradshaw's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Christopher Bradshaw, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the Helicopter
Association International
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and Members of the
Committee, thank you for having me here today. My name is Chris
Bradshaw, and I am the President and CEO of Bristow Group. It is my
pleasure to be here on behalf of our trade association, Helicopter
Association International (HAI). As the global leader in innovative and
sustainable vertical flight solutions, Bristow makes the world a safer
and more productive place by delivering safe, efficient and reliable
aviation solutions around the globe. I am here today to talk about our
organization and the pragmatic approach we are taking as an experienced
vertical lift operator entering the field of advanced air mobility--or
AAM.
First, though, I would like to take a moment to talk about safety,
which is Bristow's #1 core value and our highest operational priority.
At Bristow, we each own safety, every day. This is evidenced by the
long-running success of our Target Zero safety culture and safety-
focused approach in all that we do. Safety drives our business, and it
will continue to be our North Star as we expand our service offerings
to existing customers and enter new markets operating the next
generation in aviation technologies. New technology is revolutionary,
but safety and operational excellence are evolutionary. In the case of
Bristow, our safety culture and safety management system have evolved
and matured over 75 years, since the founding of the Company in Alaska
in 1948.
Headquartered in Houston, TX, and publicly traded on the NYSE,
Bristow employs more than 3,000 people and has a presence on six
continents, with customers in 17 countries. Here in the U.S., our main
bases of operations are in South Louisiana, where we provide personnel
transportation and search and rescue services to our commercial clients
and the U.S. government throughout the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to
our offshore energy services business, we provide dedicated search and
rescue services to sovereign nations, including the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, the Dutch Caribbean region and elsewhere. Recently, we
were proud to fly the NATO Secretary General, the Norwegian Prime
Minister, the European Commission President and the CEO of Equinor to
and from an offshore platform in the North Sea. We are honored by the
faith our customers place in us, and we are committed to earning that
trust anew every day.
Today, I want to talk about AAM and how Bristow fits into that
emerging landscape. We believe AAM will play an important part in the
future of aviation. These new technologies have the potential to make
certain missions more efficient, quieter, more accessible, and more
sustainable. Indeed, we believe AAM represents a powerful opportunity
to accelerate sustainability within our industry. We view AAM as a
natural extension of Bristow's core competencies of safe, efficient and
reliable vertical flight solutions, and we see multiple avenues for
Bristow to participate in the emerging AAM value chain. One of those
avenues will be servicing our existing customers in a broader way. As
we expand our services, we will do so prudently and safely, as we
always have. We think AAM will first serve the cargo and logistics
needs of our customers, with personnel transport coming later. Bristow
believes an incremental approach to AAM adoption (think ``crawl, walk,
run'') is best. We also see various opportunities to expand vertical
flight services into entirely new markets including regional air
mobility and eventually more urban air mobility operations as well.
One size does not fit all. Bristow has strategically partnered with
multiple leading AAM equipment manufacturers that are developing
aircraft targeted to fulfill different mission profiles.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
At the core of these partnerships, Bristow intends to lend critical
safety, operational, certification and logistics expertise to guide the
launch of these new solutions. It is very exciting to be sitting next
to Kyle Clark of BETA Technologies. We intend to purchase up to 50 of
their eVTOL and / or eCTOL aircraft in the near future, and we look
forward to providing personnel transport and logistics services
utilizing these aircraft once they are certified.
With all this potential, we need the FAA's support. Bristow has a
good working relationship with the FAA, and we are grateful for the
great work they do day-in and day-out to oversee the safe and proper
functioning of our industry. As it relates to AAM and the introduction
of new technologies though, we fear the U.S. regulatory framework lags
in comparison to that of other global jurisdictions. We know that the
FAA's #1 priority is safety. That is our #1 priority as well. Yet,
opaque processes and shifting timelines are less than ideal. Additional
clarity and expediency from the FAA are required to support U.S.
leadership in a competitive global marketplace. Additionally, there is
a need to attract and develop the next generation of the aviation
workforce that will be required to pilot and maintain these aircraft.
We are asking--with Congress's help--that the FAA adopt the
recommendations included in ICAO Document 10103 ``Guidance on the
Implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices for Tilt-
rotors.'' This document provides a logical and pragmatic approach to
operating powered lift aircraft in the National Airspace and would help
to address the anticipated AAM workforce shortage as the new technology
enters operation. We also support the expansion of the Workforce
Development Grant program that was begun in the last FAA
Reauthorization. Specifically, we would like to see rotorcraft included
in the eligible pool of these critically important grants.
At Bristow, we are excited to be lending our expertise as a mature
and proven operator of vertical lift aircraft to drive innovation with
our partners in the AAM space. We look forward to the opportunities it
will bring to provide efficient and sustainable flight solutions to our
customers. AAM and these next generation propulsion systems and
technologies are essential to the long-term sustainable growth in the
vertical flight industry.
It is my privilege to be here today, and I look forward to
answering your questions. Thank you.
Appendix
Helicopter Association International (HAI)
Advanced Air Mobility Industry Advisory Council (AAM-IAC)
Roadmap of Advanced Air Mobility Operations 2023
Summary of Priorities
Infrastructure
Near-Term
The existing system of airports and heliports should be
leveraged to support initial operations when and where possible, while
planning for and beginning to deploy new infrastructure. The industry
should continue engaging with airport/heliport managers, FSDOs, ADOs,
state DOTs, airport associations, ATC, local governments, metropolitan
planning organizations, and others.
Both public and private infrastructure should comprise
the AAM network to enable the industry to begin initial operations
quickly and to scale effectively.
Charging stations will be required to support early
operations. The industry would benefit from a better understanding of
charging requirements, supporting electrical infrastructure, and any
potential limitations that would affect initial AAM operations.
Standards, guidance, and policies for installing AAM charging
infrastructure need to be developed.
Mid-Term
The industry will need to start developing and
understanding, in concert with the power industry, the necessary grid
structures to support AAM. Standards, guidance, and policies for
installing AAM charging infrastructure need to be developed and planned
accordingly. We recommend an in-depth, joint (including aircraft
manufacturers, operators, infrastructure companies, electric utility
companies, electricity regulatory bodies, and localities) study on the
electricity demand for each type of vertiport, including the number of
stands and electric charging stations. Additionally, methods to ensure
that all types of AAM vehicles will be able to utilize any charging
station, such as universal charging ports, should continue to be
developed.
The industry should communicate and engage with
international manufacturers, regulators, authorities, and operators to
prioritize global harmonization, where appropriate. While the United
States is gearing toward AAM support and activities, other nations are
equally seeking to materialize a robust AAM ecosystem.
The industry can use digital twins of cities to support
data-driven decision making related to infrastructure planning, zoning,
route optimization, and asset management. These tools will be critical
for cost avoidance, identification of second-order impacts, and
enhanced productivity. Further, digital twins can help policymakers and
the public visualize the impact of AAM on their communities.
Far-Term
Communication capabilities such as vehicle-to-vehicle
(V2V) and vehicle-to-ground (V2G) are vital elements of AAM operations
and will need substantial support and facilitation to scale for a dense
AAM ecosystem.
New infrastructure such as vertiports will require the
combined efforts of industry and regulators to facilitate the entry of
new markets and operations (both VFR and IFR) into the AAM ecosystem.
Regulations and Airspace Use
Near-Term
Regulations must facilitate a smooth transition from
existing ground infrastructure to new infrastructure or a combination
of both.
The industry should continue to build partnerships with
stakeholder authorities (e.g., EASA, ICAO, FAA, NASA) and other
interested parties for airspace development for AAM operations. The FAA
airworthiness regulations 14 CFR Part 23, 27, and 29 can be utilized to
support AAM aircraft certification activities. However, the use of
eVTOL in Part 135 commercial operations requires additional clarity and
adaptation due to the unique operational characteristics. The FAA's
recent notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to incorporate powered lift
(eVTOL) aircraft into its regulatory definitions covering air carriers
(Docket No. FAA-2022-1563; Notice No. 23-03) is a necessary first step,
but the FAA must also define the aircrew and operating rules.
Current regulations restrict existing infrastructure such
as heliports due to the rigidity of the language. There is a
considerable portion of existing infrastructure that is not covered by
current regulations that could be leveraged for initial AAM operations.
AAM operations will benefit greatly from direct routing
due to power limitations. In a dense AAM ecosystem with numerous
operations requiring specific routes, the industry will need to create
far-term routing solutions harmonized with all AAM capabilities.
Routing procedures should consider all operational areas (urban, rural,
mixed) and differentiate between high-density and low-density flight
areas. Integration of the airspace, rather than segregation of
operations, should be the goal.
Mid-Term
Airspace regulations for AAM operations must be flexible
and performance based. As current IFR rules may not be sufficient, a
hybrid set of flight rules, i.e., Digital Flight Rules (DFR), to
accompany VFR and IFR operations may be more beneficial to AAM.
AAM could initially leverage existing routing procedures,
such as low-altitude helicopter routing, but this may not be adequate
as operations scale. Aircraft-generated sound should be considered when
developing routing, especially within populated areas such as cities,
and attention will need to be placed on community equity.
Far-Term
While legacy regulations related to reserve requirements
may be adequate for some operators, energy reserve requirements must
capture the scope of all operators and types of operations, whether
fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or a hybrid of both. Destination intentions,
weather considerations, unique airport operations, local geography, and
population density will all play a role in determining energy reserve
requirements (e.g., landing as a fixed wing at an airport, or as a
rotary wing at a pad).
PSUs could increasingly become a vital part of traffic
management in AAM and may be the primary driver of avoiding conflict
with other flight operators in the same airspace.
Design and Certification
Near-Term
The AAM community may utilize existing maintenance
training standards for initial operations until exemptions or alternate
means of compliance are in place. Operators will pull from the existing
CPL(A), CPL(H), or CPL(PL) communities with pilots undergoing
transition training.
Aircraft OEMs and regulators should align efforts to
address the unique certification requirements of AAM aircraft designs.
It would be a mistake to try to fit these aircraft into helicopter or
airplane type certification standards. Aircraft performance
capabilities are among the driving factors in aircraft type
certification.
Insurance coverage will be required for addressing AAM's
unique risk exposures. Industry and partners should begin discussions
with the insurance industry to identify risk assessment and mitigation
for AAM operations.
Maintenance requirements must be addressed to enable
early entry into commercial operations. Industry OEMs should determine
the required maintenance for these unique aircraft and work with
regulators to develop policy for maintenance providers.
Mid-Term
As operations scale, maintenance requirements and
standards may need revamping to accommodate the AAM systems and
technologies.
As various models of AAM aircraft are introduced,
considerations such as size of aircraft, type of operations, pilot
training, qualifications, and certifications will influence specific
insurance requirements.
Workforce training will need to support various
components of the entire AAM ecosystem, including pilots, mechanics,
traffic management, and engineers. Complexities of the varied types of
AAM aircraft may lead to the need for a pilot type rating for each
unique aircraft design.
Autonomy certification processes, standards, and
incorporation for scaling and safety need to be developed. The pilot
qualifications for remotely operated or autonomous aircraft should be
reviewed; the current commercial pilot shortage will be exacerbated if
we do not take the opportunity to review the appropriate skills needed
for operations that will not include a pilot on board.
Far-Term
Pilot and technician ab initio pathways need to be
created to address the looming workforce shortage.
Within a high-density AAM ecosystem, there will be a
significant number of flights per day, requiring different and unique
or new types of maintenance. There may be the need for on-site and off-
site maintenance teams at vertiports for emergency repairs and/or
extensive vehicle repairs, respectively.
There is a need to create a new workforce pipeline for
pilots, remote pilots, supervisors, mechanics, and additional ground or
aircrew personnel. This pipeline should be tailored to this new
technology rather than forcing workers into the existing pipelines for
pilots and mechanics, where a majority of what they learn and get
trained to do will not be applicable to eVTOL. Tailoring the
development of the AAM workforce to AAM requirements could create a
more efficient workforce pipeline.
AAM Enterprise
Near-Term
Community outreach campaigns will be critical to the
success of AAM. The industry must educate and influence the public,
policymakers, and non-AAM industry stakeholders, as well as pursue
efforts to align the various government agencies.
For the rotorcraft industry, eVTOL aircraft will simply
represent the addition of a new aircraft to their fleets, thus, current
operators have the full scope of vertical lift missions, including
safety and regulatory backgrounds.
Workforce remains an issue for initial operations, and
the industry will need to focus on building the workforce pipeline to
support future operations. There is utility in the outreach to other
rotorcraft/drone pilots and operators to raise an initial workforce for
early AAM operations.
Supporting programs can demonstrate the effectiveness of
AAM, including demonstration operations and ConOps testing.
Support programs must be developed to address member and
public engagement on the full scope of support and service-related
issues for AAM including fire codes (National Fire Protection
Association).
Mid-Term
There is a need to establish community talking points
focused on the importance of AAM to the aviation industry and
communities. Changes in state and municipal codes for AAM could be
expected to take five years or more and will depend on the acceptance
and support of communities.
Industry must monitor community reaction to the effects
of aircraft generated sound and promote the low sound profiles of AAM
aircraft through demonstrations and use cases to continue to build
momentum for community acceptance.
Far-Term
As the AAM industry scales, community engagement must
also scale, with continued education and outreach. The success of
initial piloted AAM operations will provide the public confidence in
both the safety and benefits as increasing levels of autonomy are
incorporated and introduced.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Bradshaw.
Next, the Chair recognizes Mr. Clint Harper for 5 minutes
of opening testimony.
TESTIMONY OF CLINT HARPER, ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY EXPERT AND
COMMUNITY ADVOCATE
Mr. Harper. Thank you.
I would like to start off today by acknowledging the
indigenous peoples whose ancestral homelands we are gathering
on today, as well as those who are living here today who
struggle to have their voices heard.
Good afternoon, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen,
Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the subcommittee. I am
honored to be here today with my esteemed colleagues.
For this testimony, I will draw upon my experiences in
working with State and local governments to achieve their
advanced air mobility goals. I am not here to represent the
views of any single jurisdiction. Instead, these insights are a
compilation of my observations while helping governments. My
hope is that the lessons that I have learned can be
incorporated into the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill.
As we approach an exciting new era in aviation, we must
recognize a sobering truth: Regrettably, today, the majority of
aviation benefits are enjoyed by those with higher disposable
incomes, while, on the other hand, negative externalities, such
as noise and emissions, are disproportionately endured by those
struggling to make ends meet.
We must make it our duty as a Nation to confront this
disparity and champion a more equitable and inclusive aviation
future for all citizens. I believe that advanced air mobility
represents a significant step in the right direction if
integrated into communities thoughtfully.
Equity must be at the forefront of our pursuit. Our
collective effort should aim to forge a future in which the
burdens and benefits of aviation are allocated in a more
equitable manner. In doing so, we can ensure that AAM's promise
of progress is truly shared by all.
As we navigate the intricate challenges of integrating new
mobility technologies into our landscapes, city staff must
remain focused on the complex and immediate pressing issues of
today. This often leaves little time to contemplate emerging
technologies that have yet to fully materialize.
Nevertheless, we must not overlook the potential of
integrating advanced air mobility into our transportation
system, as it offers us a rare chance to demonstrate what we
have learned from previous missteps in transportation-related
decisionmaking, where decisions favored the quality of life for
the privileged at the expense of the marginalized.
To address this, the reauthorization bill should provide
funds and resources for communities to advance the holistic
integration of advanced air mobility technologies. This aid
will help communities identify where advanced air mobility
interventions can provide solutions where the legacy
transportation system currently struggles. This includes
promoting the development of strategic plans, digital
infrastructure tools, multimodal integration, job creation, and
more.
In my nearly 6 years of collaborating with State and local
governments, it has become increasingly clear that city land-
use and transportation planners hold the keys to the successful
integration of advanced air mobility technologies. However,
traditional university planning programs often neglect aviation
topics. This oversight complicates collaboration and hinders
the seamless incorporation of aviation into broader
transportation solutions.
If we continue to isolate aviation from other modes, we
risk undermining our efforts to offer citizens the
transportation choices that best meet their needs. Therefore,
it is crucial that the reauthorization bill encourages
educational programs and resources that raise awareness of
aviation among traditional planning professionals. By
cultivating an understanding of aviation's role in the broader
transportation system, we can work together to build a better
and more interconnected future.
We must also recognize that we are not fully utilizing the
vast talent available to us. To tap into our collective
potential, we must promote diversity and inclusivity.
With this belief, I encourage that the reauthorization bill
includes provisions to foster a diverse aviation workforce,
provides training and education programs for transitioning
veterans, and incentivizes private companies and organizations
to support the recruitment of diverse talents. Through these
united efforts, we can ensure that our Nation's skies are
supported and navigated by the most skilled and capable
workforce.
As AAM operations draw closer, it is vital to ensure that
our current vertical lift infrastructure provides a foundation
for eVTOLs and supports the increased tempo of operations,
particularly in dense urban environments.
Current infrastructure is inadequate. Many heliports are
plagued by obstructions, lack of proper weather reporting as
well as current tools for risk identification, mitigation, and
communication. We must enhance our infrastructure to ensure
growth and progress.
The reauthorization bill should incorporate measures that
assist States and cities in better regulating and managing
their urban and rural aviation systems. A reinvigorated system
should stimulate competition, choice, and innovation through a
blend of public and private infrastructure that embodies
safety, accessibility, and promotes multimodal options,
especially transit and active transportation.
We stand at a crucial point in our transportation history.
Our decisions can serve to correct past mistakes that continue
to marginalize struggling communities today. This is an
opportunity for all transportation sectors to unite and build a
better system.
Thank you all for this opportunity. I eagerly anticipate
partnering with you to pioneer a new era in aviation and
transportation.
Thank you.
[Mr. Harper's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility Expert and
Community Advocate
Chairman S. Graves, Chairman G. Graves, Ranking Member Larsen,
Ranking Member Cohen, and Members of Congress--my name is Clint Harper.
I am an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) subject matter expert and community
advocate. I am honored to appear before you and this Committee to
discuss my experiences and takeaways from working with state and local
governments and assisting them with their Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)
integration goals in hopes that lessons learned may be captured in the
upcoming Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Reauthorization Bill.
But first, I would like to establish the context that shapes my
understanding of AAM and its role in a city's transportation system.
My aviation career started 24 years ago in the United States Air
Force. I first enlisted as a communication, navigation, and sensor
technician on the AC-130H Spectre Gunships. This highly specialized
airframe exposed me to various aircraft avionics and sensor systems. In
addition, it taught me how these aircraft systems work together to
enable safe passage through our National Airspace System (NAS) and in
complex contingency environments. In 2004, I was eager to learn
something new and was approved to re-train in the Airfield Management
career field. Airfield Managers start their careers as flight
dispatchers to learn the nuances of flight operations; this prepares
them to better understand how the airfield system plays into flight
planning, and to take on progressively more complex roles in airfield
operations, airfield management, and airfield capital improvement
planning. This experience provided a diverse and dynamic aviation
foundation to serve me well as I transitioned to civilian life
following my military retirement in 2014.
Like many transitioning veterans, I was hit with the reality that
despite my well-rounded experience within aviation, getting a job
interview proved difficult without a four-year degree. To remedy this,
I opted to enroll in the urban planning program at the University of
Utah. Since I was a child, I have always been fascinated with the built
environment and the various systems that make a city function. In this
program, I was exposed to the tireless work of land use planners,
transportation planners, urban designers, and economic developers. I
quickly grew a deep appreciation for the work that these planners
accomplished to advance solutions for some of society's most complex
issues, such as homelessness, transportation inequities, and food
insecurity. It did not take long for me to start questioning the role
of aviation in solving or exasperating these deeper societal problems.
I hastily concluded that aviation was disproportionately serving
higher-income professionals at the expense of lower-income and
marginalized communities around airports, where aviation-induced
negative externalities are concentrated; this disturbed me to the point
that I vowed to abandon my aviation experience and seek work in a more
traditional planning field.
I immersed myself in urban design, food system planning, and
transportation planning. I was reinvigorated at the prospect of
advancing human-scaled design that promoted multimodal solutions that
started and ended with an active transportation trip. With my remaining
GI Bill, I attended culinary school to learn more deeply how whole
fresh foods can serve as a cornerstone in healthy communities and the
built environment. Still, something was not sitting right with me.
Aviation provided me with so much, and ignoring the pull back towards
it wasn't easy. Finally, I confided in a mentor, and he asked why I
desired to leave aviation. After explaining myself, he suggested I re-
engage within the aviation industry and bring with me the lessons I
learned in planning. He assured me that there was a need within
aviation to resolve the very issues that I was so passionate about.
This conversation catalyzed my re-entry into aviation and sparked my
interest in furthering solutions around aviation and community
integration.
Upon my final semester, I obtained a job as a transportation
planning intern at the Utah Department of Transportation. As fate would
have it, my first day was also the first day of the Department's new
Aeronautics Director. As we spent time together during onboarding, he
listened to my ideas and vowed to give them a platform. He worked with
the Planning Director to create an innovative partnership where I would
split time between the Transportation Planning Division and the
Division of Aeronautics. While at the Planning Division, I advocated
for the recognition of aviation as a part of the broader transportation
system. While at the Aeronautics Division, I advocated for multimodal
solutions, equity, and economic development as a part of the Division's
aviation system planning efforts. I visited Associations of
Governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Economic Development
Districts, and local governments to educate them on the potential of
the airport resources within their respective jurisdictions. I helped
them see airports as transportation infrastructure waiting to be
activated to anchor new economic activity centers.
As this work gained momentum, a new buzz emerged around electric
aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Aircraft
manufacturers proposed a new transportation mode that would
revolutionize the transportation system. These electric vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft, more affectionally referred to today as
eVTOLs, promised to eliminate emissions, dramatically reduce noise, and
be more accessible to a broader range of residents; this was the
aviation opportunity to blend my passion for aviation and land use /
transportation planning. I immediately got to work educating
communities on AAM and how we might prepare.
Unfortunately, cities had grown weary of new mobility technologies.
Ride-sharing services and electric scooters launched and scaled rapidly
in cities in 2012 and 2017. Without collaboration and an opportunity to
properly plan, cities struggled to understand the impacts on safety,
the environment, and infrastructure. These events flagged a need for
cities to understand and prepare for new mobility technology, such as
AAM, while also protecting community interests.
The City of Los Angeles led in this regard when it created Urban
Movement Labs (UML), a transportation incubator designed to foster
innovation and collaboration between government, industry, and the
community. UML was launched with the goal of bringing together
stakeholders from across the mobility industry to address common
challenges and opportunities. City officials recognized that they
needed to work more closely with industry partners to address these
challenges and create a more sustainable and equitable transportation
system.
Advanced Air Mobility became part of UML's portfolio in late 2020.
In early 2021, I was hired as the program's Advanced Air Mobility
Fellow. My role involved engaging with city officials, industry
partners, and community stakeholders to explore the technical,
regulatory, and policy challenges of integrating AAM into the urban
transportation system. Some of the specific activities that I led
included hosting a series of AAM-focused outreach events with
community-based organizations, transportation advocacy groups, and
other stakeholders; as well as collaborating with the FAA, NASA, and
other jurisdictions to identify regulatory challenges and
opportunities; and finally, working with AAM industry partners to
identify potential use cases and operational scenarios for AAM in urban
environments.
In this role, I was led by some of the most knowledgeable,
thoughtful, and compassionate leaders across all planning disciplines.
I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to learn from them and to
have their leadership shape who I am today. Not only did I get to work
with the great staff within the City of Los Angeles, but I also enjoyed
the opportunity to interact and collaborate with cities around the
globe as they also explored the integration of AAM technologies into
their transportation systems.
With this context, the following sections detail my observations
with recommendations that are aggregated from my entire body of work. I
hope you find these insights helpful and actionable as you consider the
FAA Reauthorization Bill and the role of AAM in reshaping our cities
for a more sustainable future.
Observation 1: Today, aviation users enjoy benefits to the detriment of
residents who are the least likely to have the means to access
aviation services. Conversely, those with the least access to
aviation services are more likely to bear the burden of
aviation's negative externalities.
Airport Economic Impact Studies across the nation communicate the
economic benefits of airports and promote airports as `economic
engines.' Airport supporters herald these results as reasons why
continued support for the airport is vital to the community. What is
often lost and not studied in these reports is precisely who and who is
not benefiting from aviation-enabled economic benefits. In the paper,
The Spatial Distribution of Airport-Related Economic Activity, the
author explores the link between airports and economic impact at the
regional scale. Findings show that economic benefits for many airports
are often disproportionately concentrated far enough away from the
airport where negative externalities are no longer a quality-of-life
factor. These findings mean that those suffering from exposure to noise
and emissions are less likely to enjoy economic benefits. Because
communities adjacent to neighborhoods are often low-income,
marginalized communities, they are also less likely to have the
economic means to access airport services directly. Access to benefits
and freedom from negative externalities are simply not equitably
distributed for most airports.
The role of multimodal connectivity in encouraging equitable
advanced air mobility outcomes is paramount in fostering a sustainable
and inclusive transportation ecosystem. By integrating different modes
of transportation, such as public transit and active transportation,
good multimodal connectivity enables seamless and efficient travel for
people across various socio-economic backgrounds. This holistic
approach to surface transportation and aviation infrastructure offers
potential to bridge the gap between urban and rural communities,
providing access to essential services and employment opportunities
while fostering social cohesion. Moreover, it reduces the divide that
often exacerbates inequitable outcomes, ensuring that the benefits of
advanced air mobility are shared more evenly. By promoting universal
accessibility and affordability, multimodal connectivity plays a vital
role in mitigating disparities in transportation, ultimately
contributing to a more just and sustainable society. A multimodal hub
that features an aviation component ensures that infrastructure
investments benefit all other users of that transportation hub.
Recommendation 1: Seek to balance who is burdened by aviation with who
benefits while prioritizing equity in all AAM ecosystem areas
and multimodal development.
It is recognized that the FAA's number one priority is safety.
Therefore, looking at safety through the lens of equity is helpful.
Scheduled passenger airline service holds the title of the safest mode
of transportation. Crash risk mitigation is maximized for aircrew,
passengers, and non-participating bystanders. This mitigation is
accomplished through harmonizing various parts of Title 14 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter 1.
The FAA identifies five ecosystem areas of AAM: Aircraft, Airspace,
Operations, Infrastructure, and Community. These ecosystem areas
correspond with various sections of Title 14, CFR, Chapter 1.
A dive into 14 CFR, Chapter 1 shows that the advancement of
aviation safety in scheduled passenger airline service has been
achieved through the harmonious interplay of numerous parts of the CFR
that correspond with the FAA's five AAM ecosystem areas. These
regulations create a comprehensive framework that ensures the highest
levels of safety. Unfortunately, this same level of harmony is not
achieved as clearly for Part 135, On-Demand and Commuter Operations,
and Part 91, General Aviation; this is especially true for private
infrastructure where regulatory enforcement and airspace protections
are not evenly applied (explained in more detail in Observation 4). To
be clear, I do not recommend applying the same rigorous standards from
Part 121 to Part 135 but challenge the FAA to be deliberate and seek
out similar harmonization across the different areas.
For example, a Part 121 operation, if experiencing engine troubles
upon takeoff, can rest easier knowing that Part 121 uses aircraft
certified under Part 25. Part 25 ensure that aircraft feature one-
engine inoperative capabilities for continued safe, albeit degraded,
flight. The airspace surrounding airports accommodating Part 25
aircraft and Part 121 operations is protected to prevent obstacles and
hazards through Part 77. Part 139 ensures that the receiving airport is
capable of responding to the incident and features more stringent
design standards to ensure the airfield environment is safe for a
variety of emergency scenarios.
In comparison, for eVTOL certification, the FAA proposes a
requirement for a controlled emergency landing, yet it is not defined
where this landing is likely to occur. If following Part 135
precedents, an emergency landing will occur out in the community. Do
city leaders and community members know where the location of a
possible emergency eVTOL landing may occur, should they experience
power issues on takeoff? This risk should not just be mitigated on the
aircraft, as the proposed airworthiness criteria addresses, but should
also be addressed in airspace protections, infrastructure design, and
operation specifications specific to urban hazards. Another concern is
that in the event of an emergency landing away from the heliport or
vertiport, will the community's fire department be able to respond to
the incident with the right equipment, resources, and trained crews? It
is this harmonization that the FAA should be seeking in addressing the
entire AAM ecosystem. While this section's focus is on crash risk
mitigation, equity concerns also include noise and emissions exposure,
access to economic benefits, freedom from negative externalities, and
more.
Legislation should be comprehensive in its approach to supporting
AAM integration into communities. Funding for research into developing
strategies to maximizing equitable outcomes should be included in
reauthorization legislation. Results from these studies should inform
strategies to extend AAM services to underserved communities, including
suburban and rural areas, particularly in a natural disaster where
aviation infrastructure and services are critical to disaster
resiliency.
Observation 2: Cities are struggling with the complex issues of today
and have little bandwidth to dedicate to emerging, but not yet
real, technologies.
Urban Movement Labs was created to explore emerging transportation
technologies and help city staff remain focused on day-to-day issues.
By creating a dedicated ``innovation group,'' local jurisdictions can
explore new technologies and consider their implications on the
community before being confronted with an urgent need for responsive
policies and regulations. Funding this type of effort is challenging
and often not included in city budgets as resources are understandably
allocated to present and more immediate issues.
Furthermore, finding staff with a mix of land use and
transportation planning experience is relatively easy as most
university planning programs include courses, and even specialty
tracks, on such topics. In a typical transportation planning course,
students are exposed primarily to surface transportation modes, such as
street and highway planning, transit planning, and active
transportation planning. Absent from these courses, though, is
aviation. Many large and medium cities support at least one airport,
and often many. However, it is unfortunate that these airports exist in
silos where aviation is the sole focus within the silo, and other
transportation modes are the focus outside of the silo. This phenomenon
is reflected in planning programs across the country. If students do
desire an aviation planning course, or even an introduction to
aviation, they must seek an aviation-specific program.
Non-profits like Urban Movement Labs, the Community Air Mobility
Initiative, AeroX, MassAutonomy, and the newly formed Advanced Air
Mobility Institute aim to bridge this gap and support communities in
advancing technology fostering holistic integration. Non-profits,
however, do not create guiding policies within cities; this is a
function reserved for cities. Some communities might engage consultant
support, but to even do this effectively, project managers must have a
baseline foundation of aviation knowledge that is largely absent today.
Finally, cities have developed tools to manage new mobility
technologies. Los Angeles Department of Transportation's Mobility Data
Specification (MDS) is an example of such a tool. Digital
infrastructure tools, like the MDS, are playing a crucial role in
helping cities plan for future enabled by new mobility technologies. As
cities continue to grapple with the rapid growth of new mobility
technologies, such as ride-hailing, bike-sharing, electric scooters,
and AAM, they need better tools and data to manage these services
effectively. The MDS provides a standardized format for sharing
information about mobility services, allowing cities to collect and
analyze data from different transportation providers in a consistent
and transparent manner. This helps cities to identify trends, monitor
compliance with regulations, and improve urban transportation planning.
By promoting transparency and accountability among transportation
providers, the MDS and other digital infrastructure tools are helping
cities to create a more sustainable and equitable transportation system
that benefits everyone.
Recommendation 2: The FAA Reauthorization Bill should incentivize
cities to dedicate resources to exploring and engaging with
AAM-specific issues related to challenges within local
transportation systems, and the further development of digital
infrastructure tools.
This can be accomplished through targeted grants and fellowships
that fund staff dedicated to understanding the implications of AAM on
urban environments. The legislation should also consider ways to
incentivize university planning programs to include aviation courses.
In the short term, to address more immediate needs, legislation
should consider ways to fund non-profit organizations that provide
research and technical support to cities and educate staff on roles and
responsibilities as they begin to integrate AAM technologies; this
might include work that identifies where a city's transportation system
is struggling to meet critical needs, such as emergency and medical
transport, and disaster response. For example, congested freight
corridors might benefit from an AAM intervention if it can reduce
exposure to truck noise and emissions along busy corridors. Likewise,
an underutilized and struggling small general aviation airport might
benefit from a land use and transportation strategy that leverages
connectivity opportunities to create jobs and economic activity centers
made possible by new AAM-enabled connectivity. Furthermore, funding to
further develop digital infrastructure tools, specific to AAM, but
compatible with existing toolsets is critical for cities to oversee AAM
operations and promote the safety and wellbeing of all residents.
In conclusion, the pending FAA Reauthorization Bill presents a
unique opportunity to create incentives and funding opportunities that
further community interests in AAM technologies. Cities must have
access to resources to explore and engage with residents and AAM
interventions to leverage these new technologies for each locality's
unique benefit.
Observation 3: Federal, State, and local aviation professionals are
often unaware of how aviation fits into the larger
transportation system.
While cities have identified a need to be more attuned to aviation
integration matters, they should not shoulder all of this work.
Instead, aviation professionals at the State and Federal levels should
also be more aware of aviation's role in the larger transportation
system. It is recognized that the FAA has Congressionally mandated
jurisdictional authority of the National Airspace System (NAS),
however, when community members have an issue with decisions that
expose them to more aviation noise and emissions, their first stop is
usually not the FAA, but their local elected officials and city staff;
this often results in a scenario where FAA staff struggle to understand
and empathize with local sensitivities. This struggle makes creating
holistic and collaborative solutions difficult for all involved
stakeholders.
Recommendation 3: The FAA Reauthorization Bill should fund educational
programs and resources to increase the awareness of aviation
professionals on how aviation fits into larger transportation
systems and how residents perceive aviation's negative
externalities and benefits.
This could be accomplished by providing additional staff and
resources to FAA offices that regularly interact with local
jurisdictions to understand local sensitivities better. This effort
should be ongoing, as one-off studies often focus on a small number of
present-day issues where in reality, problems have evolved and morphed
over time, masking root causes. Ongoing dialogue and listening sessions
can help FAA staff develop responses and interventions to an issue's
root cause or help to explain why a decision was made and how it
ultimately benefits the community.
There is also an opportunity for universities with aviation-
specific programs to develop community-focused planning courses that
provide meaningful training and understanding of local community
sensitivities; this could help bridge the gap between general planning
programs and specialty disciplines like airport operations, air traffic
control, and airspace regulations. In turn, this would provide better-
prepared professionals to advance the FAA's mission of safety and
efficiency in U.S. airspace systems while promoting an understanding of
local community interests and needs through the lens of equity.
In summary, we must consider both the technical aspects and public
acceptance criteria when planning future AAM initiatives. The pending
FAA Reauthorization Bill is a unique opportunity to create incentives
and funding opportunities that further community interests and AAM
technologies. With thoughtful planning, we can ensure the success of
new innovative aviation approaches while still maintaining public
acceptability.
Observation 4: We are evolving from an unstable infrastructure
foundation.
Despite the recent hype around the term ``Urban Air Mobility,'' we
must recognize that urban aviation has a long history in cities, dating
back to the 1950s. However, the current structure of urban aviation has
been largely built on an unstable foundation. Heliports are not always
built to FAA design standard. Even when they are, they are rarely
inspected regularly to ensure they continue to meet design standards.
As a result, it takes little time to find heliport facilities rife with
obstruction hazards, equipment in disrepair, and other undocumented and
unmitigated risks.
Today, an airport or heliport is entered into the FAA's Airport
Master Record system via the submission of the FAA Form 7480-1, Notice
for Construction, Alteration, and Deactivation of Airports. This form
collects all pertinent information to populate the FAA Form 5010, which
is then used as a reference data sheet that contains information
relevant to safe flight, including landing surface dimensions, known
flight hazards, noise-sensitive areas, and other information.
Airports today are typically inspected every one to three years for
smaller general aviation airports and annually for large airports
supporting scheduled passenger airline service. Information on each
airport's 5010 entry is updated to ensure operators have the most up-
to-date information. In the interim, for new or short-term hazards,
airport operators communicate risk to aircrews via the Notice to Air
Missions (NOTAM) system. The importance of this system made national
news in January when the NOTAM system experienced a system-wide outage,
forcing the FAA to issue a `ground stop' across the nation.
Heliports, on the other hand, are typically not part of the
National Plan of Integrated Airport System, nor are they typically part
of a Statewide Aviation System Plan. 99% of heliports are privately
developed and operated. They are not subject to a rigorous inspection
protocol where new risks are identified and communicated to aircrews.
Furthermore, most heliports are not part of the NOTAM system. Operators
often rely on local knowledge and experience to anticipate hazards and
risks. When the 5010 database is consulted, it is possible that
information is out of date or inaccurate, sometimes by decades. A 2019
NASA report (ACN: 1599969) estimated that 1,600 to 1,800 heliports in
the United States are not included in the 5010 database. If a heliport
does not exist in the 5010 system, new airspace entrants, including
eVTOL operators, will not be aware of their existence and associated
hazards.
Some states, such as California, inspect hospital heliports, but
staffing and resource constraints still make this task challenging.
Many city officials are unaware of the inherent risks in today's legacy
system; those that are aware need help to find resources and trained
staff to remedy the issue. This reality may be perceived as acceptable
today, likely because the relatively low tempo of urban aviation
operations makes the risk probability of an incident low. However, as
operations scale, these unmitigated risks threaten to expose residents
to aviation hazards on an unprecedented scale. For example, the Uber
Elevate White Paper, Fast-Forwarding to a Future of On-Demand Urban Air
Transportation, states that on-demand charter and commuter operations
(operated under 14 CFR Part 135) have twice the fatality rate of
privately operated cars. This statistic indicates that risk probability
within urban environments may be higher than we know.
In the 2021 paper, A Retrospective & Historical Analysis of
Vertical Lift Infrastructure, the authors explored the role of
infrastructure in helicopter accidents. In the majority of the reviewed
accidents that occurred on heliports, infrastructure was identified as
a common key factor. Obstructions were the most common issue. Facility
design and size were a factor in 90% and 40% of accidents,
respectively. Wind was a factor in 30% of accidents. These are
avoidable incidents through proper design, inspection, and risk
mitigation.
Recommendation 4: The FAA Reauthorization Bill should include measures
that help cities better regulate and manage urban aviation
systems that include private facilities, through inspections,
active risk mitigation, and communication.
Legislation should consider ways to reduce costs for states and
cities in meeting their obligation to provide a safe and efficient
urban aviation system containing private infrastructure where the FAA
does not have jurisdictional authority. This effort might include
supporting university planning programs with heliport (and future
vertiport) faculty design familiarization, inspection procedures, and
risk mitigation strategies. Funding organizations like NASA or even
non-profit organizations to help inventory and inspect infrastructure
to establish a new baseline before the implementation of AAM can serve
to reduce risk and set new precedent for safety.
Through these efforts, we can create a safe environment for
communities and encourage Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) development from
a strong foundation. Ultimately, this paves the way for adopting AAM
systems and a safe scaling to higher operation tempos in urban
environments.
Observation 5: The aviation industry is not taking advantage of
existing talent to the maximum extent possible.
All major media outlets frequently cover the aviation industry's
pilot shortage. However, what's often overlooked is the similar
shortage of all other supporting roles and functions. From maintainers
to dispatchers to air traffic controllers, many supporting functions
are not receiving the attention they deserve.
As outlined in my opening statement, much of my experience in this
space comes from my military service. Having spent much of my military
career in a contingency mode, dynamic and ongoing risk mitigation is a
critical part of safe operations. Unfortunately, many military Airfield
Managers are often faced with a typical response to their job
applications. Military airfield management is unjustifiably seen as
`different.' With this statement, transitioning veterans are bypassed
and unable to prove their value.
Furthermore, in addressing workforce challenges, diversity is
vital. I am very encouraged by the diversity that AAM is attracting.
Seeing women, people of color, and diverse backgrounds is a welcome
change to the aviation workforce landscape. The example that the
Choctaw Nation provides in its leadership is inspiring and similar
programs should be encouraged through funding and support.
Recommendation 5: The FAA Reauthorization Bill should include measures
to encourage diversity in the aviation workforce, provide
training and education programs for transitioning veterans, and
incentivize private companies and organizations to assist with
the recruitment of new personnel.
Diversity is a critical factor in successful operations when we
consider risk mitigation and safety. By having a diverse workforce, we
can better understand and respond to the nuances of different
communities. Furthermore, veterans often have a unique combination of
valuable experiences in the aviation industry. The wealth of knowledge
they bring from their respective branches should be encouraged through
measures such as the transitioning veteran training programs and
incentives for private companies.
By including funding and support measures in the FAA
Reauthorization Bill, we can ensure a well-rounded aviation workforce
is ready for AAM's challenges. Additionally, this would further bolster
an environment where equity, risk mitigation, and safety are top
priorities, allowing AAM systems to operate safely and securely.
Ultimately, this will enable communities from all walks of life to
enjoy the benefits of AAM-supported operations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, support from Congress for these recommendations will
help create a safe environment for communities and encourages the
development of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) from a strong foundation.
This foundation, in turn, will pave the way for adopting AAM systems
and a safe scaling to higher operation tempos in urban environments.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this vital matter. I am
confident that together we can create an environment where everyone can
take advantage of Advanced Air Mobility's incredible potential.
This testimony has been submitted as part of the pending FAA
Reauthorization Bill, and I am confident it will help ensure safety for
all communities affected by AAM operations. We must invest in our
infrastructure, our workforce, promote diversity, and provide
opportunities for our veterans to serve in critical aviation leadership
roles. Only then can we realize the incredible potential that this new
mode has to offer.
Thank you once again for allowing me to share my perspective. I
look forward to partnering with you to bring forth a new frontier in
aviation and transportation.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Harper.
I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record additional
testimony and material on AAM that we received from Supernal,
HAI, and Reliable Robotics, as well as AUVSI.
Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]
Letter of March 30, 2023, to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman, and Hon. Rick
Larsen, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
from Supernal, LLC, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Rudy Yakym III
March 30, 2023.
Hon. Sam Graves,
Chairman,
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, 2165 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515.
Hon. Rick Larsen,
Ranking Member,
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, 2163 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515.
Dear Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen,
Please accept this written testimony of Supernal, LLC (Supernal)
for the March 30, 2023 hearing docket. Supernal appreciates the
responsiveness and availability of your staff to discuss your ongoing
work to pass an FAA Reauthorization on-time.
Supernal is a U.S. manufacturer of electric vertical takeoff and
landing (eVTOL) aircraft with headquarters in Washington, DC and
research, engineering, and design facilities in California. What
distinguishes Supernal from other aircraft manufacturers is our
relationship to the Hyundai Motor Group, which guides our human-
centered approach to developing a more accessible and inclusive future
of mobility that is sustainable and multi-modal. Supernal is dedicated
to creating the most accessible mode of transportation for people with
disabilities, and creating an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem
that democratizes affordable access to transportation.
Our dedication to setting the industry standard for accessibility
in mobility is guiding our vehicle and infrastructure designs, the
policies and regulations we advocate for at all levels of government,
and our collaborative efforts with leading organizations and academic
institutions. As Supernal envisions this industry, AAM can create
equitable access to transportation for people of all races, ethnic
groups, geographies, socio-economic statuses, and people with
disabilities or who face significant challenges with existing
transportation options.
But AAM is about more than just novel aircraft. It is an ecosystem
of interconnected and interoperable infrastructure, technology, and
services that must function simultaneously in support of aircraft
operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). In order to thrive as
an industry, AAM will need to connect people living in exurban and
rural communities to the places they work. We believe the federal
government's role in creating a thriving AAM industry is twofold;
first, to enact timely policies and standards, and second, to ensure
robust and fair competition that best serves the public.
Standards and Policies
The FAA must complete regulations, guidance, and processes to
ensure that the AAM industry has the same certainty of the regulatory
path as traditional aviation. Short term, temporary regulatory actions,
such as the Special FAA Aviation Regulation, must address a safe
approach to the emerging technologies without the limiting assumptions
of old technology. The SFAR is an initial action that must be followed
by guidance and processes that embrace how new technologies meet the
demands of safe and sustainable transportation in and around our
cities. In addition, FAA leadership and staff must transform the
culture to focus on the safety value of AAM rather than the differences
between AAM and more traditional aviation technologies.
The FAA Engineering Brief on Vertiport standards must follow safety
objectives that address the characteristics of AAM aircraft without
over generalizing the performance characteristics of AAM aircraft.
Aviation regulations are most effective when they manage the current
safety risks while providing flexibility in the methods and
technologies used to address safety concerns as they evolve.
Ensuring Fair Competition and Accessibility
Just as important as creating the regulatory framework that will
enable safe integration of AAM aircraft into the NAS is the federal
government's role in ensuring fair competition and consumer
protections.
Supernal applauds Congress for including vertiport planning grants
in the FY2023 Omnibus Appropriations legislation. In some cases,
communities that could benefit the most from improved mobility lack the
resources necessary to attract operators, and these grants are a
definitive first step toward creating AAM's supporting infrastructure
ecosystem for the benefit of all. Supernal asks that as Congress
considers additional resources for AAM infrastructure during debates on
FAA Reauthorization, that you include the same kind of important
protections that have ensured the highest and most beneficial use of
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for decades by requiring
project sponsors who accept federal funding to maintain their
facilities as open to all safe and certificated operators, and set
rates in a way that is fair and transparent.
In order to thrive, AAM will need to connect people living in
exurban and rural communities to the places they work. In some cases,
communities that could benefit the most from improved mobility lack the
resources necessary to attract operators. The Small Community Air
Service Development Program (``SCASDP''), aids small communities in
addressing air service issues. SCASDP's eligibility criteria are
broader than the Essential Air Service (``EAS'') program and provide a
grant applicant the opportunity to self-identify its air service
deficiencies and propose an appropriate solution, while EAS is a direct
subsidy to air carriers and serves a statutorily limited universe of
eligible applicants. The SCASDP program's eligibilities are also broad
enough to enable communities to undertake air service development
activities, and not solely subsidizing seats. This existing program is
an opportune vehicle to provide interested communities with the
resources they need to create AAM partnerships, but would likely
require minor changes to definitions in statute.
AAM holds the potential of transforming how people with
disabilities travel. Historically, people with disabilities have found
flying on the airlines to be difficult and even dangerous, as evidenced
by the U.S.D.O.T. complaints portal. The novel designs of Advanced Air
Mobility aircraft create opportunities to make air travel more
accessible to previously underserved populations, including people with
disabilities. But there is currently no federal standard for
crashworthy wheelchairs, which means that even if a manufacturer wanted
to, the FAA could not approve a new in-cabin wheelchair or wheelchair
restraint device.
Section 432 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 directed a study
of the feasibility of in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems and how to
accommodate powered-lift wheelchairs. That study was completed in 2021
and it had two important findings: first, that nearly all existing
powered-lift wheelchairs exceed the FAA's horizontal impact standard
but that there is no wheelchair test data on vertical impact or
flammability performance. Second, the study concluded that it was
likely to be technically feasible to design a wheelchair that would
comply with all FAA standards, if data and guidance from the FAA were
more complete.
Given that the report mandate is now closed, Congress should take
the next steps to act on the study's findings. The FAA must test and
evaluate existing wheelchairs that meet similar automobile
crashworthiness standards to ascertain alignments and gaps. Once that
evaluation is complete, the FAA must partner with academia and industry
to provide the resources to design an FAA-compliant wheelchair and
wheelchair securement systems. Finally, the FAA must promulgate a
performance standard for crashworthiness and flammability performance
for wheelchairs and wheelchair securement systems, through rulemaking.
Congress has an opportunity to create a partnership between the FAA
and industry on research and development to better accommodate these
individuals as we develop the next generation of air transportation,
and Supernal asks that you consider resources necessary to do so.
Supernal shares many of the Committee's goals for this FAA
Reauthorization: integrating transformative, clean aviation
technologies into the NAS that will improve mobility for all. We
appreciate the opportunity to submit testimony, and would be pleased to
discuss any questions with you.
Report, ``Roadmap of Advanced Air Mobility Operations,'' Helicopter
Association International, February 2023, Submitted for the Record by
Hon. Rudy Yakym III
The 33-page report is retained in committee files and is available
online at https://rotor.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/
HAI_Advanced_Air_Mobility_Report_
04-07-2023.pdf.
Statement of Robert Rose, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Reliable Robotics Corporation, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Rudy
Yakym III
Chairman Garret Graves, Ranking Member Cohen, and members of the
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on
Aviation:
Thank you for holding this hearing to discuss how the upcoming
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization will address the
certification, operational approval, and integration of new entrants.
Operating the safest and most efficient aviation system in the world is
the FAA's mission, and new entrants are developing technologies that
will radically improve aviation safety. Fostering an innovative
environment that allows new safety-enhancing technologies to be
introduced to aircraft and the airspace system will save lives and
position the United States to continue to be the leader in aerospace
and aviation safety globally.
Reliable Robotics was founded in 2017 to develop and bring to
market aviation safety-enhancing technologies, including auto-land,
auto-taxi, and auto-takeoff, as well as high-precision navigation and
remote piloting capabilities. These technologies will prevent many
common causes of fatal aviation accidents and save lives. Last year,
the FAA accepted the certification basis for the Reliable Robotics
continuous engagement autopilot and high-precision navigation system.
Technology will Deliver Transformational Safety Improvements
In previous hearings, this subcommittee has identified that the
safety record for general aviation flights and for air charter
operations performed under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations
is significantly worse than the record for scheduled airline
operations. For Part 135 charter operations, accidents are 6.5 times
more frequent than in scheduled Part 121 airline operations.\1\ Recent
studies have concluded that flying on a general aviation aircraft is
between 8 and 15 times more dangerous than driving.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ NTSB. ``Annual Summary of US Civil Aviation Accidents.'' Based
2011-2021 data.
\2\ Hook (U. of Tulsa), Sizoo (FAA), Fuller. ``How Digital Safety
Systems Could Revolutionize Aviation Safety.'' IEEE/AIAA Digital
Avionics Systems Conference. 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a nation, we possess the aviation safety-enhancing technologies
that could prevent more than 71% of these fatal accidents.\3\ However,
the FAA and interagency partners must dedicate the necessary resources
to prioritize their certification and operational approval. During the
recent full Committee hearing on aviation safety, David Boulter, FAA
Acting Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, emphasized the role
safety-enhancing technologies will play in preventing accidents. Mr.
Boulter explained that certified auto-land systems are life-saving and
will be a ``game changer'' for aviation safety.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Ibid.
\4\ House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. ``FAA
Reauthorization: Enhancing America's Gold Standard in Aviation
Safety.'' Feb. 7, 2023.
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Enabling continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of
flight will eliminate loss of control (LOC) and controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT), two leading causes of fatal general aviation
accidents.\5\ Tragically, nearly 95% of LOC accidents result in flight
crew or passenger fatalities.\6\ Continuous autopilot engagement will
also improve the safety of taxi, takeoff and landing, where more than
60% accidents occur during Part 135 operations.\7\ With permanent and
qualified leadership, resources and focus at the FAA, the certification
of these safety technologies is within reach in the near term.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ General Aviation Joint Steering Committee. ``GAJSC Approved
Pareto for 2011-2020.''
\6\ International Air Transportation Association. ``Loss of Control
In-Flight Accident Analysis Report.'' 2019.
\7\ Huang. ``Analysis of Part 135 Accidents to Facilitate Flight
Data Monitoring.'' Based on data from 2008-2019. International Journal
of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace. 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Modernizing the FAA Certification Process
Reliable Robotics applauds the dedicated FAA workforce for their
focus on certifying our continuous engagement autopilot and high-
precision navigation system. Through this FAA reauthorization bill, we
have an opportunity to provide the agency with much needed tools,
leadership, and resources to transform aviation safety.
We are at an inflection point for aviation safety, with many
safety-enhancing technologies, including auto-land, auto-taxi, and
auto-takeoff, within reach for smaller aircraft. While some of these
technologies are available on large commercial aircraft, they are
prohibitively expensive and require costly infrastructure at airports.
Our work with the FAA aims to correct this imbalance by giving smaller
aircraft equivalent or better technology that can be deployed at
substantially lower cost and with less infrastructure complexity.
On Feb. 24, Reliable Robotics submitted detailed FAA
reauthorization priorities and legislative language to the
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. We look forward to our
continued discussions on these priorities and the opportunity to
participate in future reauthorization hearings.
United States Competitiveness
Our competitors, including China and Europe, are making rapid
advancements in the certification and operational approval of aviation
safety-enhancing technologies and advanced automation systems. In 2022,
the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) became the first
aviation regulator to release a comprehensive regulatory framework for
new entrants. China is actively developing large autonomous air cargo
drones, and the government has announced operating standards for these
aircraft. With government support, Chinese companies recently conducted
test flights of uncrewed cargo aircraft designed for civil and military
operations.
The United States is the world leader in aviation, and through this
reauthorization bill, we can position ourselves to retain and grow this
role. Thank you for your dedication to aviation safety and United
States leadership.
Letter and attached 2023 FAA Reauthorization Bill Priorities and
Proposals from the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems
International, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Rudy Yakym III
Please see pages 111-128 for the 18-page submission from the
Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.
Mr. Yakym. The Chair now recognizes his good friend from
New York, Mr. Molinaro, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Molinaro. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You both look like
you are having far too much fun over there. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Mr. Bevirt, I am going to jump right in. I don't want to
waste too much of your time or mine.
In rural communities like the ones I represent, we often
refer to the deserts we live in: banking deserts, food deserts,
retail deserts. We have transportation deserts as well. AAM and
eVTOLs provide us the opportunity, I think, to really bring
back to life some of our smaller, more regional airports and
use them as tools not only for long-distance but short-distance
travel.
Within the context of FAA reauthorization--and I know that
you have touched on it in your testimony, and, actually, Mr.
Harper kind of noted some of it--the bureaucratic process to
move from what we do to implementation at the airport level is
5 to 15 years.
Your technology, what Joby does, and the capacity to really
innovate and bring back to life regions of our country, if not
other parts of the world, demands that we act quickly.
What within FAA reauthorization would you think would allow
us to advance eVTOLs, and AAM more generically, into those
lesser served rural community airports?
Mr. Bevirt. Thank you very much for your question.
I think, as you rightly point out, infrastructure is at the
heart of bringing this to where we are hoping it will go in the
short term. This country is blessed with an incredible number
of existing airports and heliports, and, as you rightly note,
it is vital that we bring those into our ecosystem and take
full advantage of them to provide access to this new mode of
transportation.
But we also need to add additional infrastructure, and we
need to do that in a short timeline. And so, as we look to the
FAA reauthorization, it is important that both the policies are
in place to ensure that our existing airports and heliports are
accessible to these aircraft and also an expedient process for
permitting new vertiports.
And thank you again for your question.
Mr. Molinaro. Thanks very much.
Mr. Clark, I wanted to offer--as I understand it, you have
a test flight facility in New York and, obviously, some
charging stations across the State. I don't know your presence
in the 19th Congressional District, but I promise you, we would
welcome a conversation to expand the footprint. We recognize,
again, the value of AAM and the capacity to reach places that
are underserved--all populations.
Why don't you, if you could, just expand on the capacity to
provide service and what within FAA reauthorization we could
more aggressively do to build out the footprint in places that
are seeing a shrinkage in the traditional aircraft world and
need revitalization of those transportation hubs?
Mr. Clark. Absolutely. And thank you for your question. And
this is near and dear to us up here in Vermont. We are right
across the lake from you all in New York, and we have a whole
network that extends across New York. We have our flight test
center there. And it has been a great State to deploy charging
systems at the rural airports in.
What is interesting about States like New York, Maine,
Nebraska, they have highway systems that are unidirectional,
they are not universal. And in places where you want to go
north into the Adirondack Park, you are better set flying. And
it is an amazing economy booster to have those small businesses
in those regions able to compete with urban businesses by
allowing next-day cargo and logistics missions.
So, imagine a system in the future where the aircraft can
leave your local regional airport--of which there are more than
4,000 underutilized airports. With very, very little in
infrastructure improvement of charging, we can utilize those to
serve these rural communities--medical, cargo, logistics,
moving people.
And all we really need, in the case of the FAA, is
consistency in the deployment of these charging systems. We
have found a great variability in the regulations required for
us to get through to permit charging systems at airports, and
we just need consistency.
And on the aircraft, it is the same thing--the
solidification of the goalposts around electric vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft and conventional takeoff and
landing aircraft.
So, resources, expertise, pointed at things that allow us
to bring low-cost transportation to your communities.
Mr. Molinaro. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I just want to reinforce that embracing AAM
in a creative and innovative way allows us to bring back to
life smaller regional airports and give transportation access
to places that are underutilized and underserved. And we need
an FAA reauthorization bill that is as innovative as the
technology.
Thanks. I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Molinaro.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Menendez for 5 minutes.
Mr. Menendez. I thank the chair.
And the chair actually had constituents here earlier. My
in-laws live in the chair's district. So, I have to be nice to
him when he holds the gavel, for a lot of reasons.
But it is also just fascinating, because I know the area
that he represents, northern Indiana. And I represent a much
more densely populated district. So, to have the opportunity to
think about these issues with Rudy is going to be an
interesting opportunity, and I am thankful for it.
But because of the district I do represent, I want to turn
my questions to Mr. Harper.
And I appreciate your testimony here today and specifically
your observations and recommendations.
And going specifically to your second recommendation,
regarding how best cities can incorporate this opportunity
while thinking about their various stakeholders, you make the
correct observation that a lot of these communities that are in
the Eighth Congressional District of New Jersey have not always
had the benefit of the transportation systems around them but
bear the burden of the environmental consequences.
So, as we think about this new technology and what it could
mean for these types of communities, I want to give you the
chance to expand on your testimony and how we can make it an
inclusive process and ensure that we create an opportunity for
equity in those communities with new technology and make sure
they aren't left behind.
Mr. Harper. Yes. I appreciate that.
So, I think this starts with education. So, I think
community members need to better understand aviation, better
understand aviation's role in their daily lives.
I think, when we talk to a lot of communities that are
around, particularly, general aviation airports, they struggle
with the burdens of noise and emissions and other negative
externalities, and the fact that they don't have direct access
to the benefits of those airports.
We did an economic impact study in the State of Utah, and
for one airport, we looked at where those economic impacts were
being enjoyed. We might have taken a look at who were the
employees of the airport, where do they reside at. And, by a
vast majority, the economic impacts are spread out beyond the
immediate communities adjacent to the airport. So, even those
benefits the airports bring to communities aren't being felt by
those impacted most by it.
And so, to mitigate that or to address that, I think the
outreach is first and foremost. We need to get out there and
talk to communities, hear what their concerns are. I think a
lot of times we tend to assume what the big issues are, what
the big concerns are, but we truly only know if we go out there
and actually talk to the people that are impacted and get their
ideas of what this infrastructure could be and really empower
them with knowledge of aviation, to rethink of how that
infrastructure might serve them in their own communities.
I think a lot of small general aviation airports have the
potential to anchor multimodal centers, but because of the
restrictive nature around how we develop around airports, it
makes it difficult to envision how that is possible.
And so, I think we really just have to re-envision the role
of infrastructure in small communities.
Mr. Menendez. And, on that note, how can we also ensure
that we are creating a workforce from these communities and
giving them opportunities for training?
That is one of the things I think can cut across, no matter
what part of the country we have the opportunity to represent,
encouraging people to think about these unique opportunities
with this emerging technology.
How do we train people from all different communities? What
types of things should we be almost marketing to them, right,
to give them the awareness and then give them the opportunity
to be trained up, no matter what part of the country they come
from?
Mr. Harper. I think it needs to start with the local
education systems, the community colleges and even K-12
education. You are hard-pressed in many colleges to find
anything related to aviation in the coursework. I mentioned
specifically planning, but if you look at other programs out
there, there is really not a lot that touches on aviation, even
from an introductory level.
And so, providing those options at the colleges and
universities, and then also, we see a lot more of the drone
introductions into the K-12 programs. I think that is a very
positive step in the right direction to at least help community
members see that they have or potentially have a role in this
industry in the future.
Mr. Menendez. For sure.
And, listen, if there are any programs that you find to be
models, right, for bringing students into this space,
definitely let the staff know, let my office know. Because we
would love to make that available and create a resource for
places in our different districts, so, that way, people know
how they can set up these programs to engage students and
potentially create a whole new career path that they may not be
thinking of. I think we would all be well-served by that.
So, I thank you all for coming in today and for your
leadership on this important topic, and I appreciate it.
I yield the remainder of my time.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Menendez. And the sentiments you
shared are mutual. You should let your in-laws know, if they
have issues with their Federal Government, they can call their
Congressman and I would be happy to help them.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questions.
Thank you to our second panel for being here today. Thank
you for waiting so patiently as we concluded our first panel.
Mr. Bevirt, I am not sure if you were here in the room
during our first panel, but my question to them focused on
American aviation leadership.
As I said earlier and have said many times, for the last
120 years in the United States, we have been the leader in
aviation innovation, but I am concerned that we are starting to
cede that ground particularly to foreign nations.
And, in your written testimony, you warned us that China
and Europe are working on their own electric aviation
regulations and that the United States runs the risk of being
left behind.
What do those two areas, China and Europe, what have they
done so far that we haven't? What are they working on that we
aren't? And how can we--as crazy as this phrase may sound, how
can we catch up?
Mr. Bevirt. Thank you very much for the question. And, yes,
I had the opportunity to join for the earlier session. It was
excellent.
I think the critical piece--and this is really important;
thank you very much for asking it--is, as you rightly note, the
U.S. has been at the forefront of aviation for more than 100
years, and the technologies that we are developing for this
next stage of aviation are happening here in the U.S. There is
so much excitement, so much entrepreneurial spirit, and it has
been going on for a long period of time.
What Europe and other nations around the world have done on
the regulatory front that has been leading is they have
provided clear guidance for the regulatory process. And that is
very valuable.
The FAA has been working with many of the companies
represented here and many companies in the industry and has
been setting out specific guidance for each of us on the
regulatory process for certifying their aircraft. Those have
been now codified in G-1s that have been published. And it is
essential now that we hold firm on those G-1s and the course
that has been laid out in those G-1s so that we are able to
move expediently through the certification process.
As I mentioned earlier, we are in the process of running
the tests on the parts and the systems on our aircraft. We are
far down through the certification process. And so, any
deviation on the upfront rules at this point would be very
challenging.
And so, thank you very much for your question. We are very
grateful for all of the thousands of hours that the experts in
the FAA have put in to getting us to this point. And you are
very right to note that there is a huge opportunity at stake.
Thank you.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And let's continue down that same track. We will take a
slightly different path. Let's set aside everything that Joby
is working on and that it has pending before the FAA, and let's
talk about what else, in terms of whether it is approvals of
certifications--what, outside of that, keeps you up at night.
Particularly, my interest in our community is, a lot of my
district is rural. What is it about the rural parts of our
country, whether it is workforce, electrification,
infrastructure--what are some of those other things that really
keep you up at night?
Mr. Bevirt. Yes. Again, great question. And a lot of it is
down to the infrastructure, whether that is the physical
locations where these aircraft can take off and land from,
whether it is the electrification that Kyle spoke about. It is
key to bring the access to this really important new mode of
mobility to as many people around the country as possible.
And so, I am very focused on how we complete the
certification of the aircraft, but we also need to have
infrastructure online in a timely manner to support the
operations, with the certification of that aircraft.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And, briefly, to Mr. Bradshaw, same question for you. What
outside of the FAA keeps you up at night as Bristow moves into
the eVTOL and electric aviation space more broadly?
Mr. Bradshaw. Well, fundamentally, our number-one priority
is always going to be safety. We do have confidence that the
companies developing these aircraft and the FAA will ensure
that they are safe before certified and brought into operation.
Importantly, though, it is critical that they be brought into
operation safely, and that, in and of itself, is a separate
process.
We have experience, working with different OEMs over the
decades, introducing a variety of different new models into the
market, and there is a process by which that maturity really
needs to occur.
Beyond that, I think workforce. It is talent management.
The industry as a whole is short pilots and other critical
staffing positions already. The growth of the AAM industry,
which we are confident will happen, is only going to further
stress that need for talent in the industry.
So, an investment in the workforce, making sure that we are
tapping into all segments of the community to bring new people
into the industry, we think is going to be critically
important.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Bradshaw.
I yield back.
I would now like to yield 5 minutes to Mr. Allred.
Mr. Allred. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I want to thank our witnesses for being here today and
for your testimony. I think this is an exciting thing for us to
consider as we look at the future of what our transportation
systems can look like.
I am looking forward to working with all of you, as we
continue through the FAA reauthorization process, to ensure
that the FAA and the industry have the resources they need to
continue expanding and developing in this space.
And, Mr. Bevirt, I wanted to start with you. I understand
that Joby worked with NASA to understand how the electrical
vertical takeoff and landing, eVTOL, aircraft can integrate
into our existing airspace in Dallas and at the DFW Airport. As
you know, it is a very busy airspace. We have a lot going on.
It is the second busiest airport in the country.
Can you elaborate for us what you found in terms of that
integration?
Mr. Bevirt. Yes. Thank you very much. And we were very
grateful for the opportunity to work with NASA and to study the
DFW area, and very pleased with the results that demonstrated
that our piloted aircraft can integrate seamlessly into the
airspace in Dallas and specifically at DFW.
Mr. Allred. Yes.
What do you think we need to do to give the public
confidence around that?
As I said, our airspace is incredibly busy. We have
multiple civilian airports, also freight airports.
What do you think needs to be done in terms of making sure
folks understand that this can be integrated safely?
Mr. Bevirt. Again, given that our aircraft is a piloted
aircraft, it integrates into the airspace in the same way that
other small aircraft do.
And the more we get out and demonstrate these aircraft, as
Kyle was talking about, bring them to communities, let them
experience the remarkable characteristics that they have--the
low acoustic signature, the ability to spool up and spool down
nearly instantly--it just, as Kyle talked about, is a game-
changer for safety and reliability and affordability, giving so
many more people access and the opportunity to experience
aviation on a daily basis.
Mr. Allred. Yes, I agree with you. I think it is exciting.
I think there are probably few areas in the country that would
benefit more than the Dallas-Fort Worth area from having
something like this, and so, I am glad that you all were able
to work with NASA and come to that conclusion.
And we have had a lot of discussion, Mr. Harper, around the
workforce. And obviously, we need to make sure that we are
keeping up with demand. Companies like DroneUp are working to
build the next generation of trained operators through creative
partnerships, like one they have with the Dallas Independent
School District, a vocational STEM program, which is in my
district.
But we also want to make sure that that workforce is
something that reflects our incredibly diverse community. And
this is something I have been working towards in the aviation
sector in general, is trying to see us bring more diversity and
open the doors to aviation jobs to more folks.
What things do we have to do to make sure that these new
workforce opportunities are available to underrepresented
communities?
Mr. Harper?
Mr. Harper. Yes. I appreciate that question a lot.
I think, first and foremost, the next generation coming up
needs to see themselves in the decisionmaking rooms where all
of this is happening. All too frequently, in forums like this,
I am the only person of color talking about this stuff and
being considered as a thought leader in this space, which I am
extremely grateful for.
When I graduated high school, I didn't have much going for
me. I didn't do very many things to help myself out. It was
through my military experience, through joining the Air Force,
that I got introduced to aviation. And that really turned
things around for me, gave me the confidence, gave me the
knowledge and skills to do things. And so, that served as my
introduction into the aviation workforce.
I think there is a lot of potential to embrace
transitioning veterans, particularly airfield managers and
others in the aviation space within the military. But it is a
frustrating transition.
The TRB did a study a few years ago on workforce diversity,
how to grow the workforce. And when I asked the question why
military airfield managers weren't considered as a part of the
solution to that, I was told very crassly that my skills
weren't transferable and, therefore, they didn't even consider
airfield managers.
And I think I have established that what I have learned in
the Air Force is very relevant to what we are doing today. And
I think we need to embrace that and embrace the diversity that
the military offers.
Mr. Allred. Yes.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Mr. Allred.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Carbajal for 5 minutes.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Bevirt, with the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill, I
appreciate the time you took to come to testify before our
committee as we continue to work through our priorities.
Can you elaborate on how Joby Aviation's collaboration with
the Department of Defense is helping to move forward advanced
air mobility into civil operations?
Mr. Bevirt. Absolutely. Thank you very much for your
question.
So, we began working with the DoD in 2016. And the DoD
provided us with access to flight test ranges, and that was
really valuable to accelerate the development of our
technology.
That was then followed on by increasing involvement through
a number of steps, both through the Defense Innovation Unit and
then through AFWERX Agility Prime. The small contract awards
that we received from them we were able to leverage into
dramatically more funding from private sources. To date, we
have raised almost $2 billion from private sources on contracts
of just a few tens of millions of dollars.
And so, that leverage, the DoD providing a demand signal,
saying, these technologies are not only incredibly valuable on
the commercial side but they are also going to be valuable for
the Government, these technologies that dramatically reduce the
maintenance cost and the operating cost of aircraft, that
electric propulsion is a really promising technology, that
quiet aircraft are really important for the defense community--
so, again, that has been critical for us.
As we look to how this cascades into the commercial side,
again, those flight test resources and our relationship with
the DoD provides us with an early path to demonstrated
operations with the Department of Defense. And, again, that
flight testing and putting time on the aircraft, building out
our operational muscle in advance of FAA type certification is
invaluable.
And, again, we are very grateful for all the support from
the DoD.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. As I sit on the House Armed
Services Committee, that is really important to understand.
What else can Congress do to continue to promote innovation
in welcoming new entrants into our airspace?
Mr. Bevirt. So, I think, as we have talked about, this is a
really remarkable time in aviation, with many new technologies.
As Kyle talked about, it is not just battery-electric aircraft
but also hydrogen-electric aircraft and new technologies on
communications, new technologies on the processing and the
flight control that make aviation dramatically more accessible,
lower cost, and more environmentally friendly. And so----
Mr. Carbajal [interrupting]. But what can we do? What can
Congress, specifically, do?
Mr. Bevirt. So, we need the FAA, with the FAA
reauthorization, to deliver a steady hand, consistency. And it
is really important that there is a clear and consistent set of
rules and regulations.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you.
Mr. Clark, as we continue to make advancements in
technology, what can Congress do to ensure the FAA has the
proper resources and technical subject-matter experts in place
to support the agency's advanced air mobility activities?
Mr. Clark. Right now, the FAA is the gold standard in
safety worldwide, and we have to keep it that way.
And it is actually a pretty simple answer to your question,
in my opinion. They have expertise in structures and
aerodynamics and flight controls and avionics, where they lack
expertise is in the new technologies. They have to look a
little sideways to other industries that have adopted electric
technologies, put those subject-matter experts in place around
electric motors, batteries, controls in the FAA, and give them
the delegation authority to adjudicate on what is defined as
safe.
We know what it is. Mother Nature, physics--we know what
they are. We know we start with a fundamentally safer
technology. We need the FAA to validate that. They have the
authority and the responsibility. In fact, I think it is an
injustice if the FAA doesn't do it, because the FAA is tasked
with making a safer aviation system. Continuous innovation has
consistently done that in America.
Give them the tools by simply telling them, go get the
expertise in those spaces that are necessary to advance
advanced air mobility, and then give them the delegation to do
it. And they need a forcing function to do so from Congress.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
Are there any other Members who have not been recognized
for this round of questioning who would like to ask any
questions?
Seeing none, we will move into a second round of questions.
And I will yield myself 5 minutes for a second round of
questioning.
Mr. Bevirt, about a year ago, the FAA told Joby and other
manufacturers that you had to pursue certification under part
21.17(b). Can you briefly describe how your industry, as well
as your investors, reacted to that change?
Mr. Bevirt. It was initially a challenging adjustment. We
had received our signed G-1 in May of 2020, and to, more than a
year later, have that adjusted was challenging. I think the
piece that we were the most concerned about was on the
operations and piloting side.
Since then, we have been extremely heartened by the rapid
drafting of the SFAR, the Special Federal Aviation Regulations,
that has come about and to hear that the FAA is a month ahead
of schedule on that, that it is now with the DOT and will
shortly go to the White House. And they remain committed to
delivering that by December 3l of 2024. And, with that, we will
be able to commence commercial operations on schedule.
We are also very pleased that our G-1 was published in the
Federal Register and that the comments on that are being
dispositioned expediently.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And, Mr. Bradshaw, as a company already using vertical-
flight-capable aircraft commercially, what use cases are you
looking at for this type of technology, and why are you so
interested in it?
Mr. Bradshaw. Thank you for the question.
We are excited about the applications and the end uses for
these aircraft. The technology is very exciting, but, as an
operator, it is the actual application of those, how they will
be used every day to perform missions for customers that gets
us the most excited.
We see a variety of applications for these aircraft. It is
important to note that there are a number of different models
under design and development today. They will have different
best use cases.
For us, we think that the initial adoption and application
will be for cargo and logistical solutions, for which our
existing customers have great needs. We also think that there
will be an expansion, then, into personnel transport, in our
view, most likely through regional air mobility missions,
connecting existing infrastructure today, but we do see it
expanding over time to more urban air mobility missions as
well.
Again, we see more of a crawl-walk-run implementation of
this new technology into our day-to-day operations, as has been
the case really since the beginning of the aviation industry.
Mr. Yakym. And, also, Mr. Bradshaw, have you received any
indication from the FAA about how they will establish pilot
requirements for these aircraft?
Mr. Bradshaw. I think additional clarity there would be
very much welcomed.
We would like to see an adoption of the ICAO guidance,
which would allow existing licensed commercial helicopter
pilots to take a type rating course in any of these aircraft
and, therefore, be designated as a powered-lift pilot for that
aircraft. That is the type of clarity we think would be
beneficial.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And, Mr. Harper, how is the FAA communicating to States and
municipalities the timelines for expecting electric aircraft
and powered-lift aircraft to enter production and service?
Mr. Harper. So, honestly, I don't hear much from the FAA
communicating that to communities. We hear most of that from
the industry and through the industry communications, that they
have achieved certain milestones along the certification
pathway. And, from that, we recommunicate that out to the
communities.
And so, as we understand it today, we are expecting initial
launch sometime in 2025, with a scaling up of operations beyond
that.
And so, that is the message that we are talking to
communities, that is the timeline that we are giving
communities to hopefully understand this technology and be able
to provide feedback into the system of what it might look like.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And just kind of a general question for all panelists. If
you could maybe even go through this just one at a time,
briefly.
Do you have a view on how electric aircraft, and if, they
should be paying into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund?
We will start with Mr. Clark and then go down the line.
Mr. Clark. I think electric aircraft absolutely should
participate in funding the infrastructure.
The economic benefits are compelling. There are customers,
like Chris, ready to buy this and deploy it.
And I know from an aircraft--manufacturers are probably the
most ignorant position to say this, but participating in the
operational fees, which are insignificant relative to those of
over-the-road gas taxes and other things, is absolutely
something electric aircraft should do.
And we, as an industry, I would say, would be more than
willing to participate in that, because we believe in good
infrastructure, and the infrastructure is incredibly light
relative to other forms of transportation.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
Mr. Bevirt?
Mr. Bevirt. I would just second what Kyle said. I
wholeheartedly agree.
Mr. Yakym. Mr. Bradshaw?
Mr. Bradshaw. As a matter of principle, we think all users
of the National Airspace System should pay into the fund.
Obviously, with these new technologies, the details of that
will need to be sorted out. I would defer to others on exactly
how that will be incorporated. But, again, as a matter of
principle, we think all users should pay into the fund.
Mr. Yakym. And Mr. Harper?
Mr. Harper. Yes, I would say I agree with my colleagues
here and also emphasize, in my written testimony, I talked
about some of the struggles and issues with the current
vertical lift infrastructure that we need to address as we are
looking to evolve into the AAM future.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
And, Mr. Clark, in your testimony, you discussed the
charging infrastructure that you have installed at airports.
Can you describe what permitting a charger at an airport
entails to get it up and running and if there are areas that we
should be looking at to ensure that the process is right-sized
for the activity at the airport?
Mr. Clark. Absolutely.
And I think it should be noted that putting a charging
system, which is about a 4-by-4-foot box and a small powering
connection adjacent to it, is a relatively small ask of an
airport relative to the infrastructure of an airport.
The permitting process right now is slightly convoluted--
actually, it is more than slightly convoluted. We go to the
FAA, we go to municipal, and we typically go to a State in
addition. And having a Federal preemption allowing us to put in
charging systems at airports for the benefit of all parties, to
allow for quiet, sustainable aviation at that airport, should
be a no-brainer.
And the FAA should solely regulate that, especially at
federally funded airports, and allow the diversity of municipal
opinions to not impede the establishment of simple, simple
chargers. And we are not talking about putting big vertiports
in place; just a charger.
And I am also a big believer in interoperability and
multimodal aspects of the charger that allow for package cars,
other airport vehicles, and many different forms of aircraft to
charge at those chargers.
Mr. Yakym. Thank you.
I will now yield the balance of my time to our
distinguished chair, Mr. Garret Graves.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana [presiding]. I want to thank the
witnesses, and I want to apologize to each of you for being out
of pocket here for a little while. I want to thank the vice
chair of the committee, Congressman Yakym, for taking over the
hearing. Today was a busy day. We just passed landmark energy
legislation that we have been working on now for about 2 years.
And I apologize again for being absent.
I want to thank each of you for being here. I love the
technology, I love the future that you are helping to create.
I am wondering if you could just talk through a little bit
about your own experience here as compared to maybe what you
have experienced in operating in other countries. I know that
some of you are operating in other areas. Anybody care to
comment about their experience in the United States compared to
other countries?
Mr. Clark. I mean, Chris probably has the most experience,
but I will speak from the perspective of AAM. And you may be
referencing a recent regulatory license we received to operate
in the UAE, for example. And that came very quickly.
And the fundamental difference was the regulatory lab there
and the GCAA was looking at the physics of the problem,
understanding it is a safer technology than the existing
technologies, and simply looked forward.
The FAA here, as good as they are--and they have an
impeccable safety record, by all measures--is looking backwards
to see how we fit within an existing regulation, as opposed to
how it fits within the physics of operations.
And, within a matter of months, us and UPS achieved a
license to operate in the UAE. And, frankly, I think that is
wonderful. It is going to be a great start.
We need to do the same thing here in the U.S. and unblock,
whether it be through waiver or otherwise, folks like Joby,
folks like Bristow, for us to deploy our aircraft domestically.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Mr. Bradshaw, before you answer, I
want to ask maybe a related question, if you could take a
twofer here.
The FAA has said that their infrastructure guidance will
continue to be conservative until they have more operational
data. When you look at the data that is being collected from
international operations, how do you think that should be
considered in the overall decisionmaking here, stateside?
Mr. Bradshaw. Thank you, Chairman Graves, for the question.
Appreciate it. And certainly understood about the busy day
today. Glad to see H.R. 1 pass.
We do operate in a number of different jurisdictions around
the world. We have a dozen different AOCs today, with aircraft
in 17 different countries. So, we have a perspective of dealing
with different regulators.
What we see with the FAA is very much a difference between
the day-to-day experience we have with our FSDO and oversight
over existing operations and then the airworthiness and
certification process that takes place at the Federal level.
It does seem that we are behind other jurisdictions in the
evaluation and certification process for these new technologies
in many ways. I think there are various reasons for that. It
seems that in other countries there has been a clear framework
approach taken, not being as prescriptive. And there is
certainly a commitment in some of these other jurisdictions,
like EASA or the U.K. CAA or ANAC in Brazil, to be a leader
here.
I have every confidence that the products that are being
developed as new aircraft will achieve the performance and
standards that they need, and hopefully the certification
timeline here in the U.S. can keep up with that.
And hopefully the FAA, to the second part of your question,
Chairman, will look to these other agencies and share that data
and share the approach and take a more collaborative approach
to how these new aircraft are certified and accepted.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Any of you care to comment any
more?
Mr. Bevirt. I would just like to speak to the amount of
international demand there is. And aviation has been one of
this country's most valuable exports. And it is imperative that
FAA continue to lead and be the gold standard for aviation
safety globally so that innovators here in the U.S. can export
the really valuable products that we create to countries around
the world.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you.
Do you all feel that the FAA has clearly communicated the
required design standards and development assurance levels that
will be applied to your aircraft?
Mr. Clark. I will jump in there.
I think that for 90 percent of the aircraft, they have. It
is the new and novel technologies that need a little bit more
work. And they need people who are experts in those fields to
be employed by the FAA or delegated by the FAA.
Look, we want the same thing as the FAA. We want a safe,
reliable, and repeatably produced aircraft, right? And we have
a lot of experts that know electric propulsion and batteries
very, very well. It is an engineered product. And the FAA has
to step in in those relatively small slivers to say, ``Yes, we
want the same thing. Let's just figure out what validation
means.''
It should be noted in your prior question, though, that the
rest of the world is drafting off of the work that is done
here. And, in our case, getting these minimum viable licenses,
they look to the work that our military did, the Air Force and
the Army, before they put their pilots in our airplanes, and
the airworthiness that we had to achieve to do that, to then
draft off that and then ride by us towards the finish.
What we need to do is, we need to maintain that leadership
position by continuing to be innovative, driving towards a
forcing function of a goal instituted by Congress, to say, ``Go
do this, and here are the resources to do it.''
So, I didn't mean to imply that there wasn't awesome work
being done here, but other countries see that and just work
around it.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. It is a great point, and it
actually kind of leads me to my next question.
So, do you believe that--the fact that we are being passed
up, do you believe that that is a resource issue? An expertise
issue? Just too conservative of a standard? Do you have any
thoughts there?
Mr. Clark. Yes. I think that there is a layer between the
leadership of the FAA and the people that we work with on a
day-to-day basis. They are motivated, excited, working hard on
what they are trying to do, without the delegation authority to
make a decision. However, right at the top, folks are saying,
``Yes, we want to do this.''
And as we work through this, we need to provide, like,
vertical pressure right down through the FAA to say, ``This is
a fundamentally safer technology. You have the authority to
make a physics-based declaration of what it means to be
certified. Now go do it.''
Yes, we need expertise, and, again, like I said before, we
need to look horizontally into all the other industries that
have electrified and say, ``That makes sense. The reliability
and safety of that is great in locomotive, in automotive, and
we are going to move it over to aviation, and we are going to
employ that here.''
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Anyone else?
I don't want anybody to yell at me about how much time I am
taking.
Well, I will ask this in closing. Is there anything that
any of you would like to add to your statements or clarify any
answers that you gave earlier or anything you haven't been
asked that you would like to expand upon?
Mr. Bevirt. I think we are standing at a really exciting
moment, this culmination of so many technologies that are going
to fundamentally transform aviation and the lives of people
around the world, delivering significant increases in the
productivity of our communities as we connect more people in
shorter amounts of time.
And this is all standing on the shoulders of more than 100
years of pioneering aviation work here in the U.S. that has
made aviation our safest, fastest, and lowest cost mode of
transportation.
We are so grateful for the leadership of this committee, of
the work, the hard work, day-in and day-out by the teams at the
FAA to deliver this remarkably safe aviation ecosystem that we
have. And it is really exciting to be seeing the industry
embracing these next-generation technologies.
Mr. Clark. If I may just add something that hasn't been
talked about a lot, and that is general aviation.
GA is not separate from commercial aviation. I am speaking
as a pilot, a certified flight instructor, an owner of
aircraft, and owner of an aerospace business as well. GA is the
conduit through which we have set--I just taught my daughter to
fly. She is a pilot as well. She learns her basic habits to be
a safe pilot for life, as she progresses into commercial
aviation, in general aviation.
Many aircraft companies start in general aviation and move
into part 25 commuter class. Many people in ATC start at small
airports that predominately host GA before they move to the big
airports.
We need to focus on GA, we need to foster GA, and we need
to allow it to flourish to provide a conduit to our pilot
shortage, our maintenance shortage, the people who are
developing aircraft.
And, frankly, I actually think we should return the FAA to
own the responsibility to promote aviation. We want our best
and our brightest in a really important sector of our country.
We want to maintain the leadership.
We need to promote, and we need to establish a safe--the
FAA does a great job on safety. We need to promote aviation. We
need good people in it that are inspired to be there. General
aviation is a great place to focus on.
Mr. Graves of Louisiana. Thank you.
I am not sure if any of you have been in the rotunda of the
Capitol, but up in the rotunda of the Capitol they have a
painting called the Frieze of American History that goes all
the way around, 360 degrees. And if you look right on the
western end, or the western side, they actually have the Wright
brothers' plane up there depicted because of its transformative
role in United States history. And I think that I am looking
right now at the next transformative innovators in our country.
And I am really excited to help, in this next FAA bill, to
be able to work together with everyone on this committee, to
help to chart a path that creates the certainty, that creates
the predictability that you need, that truly moves at the pace
of innovation, as opposed to being this bottleneck or
impediment to progress.
The United States, as some of you have noted, we are the
gold standard in regard to safety, and we are the gold standard
in regard to innovation. And we need to make sure that we do
that. We need to make sure that this bill is focused on that
next generation of aircraft, on the new entrants into market,
that we maintain the balance of safety and innovation moving
forward.
And I just want to thank you for being here today and
helping to inform us on how we strike the balance. I hope that
you are able to continue to share feedback with us on how we
can make sure that this bill strikes that right balance.
So, I yield back my time.
And seeing that there are no other Members here to speak, I
want to thank you again for your testimony.
And I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's
hearing remain open until such time as our witnesses have
provided answers to any questions that may be submitted to them
in writing.
Without objection, it is so ordered.
I also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open
for 15 days for any additional comments and information
submitted by Members or witnesses to be included in the record
of today's hearing.
Without objection, so ordered.
The subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 2:24 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
Submissions for the Record
----------
Letter and attached 2023 FAA Reauthorization Bill Priorities and
Proposals to Hon. Sam Graves, Chairman, and Hon. Rick Larsen, Ranking
Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Hon. Garret
Graves, Chairman, and Hon. Steve Cohen, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Aviation, from Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer, Association for
Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, Submitted for the Record by
Hon. Rudy Yakym III
Honorable Sam Graves,
U.S. Representative, Missouri-06,
Chair, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 2165 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Honorable Rick Larsen,
U.S. Representative, Washington-02,
Ranking Member, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 2164
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Honorable Garret Graves,
U.S. Representative, Louisiana-06,
Chair, Subcommittee on Aviation, 2165 Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, DC 20515.
Honorable Steve Cohen,
U.S. Representative, Tennessee-09,
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Aviation, 2164 Rayburn House Office
Building Washington, DC 20515.
Re: 2023 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill
Priorities and Proposals
Dear Chair Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chair Graves, Ranking
Member Cohen, and Remaining Members of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee,
The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
applauds you for continuing to work towards the 2023 Federal Aviation
Administration Reauthorization.
AUVSI is the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to
the advancement of uncrewed systems, autonomy, and robotics. We
represent corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries
that are involved in industry, government, and academia. AUVSI's
primary markets span the defense, civil, and commercial industries.
Uncrewed systems represent an expansive market within the
transportation system, and it is our mission to ensure all types of
uncrewed systems, autonomy, and robotics companies that work with us
have access to the resources they need to be successful in such a
highly competitive industry.
As you conduct your jurisdictional oversight throughout this
process, we would encourage you to hold hundreds of exploratory
meetings and several hearings across all aviation stakeholders and
areas of interest. Specifically, careful care and consideration must be
given to the uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), autonomy, and robotics
spaces, which comprise the majority of our expansive, unique, and
diverse membership.
We are committed to continuing to be a resource to you throughout
this process and welcome any questions you may have on the proposals
enclosed below.
Sincerely,
Michael Robbins,
Chief Advocacy Officer, AUVSI.
cc: All Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee
Attachment
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
beyond visual line of sight (bvlos)
Priority 1: Inclusion of the Increasing Competitiveness for
American Drones Act of 2023 (S. 307), with the slight modifications
discussed in priorities 3 and 4, which was introduced by Sens. Mark
Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD) on February 7, 2023.
Priority 2: While working towards a final BVLOS rulemaking, direct
the FAA to issue more immediate guidance, such as standard scenarios or
pre-defined risk assessments, providing accelerated pathways to enable
low-altitude operations under the current rules within 120 days of
enactment. This would include standardizing the process for Part 135
waivers, including sections for which relief should be sought and the
supporting information required from applicants, which would
accommodate more complex operations into the National Airspace System.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. LOW ALTITUDE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS OPERATION
Title 49 U.S.C. Section 44806 is amended by adding the
following subsection at the end:
(e) LOW ALTITUDE OPERATION PERMITTED.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 12o days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, and notwithstanding the pendency of any
other rulemaking proceeding for rules permitting the operation of
unmanned aircraft systems commercially beyond the visual line of sight
(in this subsection referred to as `BVLOS') of the operator, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section
referred to as the `Administrator') shall:
(A) Provide accelerated pathways to enable the low-altitude
operation of BVLOS unmanned aircraft systems; and
(B) Standardize the process for certificate of waivers
issued under 14 C.F.R. Part 135 as to accommodate more complex air
carrier operations into the National Airspace System.
(2) GUIDANCE.--For the purpose of carrying out paragraph (1),
the Administrator may issue guidance that:
(A) Clarifies the minimum evidence and information
requirements for standard scenarios covering unmanned aircraft systems
commercial BVLOS operations; and
(B) Establishes and publishes the operational scenarios for
predefined risk assessments to enable the efficient development of
procedures that must be contained in the operator manual for commercial
BVLOS unmanned aircraft systems.
Priority 3: Mandate quick production of Part 108 drone pilot rules
covering varying levels of automation and training necessary, as
included in the BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee Report.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. PART 108 RULES FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Chapter 448 of Title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding the following section at the end:
SEC. 44811. NEW PART 108 RULES.--
(a) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this section, and notwithstanding any other proposed
rulemaking establishing a regulatory pathway for certification or
approval of unmanned aircraft systems to enable commercial beyond
visual line of sight (in this section referred to as `BVLOS')
operations, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
(in this section referred to as the `Administrator') shall adopt the
proposed rules for Part 108 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations
contained in the final report and recommendations of the Beyond Visual
Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee as submitted to the
Administrator on March 10, 2022.
Priority 4: An extension of Title 49 U.S.C. Section 44807
authority, which includes additional clarity from Congress on how
Congress intended this authority to work in the first place, and
ensures that previous work and testing on 44807 and type certification
by companies is incorporated into any new standard the FAA develops for
airworthiness.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. 44807 EXTENSION AND CLARIFICATION
Section 347(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Title 49
U.S.C. Sec. 44807) is amended by striking ``September 30,
2023'' in subsection (d) and inserting ``September 30, 2028''.
(a) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this section the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration (in this section referred to as the `Administrator')
shall adopt the proposed rules that:
(1) Clarify the intended full authorities of Section 44807
which are meant to provide a pathway to enable advanced operations that
can be conducted safely, even when operations take place outside of an
existing rule;
(2) Recognize that the FAA has narrowly interpreted Section
44807, and therefore, clarification and reinforcement of Congressional
intent is necessary;
(3) Provide for the issuance of type certificates to
qualifying applicants with long-standing type certification
applications prior to the FAA establishing a new certification and
approval process;
(4) Ensure that previous work and testing on Section 44807
and type certification by companies is incorporated into this new
standard the FAA develops for airworthiness; and
(5) Recognize past and ongoing efforts by UAS operators to
act in accordance with previous guidance, anticipating that more
efficient and effective frameworks will be implemented.
Overview
AUVSI has been intimately involved in the FAA's BVLOS Aviation
Rulemaking Committee (ARC) and its processes from day one. Our
President and CEO, Brian Wynne, was a member of the ARC, as were many
of our member companies. A BVLOS rulemaking will be transformative for
the entire drone industry and will allow commercial UAS operations to
scale to heights not yet seen before due to an inadequate regulatory
environment. Currently, industry innovation is being stifled, as
opposed to fostered, due to insufficient regulatory processes and
bureaucratic challenges unrelated to safety to enable routine, longer-
distance operations BVLOS.
AUVSI requests that Congress directs the FAA to finalize a
rulemaking based on the BVLOS ARC Report no later than 6 months after
the date of enactment of the Increasing Competitiveness for American
Drones Act of 2023 (as part of the FAA Reauthorization bill), as
mandated by the legislation itself. It is imperative that there is a
clear timeline for expediting UAS BVLOS regulations and/or
implementation and mandatory reports to Congress on progress. The FAA
must also be held accountable and provide Congress and industry with a
rationale for any delays. This must all be done while ensuring that
BVLOS operations maintain high levels of air safety.
AUVSI is pleased that the FAA has granted numerous BVLOS waivers
enabling low-altitude operations, including those shielded by
structures and terrain, and that the FAA informed the Advanced Aviation
Advisory Committee (AAAC) in February 2022 that the agency is exploring
BVLOS standard scenarios and pre-defined risk assessments to streamline
and standardize low-risk, high-value BVLOS approvals. AUVSI requests
that Congress mandates the FAA to standardize the process for BVLOS
waivers, as it will ensure safety, reduce demand on FAA review
resources, and provide more certainty for regulated entities.
Therefore, while working on a final BVLOS rule, AUVSI requests that
Congress directs the FAA to also issue more immediate guidance, such as
standard scenarios or pre-defined risk assessments, providing
accelerated pathways to enable low-altitude operations under the
current rules within 120 days of enactment. Within that 120-day
timeframe, AUVSI also requests that Congress pushes the FAA to
standardize the process for Part 135 waivers, which would accommodate
more complex UAS operations into the NAS.
Congress should instruct the FAA to permit aircraft with a Title 49
U.S.C. Section 44807 exemption, that have logged a designated number of
flight hours, to waive certain elements of type certification. Doing so
will immediately unlock a significant number of safe UAS aircraft that
have been stuck in an uncertain regulatory status. This will eliminate
the current bifurcation of UAS certification and will promote a pathway
to developing UAS-specific change management processes. At this time,
the FAA has a bifurcated UAS certification processes between standard
airworthiness certifications and Section 44807, which is intended to
allow the FAA to quickly grant ``special'' airworthiness certifications
for certain UAS. Unfortunately, this duplication of effort has not
yielded its intended results and instead has created a significant
backlog of aircraft stuck in ``limbo'' between Section 44807 exemptions
and a standard airworthiness certification process that is broken.
While the FAA works on long term airworthiness solutions, four steps
can be taken to provide continuity of operations and certainty to
operators, including:
Extend Section 44807 authorities through the duration of the
FAA Reauthorization, or until a new framework is implemented.
Clarify the intended full authorities of Section 44807. The
current FAA Reauthorization intended to provide a pathway to
enable advanced operations that can be conducted safely, even
when operations take place outside of an existing rule.
However, the FAA has narrowly interpreted Section 44807, and
therefore, clarification and reinforcement of Congressional
intent is necessary.
Provide for the issuance of type certificates to qualifying
applicants with long-standing type certification applications
prior to the FAA establishing a new certification and approval
process.
Ensure that previous work and testing on Section 44807 and type
certification by companies is incorporated into this new
standard the FAA develops for airworthiness. While it is
anticipated that more efficient and effective frameworks will
be implemented, the FAA should recognize past and ongoing
efforts by UAS operators to act in accordance with previous
guidance.
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
advanced air mobility (aam)
Priority 1: The Administrator of the FAA shall commence a
rulemaking to develop certification standards for both piloted and
unpiloted electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and other
powered-lift AAM and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft, and shall
report to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation by
September 30 of each year on its progress in implementing the rule
until such time as it issues a final rule.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR REMOTELY PILOTED AND
PILOTED PASSENGER AND CARGO CARRYING POWERED-LIFT AIRCRAFT
(a) RULEMAKING.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration (in this section referred to as the `Administrator')
shall issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish certification
standards for remotely piloted, and piloted, passenger and cargo
carrying aircraft and ground control stations and shall issue a final
rule within 24 months of the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) REPORTS.--The Administrator shall provide a written report
to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 1 year after
enactment and periodically on an annual basis thereafter. The reports
to the Committees should include status updates on the progress of the
rulemaking by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purposes of
ensuring robust congressional oversight.
Priority 2: Direct the FAA to complete the Special Federal Aviation
Regulation (SFAR) powered-lift rule no later than December 31, 2024,
the FAA's own announced deadline for completion. We also propose that
Congress puts in place an interim solution that would allow for
powered-lift aircraft to operate commercially under existing
regulations if the SFAR's publishing does not comply with this
deadline. This proposed interim path would go away once the final SFAR
is issued.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. RULES AND INTERIM OPERATIONS OF POWERED-LIFT AIRCRAFT
(a) DEFINITION.--The term powered-lift aircraft means a
heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical takeoff, vertical
landing, and low speed flight that depends principally on engine-driven
lift devices or engine thrust for lift during these flight regimes and
on nonrotating airfoil(s) for lift during horizontal flight.
(b) RULEMAKING.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and no later than December 31, 2024, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section
referred to as the `Administrator') shall promulgate a Powered-Lift
Special Federal Aviation Regulation establishing a procedure for
certifying pilots and operation of powered-lift aircraft capable of
transporting passengers or cargo.
(c) APPLICATION OF RULES.--Upon enactment of this Act, rules
currently in effect that specifically apply to the operation of
``rotorcraft'' or ``helicopters'' within Code of Federal Regulations,
Title 14, Chapter 1, Subchapter F, G, H, and I, shall be deemed to
govern the operation of powered-lift aircraft in the National Airspace
System.
(d) AIRMEN PRIVELAGES.--Upon enactment and upon completion of
a Type Rating for a specific powered-lift aircraft, Airmen that hold
Pilot or Instructor Certificates with the Ratings listed below shall be
deemed to have the privileges of a Powered-Lift Rating for the same
Aircraft:
(i) Airplane Category in any class; or
(ii) Rotorcraft Category in the Helicopter class.
(e) TERMINATION.--To ensure air transportation operations
authorized by this section may continue without interruption upon and
after the issuance of the Special Federal Aviation Regulation, the
authority in this section shall expire upon the effective date of the
Special Federal Aviation Regulation for powered-lift aircraft
operations or any rulemakings which satisfy the intent of the sections
of this provision.
(f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit or otherwise
prevent the Administrator or Secretary of Transportation from issuing
any necessary approval, Operation Specification, or any other
authorization that may be required to operate powered-lift aircraft
safely, efficiently, and expeditiously in air transportation
operations.
Priority 3: Include a Sense of Congress in support of United States
global leadership in UAS and all facets of AAM, including Urban Air
Mobility (UAM), Regional Air Mobility (RAM), electric vertical take-off
and landing aircraft, electrification, and increasingly autonomous
aviation technology in the FAA Reauthorization bill.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY
Whereas Unmanned Aircraft Systems and specifically Advanced
Air Mobility represent a key area of sustainable transportation
and economic growth for the United States;
Whereas Advanced Air Mobility is an exciting new part of the
aviation ecosystem;
Whereas Advanced Air Mobility is the overarching concept
under which Urban Air Mobility and Regional Air Mobility
reside;
Whereas Urban Air Mobility and Regional Air Mobility will
help connect both urban and rural populations to each other and
to the rest of the nation, as well as move freight, regardless
of geographic locations and proximity to a travel hub or urban
center;
Whereas for the benefits of Advanced Air Mobility to be more
broadly realized, there should be a clear and stable process
with clear timeframes for Advanced Air Mobility certification
and operationalization;
Whereas our domestic Advanced Air Mobility industry will
fail to launch without a more palatable regulatory atmosphere
for certification and operations;
Whereas Europe, China, and other competitors will fill the
void and dominate the global market for manufacturing and
development of Advanced Air Mobility technologies;
Whereas autonomy is a key area in which the United States
should be racing ahead, but continues to fall behind due to
regulatory issues;
Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration does not have
the personnel and expertise necessary to certify these new
aircraft within a timeframe that aligns with industry needs and
for the United States to maintain global leadership; and
Whereas the Federal Aviation Administration needs more
funding to hire additional personnel as significant resources
are needed to work through the certification process that is
already underway for multiple applicants.
Resolved, that it is the Sense of Congress that--
(1) The United States must continue to maintain its global
leadership in all facets of Advanced Air Mobility, including
Urban Air Mobility, Regional Air Mobility, Electric Vertical
Take-Off and Landing aircraft, electrification, and other forms
of increasingly autonomous aviation technology;
(2) The Federal Government must continue to foster
leadership, interagency collaboration, and collaboration with
industry in the adoption and deployment of Advanced Air
Mobility; and
(3) The United States will cede leadership in this space
to other nations without imminent regulatory changes.
Priority 4: Ensure the FAA provides clear timelines to enable
operationalization of AAM and that reports to Congress and industry on
AAM certification and operationalization be mandated by law.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. TIMELINES TO ENABLE OPERATIONALIZATION OF ADVANCED
AIR MOBILITY
(a) RULEMAKING.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration (in this section referred to as the
`Administrator') shall adopt rules in the proceeding initiated
in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the matter of Update to
Air Carrier Definitions (Docket No. FAA-2022-1563; Notice No.
23-03) in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) UPDATES REQUIRED.--In the rules adopted under
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall provide clear timelines
to enable operationalization of Advanced Air Mobility
certification.
(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.--Not later than 180 days following
the adoption of the rules under paragraph (1), the
Administrator shall prepare and submit to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report on Advanced Air Mobility
certification and operationalization.
Overview
AAM is an exciting new part of the aviation ecosystem, which we
view as the overarching concept under which Regional Air Mobility (RAM)
and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) reside. RAM and UAM will help connect both
urban and rural populations to each other and to the rest of the
nation, as well as move freight, regardless of geographic locations.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
RAM, ``seeks to fundamentally change how we travel by bringing the
convenience, speed, and safety of air travel to all Americans,
regardless of their proximity to a travel hub or urban center.''
For the benefits of AAM to be more broadly realized, there should
be a clear and stable process with clear timeframes for AAM
certification. Without this, our domestic AAM industry will fail to
launch. Europe, China, and other competitors will fill the void and
dominate the global market for manufacturing and development of these
technologies. In order for the AAM industries to operate at scale, the
FAA will need to certify these new aircraft platforms in a timely
manner to ensure they are airworthy and safe for operations.
The FAA does not have the personnel and expertise necessary to
certify these new aircraft within a timeframe that aligns with industry
needs and for the United States to maintain global leadership. The FAA
needs more funding to hire additional personnel. Significant resources
are needed to work through the certification process that is already
underway for multiple applicants.
AUVSI has heard from our members and from the FAA directly that the
agency is working hard and performing significant work to get projects
through the process. AUVSI agrees with that sentiment. However, the FAA
will need more resources moving forward, as there will be a growing
backlog of applications and competition for limited resources among
competitive aviation technologies. This backlog will be caused by an
uptick in certification applications, which are expected to
significantly increase over the next five to 10 years as new companies
enter the market. Therefore, each of the aforementioned priorities is
critical to ensuring the industry is able to scale to heights not seen
before.
The FAA is actively working on the ``Powered-Lift'' Special Federal
Aviation Regulation (SFAR) which would put in place the commercial
operations and pilot licensing path for electric vertical take-off and
landing vehicles' (eVTOL) entry into service. This gating rulemaking
for day one operations is necessary due to the new certification path
utilizing Part 21.17(B) Special Class Powered-Lift. We appreciate the
bipartisan Congressional oversight of the FAA to ensure that the SFAR
is completed in line with the FAA's stated deadline of December 31,
2024, to meet industry timelines for commercial operations. Because of
the importance of the SFAR, it is imperative that Congress continues to
provide strong oversight of the FAA to ensure the process is completed
on time, as well as create an interim policy that would enable early
commercial operations if the FAA should miss this deadline, or a
company achieves type certification prior to rule completion.
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
spectrum & data
SPECTRUM
Priority: Include language around spectrum, notably to avoid
another situation like the recent 5G rollout and interference. Such
language on spectrum should include government coordination, command
and control (C2) link requirements (including FCC 5030-5091 MHz
rulemaking), and more. Rules must be adopted to ensure UAS have access
to dedicated, licensed spectrum, such as the proposed 5030-5091 MHz
band (the ``C-band'').
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. RULEMAKING ON UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS SPECTRUM
(a) RULEMAKING.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Federal Communications Commission (in
this section referred to as the `Commission') shall adopt rules in the
proceeding initiated in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the matter
of Spectrum Rules and Policies for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (WT Docket No. 22-323; FCC 22-101) to promote access by
unmanned aircraft systems operators to licensed spectrum in the 5030-
5091-Megahertz band in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) REQUIREMENTS.--The final rules adopted under paragraph (1)
shall:
(A) Enable unmanned aircraft systems operators to reliably
access licensed spectrum in the 5030-5091-Megahertz band necessary to
support safety-critical unmanned aircraft systems command-and-control
communications links; and
(B) Ensure co-existence of terrestrial mobile operations and
unmanned aircraft systems operators without harmful interference.
(b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.--In promulgating rules under
subsection (a), the Commission shall consult with the Federal
Aviation Administration and the National Telecommunications
Information Administration to:
(1) Ensure compliance with applicable Federal Aviation
Administration remote pilot regulations by unmanned aircraft systems
operators seeking to access licensed spectrum in the 5030-5091-
Megahertz band; and
(2) Avoid harmful interference amongst licensed users of the
5030-5091-Megahertz band and with any other user of terrestrial mobile
operations in the adjacent bands.
(c) ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL SPECTRUM FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
SYSTEMS OPERATIONS.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the Commission shall issue a Notice
of Inquiry to provide a comprehensive examination of the
spectrum needs of unmanned aircraft systems operations and
identify additional flexible-use spectrum bands that may be
suitable for use by or licensing to unmanned aircraft systems
operators, taking into account the airborne nature of such
spectrum usage. Rules for any frequency should be performance-
based, and priority should be given to providing widespread and
flexible use by unmanned aircraft systems operators to ensure
options are available that are suitable for the wide variation
in unmanned aircraft systems applications.
Overview
Spectrum needs for both civil and military aviation continue to be
an issue. We have repeatedly seen issues within the FAA related to
spectrum, notably the 5G meltdown in 2021. There are several efforts
underway to open up certain spectrum for use by UAS, which is the
product of industry collaboration with the FAA and Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), as well as collaboration amongst the
two regulators. The FCC just issued two notices critical to UAS and
spectrum. It is our goal to ensure that the FAA's Spectrum Engineering
& Policy Office has the resources they need to accommodate the UAS and
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industries.
The FCC put out its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) on the proposed C-band rules for drone command and control (C2).
Simply put, the C-band has long been allocated for UAS use, but has no
existing service/licensing rules. The Aerospace Industries Association
(AIA), an industry group, filed a petition for rulemaking to establish
service and licensing rules for the band. On September 7, 2022, the FCC
Chairwoman put an NPRM on this issue on circulation. The NPRM also
covers other UAS-related spectrum issues.
Additionally, the FCC released its Seventh Report and Order (R&O)
and Ninth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in a proceeding
about the 4.9 GHz band. This spectrum band has long been allocated for
public safety but is underutilized, and the FCC has been considering
moving to a nationwide band manager framework for the band and allowing
non-public safety entities to lease spectrum in the band to maximize
its usage. In the Eighth FNPRM in this proceeding, the FCC sought
comment on allowing aeronautical mobile use in the band, but expressly
excluded UAS from that proposal. Excluding UAS from the proposal was
consistent with language in the Sixth FNPRM, where the FCC said it
would be ``premature'' to permit UAS usage of the band for a variety of
reasons, including the limitations in Part 107 as it existed in March
2018, and the lack of service rules for UAS in any other spectrum band.
In the current Seventh R&O and Ninth FNPRM, the FCC has decided to
designate a Band Manager for the band and to allow leasing of unused
4.9 GHz spectrum to non-public safety entities. This development has
also prompted the FCC to reconsider its prior conclusions against UAS
use in the band.
DATA
Priority: Direct the FAA to develop processes and procedures to
permit the release of primary and secondary surveillance radar data to
trusted United States agents for management and redistribution.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. SECURE ACCESS TO NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM DATA
(a) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration (in this section referred to as the `Administrator')
shall initiate a review of all programs, policies, and guidance
regarding secure access to National Airspace System data by industry
and non-federal entities, including access to real-time primary
surveillance radar data, for the purposes of advancing aviation safety
and developing detect and avoid capabilities for existing and new
aviation users.
(b) CONTENTS.--The review shall:
(1) Evaluate the Federal Aviation Administration's
collaboration with interagency partners, including the Department of
Defense on non-federal access to National Airspace System data for
those entities that do not have access under existing programs, and
identify specific impediments to secure data access;
(2) Review existing demonstration projects involving access
to National Airspace System data by non-federal entities;
(3) Identify or create project plans and a process for
consultation with non-federal stakeholders, including an estimate of
the date the demonstration projects will be completed; and
(4) Identify technical and administrative limitations,
create a project plan, and identify additional resources necessary for
the Administrator to provide qualified non-federal entities with real-
time access to National Airspace System data, including primary
surveillance radar data from existing assets.
(c) REPORT.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit to the
appropriate Committees in Congress a report on the results of the
review required under subsection (a).
(1) The assessment developed under this subsection shall be
unclassified but may contain a classified annex.
(d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall create an
implementation plan for secure non-federal access to National Airspace
System data. The implementation plan shall include:
(1) A streamlined process for applicants to request secure
access to real-time primary surveillance radar data for specific
geographic areas;
(2) The data security processes and protocols that
applicants must adhere to when accessing, using, storing, and
distributing real-time primary surveillance radar data; and
(3) The process for managing any limitations on access to
real-time primary surveillance radar data that may be imposed on the
Administrator by interagency partners.
(e) The Administrator shall task the Advanced Aviation
Advisory Committee with developing recommendations to enable and
incentivize two-way sharing of primary radar data and other types of
National Airspace System data between developers, operators, third-
party service providers, and the Federal Aviation Administration to
enhance radar coverage by incentivizing non-federal entities to
participate in data sharing arrangements.
(1) Not more than 180 days after being tasked, the Advanced
Aviation Advisory Committee shall deliver a report to the Administrator
containing recommendations on the regulatory changes, policies,
technologies, guidance, and incentives necessary to enable two-way data
sharing and improved radar surveillance converge as described in
subsection (e).
(f) The Administrator shall develop functional and performance
requirements to enhance the Traffic Information Service-Broadcast to
support detect and avoid functions in the National Airspace System.
(1) Not more than 90 days after being tasked, the Federal
Aviation Administration shall develop a plan to engage with non-federal
stakeholders, nonprofit associations, and other relevant stakeholders
in carrying out the tasks identified in subparagraph (f).
(2) The plan shall include development of a prototype of a
Traffic Information Service-Broadcast capability that enables detect
and avoid for aircraft equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-
Broadcast In equipment.
(3) Not more than 270 days after being tasked, the Federal
Aviation Administration shall develop a report on the functional,
performance, and integration requirements for ground-based primary
surveillance radar to support collision avoidance.
Overview
The National Airspace System (NAS) lacks infrastructure that would
enable the industry to safely conduct higher risk missions and increase
airspace density. AUVSI believes more emphasis needs to be placed on
this problem. The FAA also needs to share its robust surveillance
datasets as generated by NAS assets, including federal radars, which
would better inform the autonomy industry and various types of uncrewed
operations moving forward. Congress must put pressure on the FAA to
share critical surveillance data, in addition to other robust data
sets.
AUVSI requests that Congress directs the FAA to develop processes
and procedures to permit the real time release of primary and secondary
surveillance radar data to trusted United States agents for management
and redistribution. The FAA has extensive radar coverage throughout the
United States, all of which is taxpayer funded, and provide a
substantial layer of safety for large Part 23 uncrewed systems flying
at medium to high altitudes. The FAA should include processes to
identify and filter out all national security sensitive operations,
while providing data to qualified public and civil operators of large
UAS in the NAS.
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
federal airspace preemption
Priority: Clarify that the FAA is the sole regulator of matters
pertaining to aviation safety, including the use of the airspace at all
altitudes and the categorization of drones as aircraft.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. FEDERAL AIRSPACE PREEMPTION
Alternative 1:
Amend 49 U.S.C. Chapter 448 by adding at the end the following
new section:
Sec. 44811 PREEMPTION OF STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.--No state or
political subdivision of a State may adopt, maintain, enforce,
prescribe, or continue in effect any law, regulation, rule,
standard, requirement, or other provision having the force and
effect of law of any State or political subdivision of a State
pertaining to:
(a) Aviation safety at all altitudes of airspace;
(b) Air navigation at all altitudes of airspace; or
(c) Categorization of unmanned aircraft systems
that is covered by the provisions of this subpart, or rule,
regulation, or requirement promulgated under this subpart.
Alternative 2:
Amend 49 U.S.C. Sec. 40103(b) by adding at the end a new
paragraph:
(5) For the purposes of carrying out paragraph (2), the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall be
the sole entity prescribing air traffic regulations pertaining
to aviation safety and air navigation at all altitudes of
airspace and for all categorization of unmanned aircraft
systems under this section. No state or political subdivision
of a State may adopt, maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue
in effect any law, regulation, rule, standard, requirement, or
other provision having the force and effect of law of any State
or political subdivision of a State covered by the provisions
of this section, or a rule regulation, or requirement
promulgated under this section.
Overview
AUVSI has long advocated that FAA's occupation of the fields of air
navigation and aviation safety preempts attempts by states and
localities to exert control over the airspace and regulate operational
aspects of the drone industry. In this advocacy, we have explained that
federal control over flight operations is necessary for aviation safety
given that the airspace is a unique resource that demands centralized
federal control. This is something that courts have long recognized in
the context of manned aviation. It is no less true in the uncrewed
context, as the FAA explained in its 2015 Fact Sheet:
``Substantial air safety issues are raised when state or local
governments attempt to regulate the operation or flight of
aircraft. If one or two municipalities enacted ordinances
regulating UAS in the navigable airspace and a significant
number of municipalities followed suit, fractionalized control
of the navigable airspace could result with the potential for
conflicting or incompatible requirements for UAS and manned
aircraft in low altitudes and/or at the boundaries of a local
jurisdiction. Additionally, this `patchwork quilt' of differing
restrictions could severely limit the flexibility of FAA in
controlling the airspace and flight patterns and ensuring
safety and an efficient air traffic flow of all types. A
navigable airspace free from overreaching state and local
restrictions is essential to the maintenance of a safe and
sound air transportation system.''
This is also consistent with the position that the FAA has taken
elsewhere. For example, when discussing the scope of its authority with
the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the FAA noted that it ``is
responsible for air safety `from the ground up,' including with respect
to UAS operations,'' and that this ``authority and responsibility to
regulate all aircraft operations down to the ground is based in part on
49 U.S.C. Section 40103(b)(1),'' which is derived from the original
assertion of Congressional authority in 1928. Similarly, in pursuing
enforcement against dangerous uses of drones, the agency has
consistently viewed its responsibility as covering all UAS operations,
no matter the altitude.
While we believe that the FAA has the requisite authority today to
ensure that UAS operations can continue and expand safely under federal
regulation without undue intrusion from state and local regulators,
courts have expressed some confusion about the proper scope of
preemption when it comes to uncrewed aircraft and have reached
seemingly inconsistent results. The GAO report itself also highlights
that other stakeholders may not always agree about the degree to which
the FAA's rules are preemptive. Additional clarity from Congress
stating that the FAA is the sole authority to regulate UAS at all
altitudes will be critical as these debates continue.
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
u.s. competitiveness
Priority 1: Enact the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant (DIIG)
Act (S. 4744 and H.R. 5315) from the 117th Congress. 118th Congress
House and Senate versions of the DIIG Act are expected to be introduced
imminently.
AUVSI has long advocated that the DIIG Act be enacted into law. The
commonsense legislation would enhance United States competitiveness by
spurring investment in the United States drone industry and worker
training, and also provides tangible benefits for infrastructure
inspection.
Priority 2: Require the FAA to reverse its policy that prohibits
both manned and unmanned aircraft flights over the High Seas, or beyond
the United States 12 nautical mile territorial boundary.
There is a need for clarity on the FAA's policy related to
authorization of United States-registered UAS (and all aircraft) for
operations in airspace over the High Seas (i.e., International
Airspace). For the United States to maintain its leadership role in the
global effort to integrate UAS into the global aviation ecosystem, it
is important that the FAA work with industry to define a path by which
UAS with a Special Airworthiness Certificate can be authorized to fly
in United States Flight Information Regions beyond 12 nautical miles.
Suggested Language:
Alternative 1:
SEC. [ ]. OPERATIONS OVER THE HIGH SEAS
(a) IN GENERAL.--Within 180 days of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination
with industry, shall create an operational approval process to allow
small unmanned aircraft systems, or unmanned aircraft systems with a
special airworthiness certificate, flight over the High Seas within
Flight Information Regions managed by the United States.
Alternative 2:
SEC. [ ]. OPERATIONS OVER THE HIGH SEAS
(a) IN GENERAL.--Within 90 days of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section
referred to as the `Administrator'), in coordination with industry,
shall establish an expert group to evaluate applicable International
Civil Aviation Organization Annexes and documents concerning unmanned
aircraft systems flights entering and exiting the High Seas within the
United States Flight Information Regions. Within 90 days of the expert
group convening, the Administrator shall submit a report to Congress
describing a pathway for approving unmanned aircraft systems operations
that commence from the United States National Airspace System, operate
and remain over the High Seas within Flight Information Regions managed
by the United States, and then return to land within the United States
National Airspace System.
Priority 3: Support for domestic UAS companies.
Domestic UAS manufacturers have struggled to compete against
foreign subsidized competition, which holds back the availability of
United States-made UAS and harms the potential for workforce growth and
investment.
Accordingly, the United States Government must foster a more
competitive and fair playing field for domestic, United States-based
manufacturers. Investing in and expanding new manufacturing
capabilities and our workforce will require infrastructure and capital
expenditures. Providing tax incentives, grant programs, and other
mechanisms to spur that spending would accelerate growth and
development that would have otherwise been delayed or denied.
Manufacturers tax credits for the production and sale of certain UAS
equipment produced and sold in the United States would be a huge
benefit to the industry and its competitiveness and would decrease a
reliance on UAS from foreign nations, notably China.
In addition to the language below, AUVSI requests that Congress
creates a tax incentive program for UAS manufacturing modeled after the
Solar Energy Manufacturing for America (SEMA) Act, or modeled after
language included in the House's Bioeconomy Research and Development
Act of 2021, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-
Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022,
and the Senate's United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA)
on semiconductors and other technologies. This should be created in
coordination with the House Ways and Means Committee for ultimate
inclusion in the tax title that they produce for the FAA
Reauthorization.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. ENSURING UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS COMPETITIVENESS
ACT OF 2023
(a) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the ``Ensuring
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Competitiveness Act of 2023''.
(b) FINDINGS.--The Congress makes the following findings:
(c) DEFINITIONS.--In this section:
(1) Unmanned Aircraft Systems or UAS.--The term ``Unmanned
Aircraft Systems'' or `UAS' has the meaning given the term `unmanned
aircraft system' in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the National
UAS Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative established under
subsection (d).
(d) NATIONAL UAS MANUFACTURING COMPETITVENESS INITIATIVE
(1) IN GENERAL.--The President, acting through the Office of
Science and Technology Policy, shall implement a National UAS
Competitiveness Initiative to advance societal well-being, national
security, sustainability, and economic productivity and competitiveness
of the UAS industry through:
(A) Advancing areas of research regarding manufacturing of
UAS to accelerate technological innovation, and domestic
competitiveness, in the design, production, application, and services
of UAS;
(B) Supporting research and development of novel tools and
technologies to address UAS navigation and communication, including
traffic and obstacle detection by UAS, all in an effort to increase
competitiveness;
(C) Advancing areas of research for batteries used by UAS
to optimize, scale, and deliver new products and solutions;
(D) Supporting social and behavioral sciences and
economics research that advances the field of UAS manufacturing and
contributes to the development and public understanding of new UAS
products, technologies, applications, and services;
(E) Accelerating the translation and commercialization of
UAS research and development and competitiveness by the private sector;
(F) Improving the interagency planning and coordination of
Federal Government activities related to UAS; and
(G) Identifying specific ways the Federal Government can
help better foster UAS technology and integration into our National
Airspace System, given that the technology is here, and industry is
ready to operate in a more meaningful way, now.
(2) INITIATIVE ACTIVITIES.--The activities of the Initiative
shall include:
(A) Sustained support for UAS manufacturing
competitiveness through:
(i) Grant funding to individual researchers and teams of
individuals;
(ii) Projects funded under joint solicitations by a
collaboration of no fewer than two Agencies participating in the
Initiative; and
(iii) Interdisciplinary research and UAS competitiveness
centers that are organized to carry out technology development and
demonstration activities.
(B) Sustained support for the development, optimization,
and validation of novel tools and technologies to enable the dynamic
application of UAS in the field of agriculture, military, aerospace,
entertainment, and security, including through:
(i) Research conducted at Federal laboratories;
(ii) Grants to fund the work of researchers at
institutions of higher education and other nonprofit research
institutions; and
(iii) Awards under the Small Business Innovation
Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs, as described
in section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638).
(C) Activities to develop robust mechanisms for
documenting and quantifying the outputs and economic benefits of UAS
manufacturing;
(D) Activities to accelerate the translation and
commercialization of new products, applications, and technologies by:
(i) Identifying precompetitive research opportunities;
(ii) Facilitating public-private partnerships in UAS
research and development to spur competitiveness;
(iii) Connecting researchers, graduate students, and
postdoctoral fellows with entrepreneurship education and training
opportunities; and
(iv) Supporting proof of concept activities and the
formation of startup companies including through programs such as the
Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology
Transfer Programs.
(H) Foster better integration of UAS technologies into our
National Airspace System and ensure those already operating can do so
in a more meaningful way.
(3) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.--The Initiative shall include,
to the maximum extent practicable, outreach to primarily undergraduate
and minority-serving institutions (and institutions of higher education
with an established STEM capacity building program focused on
traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM, including Native
Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Tribal Nations) about Initiative
opportunities, and shall encourage the development of research
collaborations between research-intensive universities and primarily
undergraduate and minority-serving institutions (and institutions of
higher education with an established STEM capacity building program
focused on traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM,
including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Tribal Nations).
(4) ESTABLISH UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY
PRIORITY.--Pursuant to this Initiative, all Agencies involved must give
priority to small business concerns that participate in or conduct
research and development relating to UAS technologies and their
competitiveness, UAS manufacturing processes, UAS component production,
UAS aircraft production, or UAS workforce skills and protection. The
Small Business Administration's Small Business Innovation Research and
Small Business Technology Transfer Programs should take a leading role
in this effort. Each Agency must include in its Annual Report to the
Small Business Administration a synopsis of its implementation of these
requirements. All Agencies involved in this Initiative must assess
their needs keeping tangible numbers of solicitation topics, awards,
and dollars in mind. Mechanisms commonly used by Agencies to give
priority to UAS-related work include:
(A) Adding UAS-related topics in solicitations;
(B) Requesting in solicitations that proposals address any
possible UAS-related elements of the small businesses' proposed work,
technological approach, delivery, or resulting technological
applicability to the UAS development processes; and
(C) Noting in solicitations that including such elements
in proposals may provide a competitive advantage in the award selection
process.
Additionally, cross-Agency collaborations, targeted
outreach efforts, and other Agency specific activities related to UAS
development contribute to addressing the objectives of the Initiative
and should be prioritized.
(5) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY, SECURITY, AND
SOCIETAL ISSUES.--Initiative activities shall take into account
ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and other appropriate
societal issues by:
(A) Supporting research, including in the social sciences,
and other activities addressing ethical, legal, environmental, and
other appropriate societal issues related to UAS manufacturing and
adoption;
(B) Supporting research and other activities related to
the safety and security implications of UAS;
(C) Ensuring that input from Federal and non-Federal
experts on the ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and
other appropriate societal issues related to UAS adoption is integrated
into the Initiative;
(D) Ensuring, through the Agencies and departments that
participate in the Initiative, that public input and outreach are
integrated into the Initiative by the convening of regular and ongoing
public discussions through mechanisms such as workshops, consensus
conferences, and educational events, as appropriate; and
(E) Complying with all applicable provisions of Federal
law.
(e) INITIATIVE COORDINATION.--
(1) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.--The President, acting through
the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall designate an
Interagency Committee to coordinate activities of the Initiative as
appropriate, which shall be co-chaired by the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and include representatives from the National
Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal
Communications Commission, the Department of Defense, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of
Economic Analysis, and any other agency that the President considers
appropriate (in this section referred to as the Interagency Committee).
The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall
select an additional co-chairperson from the members of the Interagency
Committee. The Interagency Committee shall oversee the planning,
management, and coordination of the Initiative. The Interagency
Committee shall:
(A) Provide for interagency coordination of Federal UAS
manufacturing research, development, and other activities undertaken
pursuant to the Initiative;
(B) Establish and periodically update goals and priorities
for the Initiative;
(C) Develop, not later than 12 months after the date of
the enactment of this section, and update every 3 years thereafter, a
strategic plan submitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate that:
(i) Guides the activities of the Initiative for the
purposes of meeting the goals and priorities established under (and
updated pursuant to) subparagraph (B); and
(ii) Describes:
(I) The Initiative's support for long-term funding for
UAS manufacturing research and development and competitiveness;
(II) The Initiative's support for education and public
outreach activities;
(III) The Initiative's support for research and other
activities on ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and
other appropriate societal issues related to UAS;
(IV) How the Initiative will contribute to moving
results out of the laboratory and into application for the benefit of
society and United States competitiveness; and
(V) How the Initiative will measure and track the
contributions of UAS to United States economic growth and other
societal indicator.
(D) Develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, such as
the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology
Transfer Programs as described in section 9 of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 638), in support of the activities described in subsection
(d)(2)(B);
(E) In carrying out this subsection, take into
consideration the recommendations of the Advisory Committee established
under subsection (f), the results of the workshop convened under
subsection (d)(4)(D), existing reports on related topics, and the views
of academic, State, industry, and other appropriate groups; and
(F) Ensure better integration of UAS technologies into our
National Airspace System and work with those in industry already
operating to better understand changes the Federal Aviation
Administration needs to make to allow them to do so in a more
meaningful way.
(2) TRIENNIAL REPORT.--Beginning with fiscal year 2023 and
ending in fiscal year 2029, not later than 90 days after submission of
the President's annual budget request and every third fiscal year
thereafter, the Interagency Committee shall prepare and submit to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report that includes:
(A) A summarized Agency budget in support of the
Initiative for the fiscal year to which such budget request applies,
for the following 2 fiscal years, for the then current fiscal year,
including a breakout of spending for each Agency participating in the
Program, and for the development and acquisition of any research
facilities and instrumentation; and
(B) An assessment of how Federal Agencies are implementing
the plan described in paragraph (1)(C), including:
(i) A description of the amount and number of awards
made under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small
Business Technology Transfer Programs (as described in section 9 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638)) in support of the Initiative;
(ii) A description of the amount and number of projects
funded under joint solicitations by a collaboration of no fewer than 2
Agencies participating in the Initiative; and
(iii) A description of the effect of the newly funded
projects by the Initiative.
(3) INITIATIVE OFFICE.--
(A) IN GENERAL.--The President shall establish an
Initiative Coordination Office, with a Director and full-time staff,
which shall:
(i) Provide technical and administrative support to the
Interagency Committee and the Advisory Committee established under
subsection (f);
(ii) Serve as the point of contact on Federal UAS
manufacturing competitiveness activities for government organizations,
academia, industry, professional societies, State governments,
interested citizen groups, and others to exchange technical and
programmatic information;
(iii) Oversee interagency coordination of the
Initiative, including by encouraging and supporting joint agency
solicitation and selection of applications for funding of activities
under the Initiative, as appropriate;
(iv) Conduct public outreach, including dissemination of
findings and recommendations of the Advisory Committee established
under subsection (f), as appropriate;
(v) Serve as the coordinator of ethical, legal,
environmental, safety, security, and other appropriate societal input;
and
(vi) Promote access to, and early application of, the
technologies, innovations, and expertise derived from Initiative
activities to agency missions and systems across the Federal
Government, and to United States industry, including startup companies.
(B) FUNDING.--The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, in coordination with each participating Federal
department and Agency, as appropriate, shall develop and annually
update an estimate of the funds necessary to carry out the activities
of the Initiative Coordination Office and submit such estimate with an
agreed summary of contributions from each agency to Congress as part of
the President's annual budget request to Congress.
(C) TERMINATION.--The Initiative Coordination Office
established under this paragraph shall terminate on the date that is 10
years after the date of the enactment of this section.
(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to alter the policies, processes, or practices of
individual Federal Agencies in effect on the day before the date of the
enactment of this division relating to the conduct of UAS research and
advanced development and competitiveness.
(f) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--The agency co-chair of the Interagency
Committee established in subsection (e) shall, in consultation with the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, designate or establish an
Advisory Committee on UAS manufacturing competitiveness (in this
subsection referred to as the Advisory Committee) to be composed of not
fewer than 12 members, including representatives of industry, research
and academic institutions, and nongovernmental entities, who are
qualified to provide advice on the Initiative.
(2) ASSESSMENT.--The Advisory Committee shall assess:
(A) The current state of United States competitiveness in
UAS manufacturing, including the scope and scale of United States
investments in UAS manufacturing research and development and
competitiveness in the international context;
(B) Current market barriers to commercialization of UAS
manufacturing products, processes, and tools in the United States;
(C) Progress made in implementing the Initiative;
(D) The need to revise the Initiative;
(E) The balance of activities and funding across the
Initiative;
(F) Whether the strategic plan developed or updated by the
Interagency Committee established under subsection (e) is helping to
maintain United States leadership in UAS manufacturing;
(G) The management, coordination, implementation, and
activities of the Initiative;
(H) Whether ethical, legal, environmental, safety,
security, and other appropriate societal issues are adequately
addressed by the Initiative; and
(I) Identify issues with the Federal Aviation
Administration's approach to regulating UAS integration into the
National Airspace System, and identify ways to ensure those already
operating can do so in a more meaningful way.
(3) REPORTS.--Beginning not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this division, and not less frequently than once
every 3 years thereafter, the Advisory Committee shall submit to the
President, and the appropriate Committees in Congress, a report on:
(A) The findings of the Advisory Committee's assessment
under paragraph (2); and
(B) The Advisory Committee's recommendations for ways to
improve the Initiative.
(4) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.--Section
14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply to the Advisory Committee.
(5) TERMINATION.--The Advisory Committee established under
paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require public disclosure of information that is exempt
from mandatory disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States
Code.
Priority 4: Enactment of the Securing American Mineral Supply
Chains Act.
When we ask domestic UAS manufacturers how to level the playing
field (specifically with manufacturers that are subsidized by their
country's governments, like DJI), one of the issues that has been
raised by a number of them is access to rare earth driven components.
AUVSI encourages the enactment of the Securing American Mineral
Supply Chains Act (H.R. 8981) from the 117th Congress. It would be
highly beneficial to the UAS industry as the legislation would ensure
the availability of critical materials that support the manufacturing
process of UAS and their components.
AUVSI
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Priorities
uas traffic management (utm) & remote identification (remote id)
Priority: AUVSI requests that Congress ensures the FAA accepts ASTM
International's Standard Specification for UTM UAS Service Supplier
(USS) Interoperability. Additionally, AUVSI urges Congress to ensure
the FAA accepts other industry standards, including those from RTCA SC-
228. FAA acceptance of industry consensus standards will significantly
benefit the UAS and Advanced Air Mobility and related industries in the
U.S.
Suggested Language:
SEC. [ ]. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
IMPLEMENTATION
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.--It is the sense of Congress that the
FAA has failed to both timely and fully implement the
requirements set forth in sections 2208 and 2209 of Public Law
No. 114-190, the Federal Aviation Administration Extension,
Safety, and Security Act, and sections 376 and 377 of Public
Law No. 115-254, the Federal Aviation Administration
Reauthorization Act of 2018, despite the leadership of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the
significant investment of time and resources by the private
sector. As a consequence, the European Union and other
countries have moved ahead with design and deployment of
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (in this section
referred to as `UTM') systems. The Congress believes that now
is the time to move forward with implementation by the adoption
of standards and by providing financial incentives to the
private sector to help progress the development of a UTM system
in the United States.
(b) RULEMAKING.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Federal Aviation Administration shall
amend the final rules adopted in the Remote Identification of Unmanned
Aircraft Systems proceeding (Docket No. FAA-2019-1100, RIN 2120-AL31)
in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION.--In amending the rules pursuant to
paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
(in this section referred to as the `Administrator'), shall:
(a) Adopt ASTM International's Standard Specification for
UTM Unmanned Aircraft Systems Service Supplier Interoperability (ASTM
Standard No. F3548-21) released on January 12, 2021, for the
specification of components that may be used to satisfy requirements
related to UTM regulations; and
(b) Accept other industry standards, including those from
RTCA SC-228, to satisfy the specifications required for the remote
identification of unmanned aircraft systems.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.--There is authorized to
be appropriated to carry out the purposes in subsection (d) to
further the development and implementation of UTM for the
National Airspace System consistent with Public Law No. 115-
254:
(1) $20,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2023;
(2) $20,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2024;
(3) $20,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2025; and
(4) $20,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2026.
(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.--In this section, the term ``eligible
entity'' means a state or tribal government, a political
subdivision of a state, local, or tribal government, or a
combination of such entities, or a non-profit or for-profit
company, that intends to participate in a UTM system as an
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Service Supplier.
(e) AUTHORIZED PURPOSES.--A grant provided under this section
may be used for the following purposes:
(1) To research and identify meteorological data for low-
altitude unmanned aircraft systems operations and to establish
reliability measures for the meteorological data over traditional
certification standards;
(2) To work with the Federal Aviation Administration and
National Aeronautics and Space Administration to:
(i) Define and implement ``Performance Authorizations'' as
such term is used in the Federal Aviation Administration UTM Concept of
Operations; and
(ii) Combine airspace and operational approvals by means of
UTM.
(3) To work with the Federal Aviation Administration and
National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish appropriate
test and validation environments for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Service
Supplier interoperability and approval of UTM standards and services,
and to conduct testing of USS services and interoperability; and
(4) To work with the Federal Aviation Administration, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and cybersecurity
experts to explore potential areas for cybersecurity resilience that
can be used to develop performance requirements for UTM Service
Supplier approvals, including but not limited to remote unmanned
aircraft systems identification and network identification.
(f) GRANT PROCESS.--Within 60 days after enactment of this
section, the Administrator shall develop a process for the
submission, review, and granting of applications for grant
funds to participate in UTM development.
Overview
There is wide-spread consensus that supporting multiple complex
BVLOS operations will require a federated cloud-based UTM system.
However, that system will take time to develop, while many UAS
operators are already capable of safely conducting BVLOS operations,
and many simpler BVLOS operations involving lower risk levels may not
require a high degree of oversight or coordination. Regulations should
provide a near-term solution that will allow such operators the ability
to conduct BVLOS operations immediately after the regulations are
finalized. Initially, the number of operators capable of conducting
complex BVLOS operations will be limited, therefore the security
requirements for BVLOS may be more cumbersome, e.g., less automated,
than the envisioned but eventual, UTM system.
Remote ID of UAS is a security tool required by the United States
government for operation by providing a ``digital license plate'' for
nearly all UAS operating in the National Airspace System (NAS). A
Remote ID system can give law enforcement, security officials, and the
general public necessary information about a nearby UAS, which may help
to ensure operations are safe and secure. International standards
development organizations have produced Remote ID specifications that
allow UAS operators to meet Remote ID requirements through two means--
broadcast (based on radio frequency) and network (based on internet
connectivity).
The Government Performance and Results Act requires DOT to set
performance goals that are objective, quantifiable, and measurable.
Although the FAA typically follows the Department's performance-based
requirements and allows industry to develop innovative solutions to
meet that standard, the Remote ID Final Rule chose only one technology,
broadcast, to comply with the rule.
AUVSI supports the Remote ID rule that mandates broadcast
identification, however, many of our members are innovating alternative
ways to comply with Remote ID as technology evolves, including network
identification, which could help to enable UTM operations. AUVSI asks
Congress to urge the FAA to explore additional identification solutions
for Remote ID. As noted in the Remote ID Final Rule, the FAA should
strive to ensure that they, along with the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) are ``prepared to solve
safety and security issues related to those concepts based on more
mature understandings.''
AUVSI asks that Congress urge the national security agencies to
engage in an open dialogue with industry stakeholders and civil society
stakeholders to find solutions that enhance Remote ID, specifically
Remote ID solutions that enable Remote ID data to be accessed via a
network, while maintaining appropriate privacy safeguards for UAS
operators and customers.
Congress must provide clarity on UTM for industry in an effort to
support more systematic integration of UAS and Advanced Air Mobility
(AAM) into the NAS at altitude. This clarity should include requiring
more collaboration between the FAA and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration on their UTM positions. Additionally, any language
around Network Remote ID should include a directive to the FAA rather
than just urging a dialogue with national security agencies.
Appendix
----------
Questions from Hon. Marcus J. Molinaro to Adam Woodworth, Chief
Executive Officer, Wing Aviation LLC
Question 1. Mr. Woodworth, I'd like to hear more about the
``cooperative airspace environment'' that you mentioned in your opening
statement.
Question 1.a. I'm sure you understand that there's concern within
the General Aviation community about how they'd be able to see small
drones like yours and how you'd be able to safely avoid other aircraft.
I want to see this work, but can you tell me how new technologies are
going to be able to safely co-exist with legacy aircraft?
Answer. A cooperative airspace environment is one in which we are
able to use existing and new technologies to modernize the airspace in
ways that will improve access for new entrants and enhance overall
safety. We can do that by adopting existing, effective and affordable
technologies such as ADS-B that increase operators' overall awareness
of the airspace and aircraft around them. Through shared adoption of
these technologies, commercial UAS will be able to discern the presence
of other aircraft in an operating area, and safely avoid any legacy
aircraft so that traditional pilots won't need to worry about seeing
and avoiding small drones.
ADS-B is just one of many technologies produced and used globally
that can provide electronic conspicuity to enable a cooperative
airspace. In addition to ADS-B, there are capable non-TSO solutions
that provide reliable awareness of a crewed aircraft that are
affordable and easy to implement. These solutions should also be re-
examined for application in this use case.
From the perspective of the commercial drone operator, a
cooperative airspace will be underpinned by UAS Traffic Management (or
UTM) technology that is used for strategic deconfliction, and will
improve a safe and accessible low altitude airspace. UTM creates a co-
operative environment for drone to drone separation through strategic
deconfliction and can also increase awareness by surfacing information
like TFRs and ingesting ADS-B or otherwise conspicuous crewed traffic.
UTM systems are already being deployed by companies around the world
for fleet management, including at Wing, and traffic awareness
technology like ADS-B is critical to incorporating data about the
presence of any general aviation aircraft in that low altitude airspace
in the rare instances where that may occur.
Additional situational awareness capabilities, such as remote
identification technology, will be helpful for law enforcement and the
general public to discern the identity of uncrewed aircraft and their
operators. These capabilities will assist law enforcement with threat
classification and mitigation often associated with counter-UAS
technology use cases. Using these tools that foster a cooperative and
integrated approach to accessing our airspace, and building effective
education campaigns to ensure operators are using them, will serve to
isolate any incidents where mitigation tactics are even necessary.
Counter-UAS is a combination of detection and mitigation, as well as
responsible policies and frameworks that encourage safe and compliant
use of UAS. There are a growing number of technological solutions that
pair with `traditional' counter-UAS capabilities that should be
considered to help promote lawful UAS operations.
Question 1.b. What are the most detrimental ramifications if the
FAA does not find a way to integrate UAS in the United States in a
timely manner, as you see it?
Answer. The drone industry has demonstrated its ability and
enormous potential at scale to offer numerous benefits to society
including benefits to the economy, environment, equity, and safety.
Several studies have quantified the various tangible benefits of UAS
integration for communities across the country, from lower carbon
emissions to reduced traffic congestion to economic growth and job
creation.\1\ The American people would be missing out on these benefits
if we cannot find a way to integrate UAS in a timely manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See, e.g., Rodrigues et al, Drone flight data reveal energy and
greenhouse gas emissions savings for small package delivery (Cornell
Univ. arXiv.org, Nov. 2021); Zipline, A First-Ever Look at the
Sustainability of Autonomous Aerial Logistics (Zipline Blog, Nov.
2021); Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development, Measuring the
Effects of Drone Delivery in the United States, (September 2020);
Accenture, Faster, Safer, and Greener: The Potential Impact of Delivery
Drones in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (Feb. 2021), available at:
https://storage.googleapis.com/wing-static-us/us/
Dallas%20Impact%20Report.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equally important, however, is the importance of the U.S.
maintaining leadership in technology and innovation from a global
competitiveness standpoint. The U.S. has always led on aviation
innovation, and with the rise of uncrewed aviation we have the
opportunity for a once-in-a-generation leap forward. Without a
regulatory structure in place that will allow for UAS integration, we
will cede this leadership position to other countries. The
technological innovation occurring in this industry--and all of the
other industries involved with automation that this innovation will
feed--will instead happen abroad, and it will take years for the U.S.
to catch up. This will have a direct negative impact on the viability
of commercial UAS businesses, their employees, their suppliers, and the
customers they serve.
Questions from Hon. Greg Stanton to Adam Woodworth, Chief Executive
Officer, Wing Aviation
Question 1. The drone industry is expected to create a large number
of new manufacturing, software, and pilot jobs. But it is also expected
to change the current workforce.
Question 1.a. What do we need to do as a country to be prepared to
answer the needs of the drone industry?
Answer. One of the core principles shaping my leadership at Wing is
that there is room for everyone in the airspace. My entry into aviation
as a career has been rooted in my passion for, and the availability of,
flying model aircraft. Others at Wing have come into their careers on
entirely different paths, and we employ people who hail from a wide
variety of professional backgrounds. This includes former military and
civilian pilots and former airspace design manufacturers, but a huge
portion of our workforce comprises those who previously have not worked
in the aviation sector but are passionate about its future and wish to
dedicate their expertise to creating a more inclusive airspace.
To address the needs of the industry, we need to seize on the
opportunity we have to bring entire new populations into the aviation
workforce. And my perspective is that the jobs created in this sector
will be additive to current job fields, creating new economic
opportunities that have not existed before. Many of the barriers to
entry commonly associated with becoming a commercial airline pilot
simply do not exist for becoming a drone pilot. As Wing has been doing,
we can be proactive in doing STEM outreach with middle and high school
students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. And we can leverage
our community college system by developing curricula that are tailored
to new industries around uncrewed aviation and automation, as your
bill--the DIIG Act--proposes.
Question 1.b. How can we guarantee the next generation of pilots
and aviation professionals more closely resemble the diverse
communities we all come from and are properly equipped to handle this
next generation technology?
Answer. UAS technologies have democratized aviation by offering a
less expensive and more accessible way to pursue an aviation career.
With lower barriers to entry and increased reach, the drone industry
has enormous potential to further broaden and diversify the evolving
aviation workforce. There are many examples of this potential already
being realized with small businesses across the U.S. incorporating UAS
into their offerings (photography, real estate, infrastructure
inspection, etc).\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See, e.g., New Part 107 Waiver Report--Analysis of Advanced
Operations Granted by the FAA, AUVSI (2020), available at: http://
auvsilink.org/PDFs/Part%20107%20Waiver
%20Update.pdf (finding that a large portion of Part 107 waivers the FAA
has granted are for commercial operations, with 87% of those businesses
generating less than $1M in annual revenues); Demand for Drone Pilots
Soars: UAV Jobs That Pay Over $100K, Vaughn College (August 2022),
available at: https://www.vaughn.edu/blog/demand-for-drone-pilots-
soars-uav-jobs-that-pay-over-100k/ (noting that demand is currently
surging for drone pilots and many positions provide salaries above
$100,000/year).
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To enhance knowledge and understanding of UAS technology in the
FAA's regulatory capacity and give greater visibility into the
employment opportunities that this industry provides, it would be
helpful for Congress to create programs for the FAA workforce to learn
about UAS in greater depth. The FAA also would benefit from including
UAS industry participants in legacy aviation working groups and
committees to ensure that the Administration considers these
perspectives in developing its rulemakings.
Exposure to drones through reaching new customers is another way to
expand the access to aviation careers and open doors of opportunity to
a more diverse workforce. Aviation, generally, is not bound to road
systems and topography to the same extent as surface transportation.
Since businesses are not constrained to roadway arteries, air
transportation provides a means to reach more communities including
communities that are not easily accessed by other modes of
transportation. UAS technology as a subset of the aviation sector
possesses even greater freedom, given the lack of air traffic corridors
or routes and the ability to move equally in all directions. This
flexibility unlocks unprecedented ways to provide services to
underserved populations and expose even more people to the
opportunities that UAS create from a customer and workforce
perspective.
In addition to the benefits that can be enabled, Congress should
protect the benefits that already exist. I have had the pleasure of
spending my career in the aviation industry, working alongside hundreds
of talented engineers over the years, and many can trace their
introduction to aviation and subsequent career interest to building and
flying model aircraft. Whether it was building a stick-and-tissue model
on a grandparent's kitchen table, or excitedly approaching a family
flying in a park, each had a story of the spark that set him or her
down a path towards flight. Our industry has been built by, and
sustained through, a flow of talented and inquisitive minds that have
been nurtured and instructed by the hobby of model aviation. Current
and future rulemaking should encourage, not hinder, this critical
entryway to aviation.
Questions from Hon. Anthony D'Esposito to Roxana Kennedy, Chief of
Police, Chula Vista Police Department
Question 1. Chief Kennedy, as a former NYPD detective and volunteer
firefighter, I sincerely thank you for testifying today on behalf of
first responders. There are many tools that first responders utilize to
survey emergencies so they can effectively mitigate the situation. Many
public safety groups that actively rely on tethered Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (AKA drones) to carry out critical operations. New York City's
pride, the FDNY, has a Drone and Robotics Team that plays a crucial
role in life-saving missions. They respond to fires, building
collapses, water rescues and many other disasters.
Question 1.a. Based on your experience, what value do tethered
UAS's provide first responders?
Answer. Most communities have high expectations for the complex
mission of law enforcement. But all communities expect that law
enforcement is working to keep the community safe and secure. Drones
can be a tremendous asset to enhancing that core mission. Law
enforcement UAS programs use drones to get to incidents quicker before
responding officers arrive, to provide first-hand and real-time
information directly to field personnel and incident commanders. Direct
and real-time information helps first responders to better understand
the situation that they are called to and empowers them with better
information with which to make emergency decisions that keep everyone
safe.
My agency does not currently utilize tethered drones, so our
experience with tethered drones is somewhat academic. But from a law
enforcement perspective, tethered drones can provide the same type of
capabilities as an untethered drone to enhance law enforcement's
mission to respond to emergency calls for service, to protect life and
property, and to keep our communities safe. Tethered drones have the
unique advantage of being connected (tethered) to a fixed source that
can provide constant power and communication, thus extending the
drone's potential flight time by eliminating current battery
limitations. The fixed power and communication source enables a
tethered drone to operate for numerous hours at a time. Using a
tethered drone can provide added security by being an airborne
observation platform during public events large and small.
The deployment and use of a tethered drone in a local environment
requires the support of the local community. Law enforcement agencies
must endeavor to establish strong engagement and relationships with the
community, to educate and enhance understanding about the intended
purpose and use of a tethered drone. At a local level, the use of a
tethered drone is not intended for the purpose of surveilling the
public. Instead, a tethered drone is intended to enhance law
enforcement's capability, in a very unique and specific way, to keep
our communities safe and secure. This level of understanding requires
transparency, dialogue, and community engagement.
Question 1.b. Do you believe in this FAA Reauthorization that
providing additional Tethered UAS systems would advance the mission of
first responders?
Answer. While introducing a tethered drone into local law
enforcement operations requires support from the local community,
tethered drones can further supplement the law enforcement mission to
protect and serve. Law enforcement drone programs are used to get to
incidents quicker before responding officers arrive, providing first-
hand and real-time information so that first responders are better
equipped to make emergency decisions, and to keep our communities safe.
The ability to monitor drone footage allows a law enforcement agency to
evaluate a situation remotely and relay information to officers and
supervisors in the field before they enter a danger zone. Using a
tethered drone would be the same concept as my agency's Drone as First
Responder program, except we would not be limited to the time
restraints of the drone's battery. In addition, the drone footage can
be live streamed to the incident commanders and first responders to
determine the best tools, tactics, and resources to mitigate a problem,
often before officers arrive.
Question 1.c. What would Law Enforcement like to see in the FAA
Reauthorization?
Answer. Law Enforcement and the FAA relationship is important. We
recommend the FAA include law enforcement in the discussions on the use
and implementation of Drone as First Responder programs in the National
Air Space.
There are some things they can
1. FAA'S COA Application Processing System (CAPS) Webpage
The website is cumbersome and difficult to navigate. It
is not user friendly.
Additionally, the FAA requires a single user be
registered to enter the monthly required COA flight data in the CAPS
system. Only one user is allowed to enter information for any
government agency changes. The website should allow multiple users per
organization this is to prevent any single point of failure and allow
an alternate or backup user to complete requirements.
2. Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) Agent Assistance
LEAP Special Agents should be more available to
agencies looking to apply for or renew COAs and waivers. There are over
18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States and very few LEAP
agents which makes it challenging to locate and contact the LEAP agent
for assistance.
3. New Technology Progression
FAA should continue to support law enforcement's use of
drone technology. Recently the FAA authorized a completely BVLOS
authorization for another law enforcement agency's DFR operation. This
is huge step and a win for law enforcement agencies using drones.
However, The FAA's inconsistencies when it comes to COA and
Waiver approvals create confusion. We recommend the recent approval of
what some call the ``digital visual observer'', become a standard
option for COA's. Removing the Remote Pilot in Command requirement will
reduce staffing costs allowing more law enforcement agencies the
ability to have a DFR program such as ours.
Questions from Hon. Greg Stanton to Roxana Kennedy, Chief of Police,
Chula Vista Police Department
Question 1. How has the use of drones enabled your department to
better serve the community you help to protect?
Answer. The Chula Vista Drone as First Responder (DFR) program
provides the ability to see what is happening at an incident before
emergency personnel arrive on scene. In addition to the overhead
perspective that traditional air support has always provided, DFR
allows the teleoperator, a trained sworn officer, to ``virtually''
arrive on scene first, sometimes minutes before ground units are in
harm's way.
The drone has a powerful onboard camera that streams HD video back
to the department's teleoperator, a trained critical incident manager
who controls the drone remotely and communicates with the units in the
field to give them information and tactical intelligence about what
they are responding to. The system also streams the video feed to the
cell phones of the first responders (including fire personnel),
supervisors, and command staff, so they can see exactly what the drone
sees.
The Chula Vista Police Department Drone as First Responder (DFR)
program has responded to over 14,500 emergency calls for service. Our
program has reduced response, increased safety, and provided real-time
information so our officers can make better-informed decisions. DFR is
the most critical tool in improving situational awareness, de-
escalating dangerous situations, and protecting our community, our
officers, and the individuals we contact safer.
Question 2. What specific training was necessary for your officers
to be able to leverage small UAS technology?
Answer. In addition to the training and study required to obtain
and maintain a FAA Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Pilot
license, all Chula Vista Police Department UAS team members are
required to train monthly which involves a variety of locations and
settings to ensure operational efficiency including annual National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sUAS test methods. All
training is documented, and the records are maintained at the Chula
Vista Police Department and are subject to review by the FAA.
Questions from Hon. Marcus J. Molinaro to Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical
Director, WakeMed Innovations, WakeMed Health and Hospitals
Question 1. Dr. Ginn: First off, I understand the head of SUNY
Upstate's Drone and Robotics program is here with you, so I'd like to
welcome you both and thank you for the research you do to advance this
very important growing sector of aviation.
What is the primary concern you have that may be holding back the
success of the UAS industry?
Answer. Thank you for the questions, Representative Molinaro.
The lack of a coherent and integrated regulatory framework for UAS
operations is at the core of this emerging industry's failure to scale
and deliver value, limiting advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystem
innovation and therefore public benefit and economic impact. In the
absence of a predictable regulatory framework permitting scaled
operations, the economics of drone-based products and services are not
compelling enough (currently) to create value for either the companies
attempting to innovate new systems using drones or, more importantly,
for their potential customers, who seek to innovate using the
technology. These operational limitations, in turn, inhibit incentives
for innovation and development of critical ecosystem components
(digital integration systems and technologies; ground-side
infrastructure accommodations and improvements; data sharing and
governance systems and technologies; etc) that will be necessary to
develop fully integrated and cooperative UAS systems capable of
delivering valuable services to businesses, communities, and citizens.
Put another way, effective innovation in the UAS space will flow
from the application of the technologies towards solving problems ``on
the ground'' in novel ways, not only from innovation in the vehicles
themselves. Without a core set of regulatory assets permitting safe
operations at scale, the AAM ecosystem may never mature enough to
deliver value or create broad public benefit.
Question 2. Apart from you being a surgeon, you are also a manned
pilot and a former airline pilot. Can you speak to some of the concerns
pilots have with drone operations and how we may be able to help lay
those concerns to rest?
Answer. Pilots are concerned that drones and other uncrewed systems
represent a new category of ``non-cooperative'' traffic operating in
the national airspace system. There are three general categories of
concern about small uncrewed aircraft systems: Visibility, ubiquity,
and predictability.
The concern among pilots--both general aviation and commercial/
airline pilots--is that uncrewed aircraft systems will lack visibility
in the airspace system; that they may be literally invisible due to
their smaller size, and technologically invisible, operating outside of
the existing airspace system. As ``non-cooperative aircraft'' operating
in shared airspace, the concern is that they may escape the crew's
capacity to exercise their responsibility to ``see and avoid''. This is
not a new concern, nor is it unique to drones and eVTOLs. Pilots have
long worried about non-cooperative aircraft--for instance, those not
equipped with Mode-C transponders; or even large birds or traditional
model aircraft--but the current regulatory framework aims to mitigate
these risks through the ``see-and-avoid'' concept. This, as you might
expect, does not give much comfort to pilots operating in uncontrolled
environments. So much so that new categories of technology such as ADS-
B have been developed to make more aircraft ``visible'' in both
controlled and uncontrolled airspace.
Secondly, pilots may be concerned that this new category of
aircraft will be more ubiquitous and possibly numerous than existing
aircraft, operating in places that have, until now, been outside or
segregated from the national airspace system. Specifically, airspace
close to the ground or near populated areas has been treated as
effectively prohibited (with some caveats). Terminal areas, in
particular (immediately surrounding airports and heliports)--where
legacy aircraft operate at lower altitudes as they arrive and depart
from ground-side facilities--represent airspace with an increased
volume and density of aircraft operating in close proximity to one
another, and pilots are understandably concerned that additional,
smaller uncrewed aircraft will represent a significant risk, not to
mention a source of distraction in an already high-workload
environment.
Third, pilots may be concerned that uncrewed aircraft will operate
or behave in unpredictable ways, since they currently fall outside of
coherent or integrated regulatory and operational frameworks. This is
another aspect of the ``non-cooperative aircraft'' concept of which
pilots (especially commercial pilots) are already wary. Integration of
NAS operations into the national airspace system will mitigate these
concerns, as pilots will have a shared understanding of how, when, and
where uncrewed aircraft will be operating. UAS will be ``cooperative''
and their operations predictable, just like other commercial aircraft.
From this perspective, the introduction of SUAS into the NAS, and
more specifically the technologies and procedures that could be
introduced to integrate them into the NAS, may represent an opportunity
to de-risk existing non-cooperative aircraft via more inclusive
technology platforms facilitating cooperation and visibility between
aircraft. A good proxy for this category of technology may be the ADS-B
system mentioned above, which augments ground-based radar systems and
has markedly improved aircraft visibility and safety since its
introduction. While the ADS-B system itself may face hurdles related to
bandwidth and scale precluding incorporation of SUAS, it represents the
kind of cooperative system that emerging technology should be able to
facilitate at a much larger scale.
Once drones and uncrewed aircraft are integrated into the national
airspace system--from both a regulatory and a technological
standpoint--these risks and concerns will be adequately mitigated and
pilots can operate with the assurance that any (or at least most)
aircraft they encounter will be ``cooperative'' and visible, following
the same rules as legacy aircraft operating in the national airspace
system.
Question from Hon. Greg Stanton to Stuart Ginn, M.D., Medical Director,
WakeMed Innovations, WakeMed Health and Hospitals
Question 1. How have drones enabled you to better serve your
patients?
Answer. Thank you for the question, Representative Stanton.
During the three years that WakeMed and our partners operated our
drone-based medical package delivery system, we were able to
significantly improve delivery times for routine blood samples between
two of our facilities. More importantly, we were able to demonstrate
the feasibility of integrating a drone-based small parcel delivery
system into our healthcare operation, paving the way for a scaled
system that would connect all of our hospitals and many of the smaller
but critical facilities and operations in the community (free-standing
Emergency Departments, pharmacies, clinics, laboratory facilities,
imaging services, etc). Owing to current regulatory constraints, we (or
more accurately, our operating partners, in this case Matternet and
UPS) were not able to scale the system beyond our first pilot route,
and have therefore been unable to realize the significant benefits to
our operations and by extension our patients and our community.
Drones and eVTOLs (collectively ``advanced air mobility'') will
positively impact healthcare access in communities in the United States
by connecting facilities and enabling the delivery of services in
places and at times where our current healthcare infrastructure is
strained or falling short. These are a new category of tools that, once
scalable and integrated, will improve access to healthcare services by
enhancing healthcare infrastructure and connecting healthcare providers
to the communities they serve--and to communities they want or need to
serve but cannot. In the aggregate, scaled and integrated AAM
technologies will comprise new forms of flexible, nodal, dynamic, and
affordable infrastructure through which healthcare systems can deliver
more services to more citizens in more places than ever before.
Questions from Hon. Sharice Davids to Kyle Clark, Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, BETA Technologies
Question 1. I was proud to cosponsor a bill with Chairman Garret
Graves last congress that became law--the Advanced Air Mobility
Coordination and Leadership Act--that established an interagency
working group to plan and coordinate efforts related to some of the
most pertinent issues that can bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S. .
. . With this working group established at U.S. DOT to begin
coordinated discussions about the national future of AAM, what are the
questions you would hope this group would ask? What answers do cities,
states, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies need to prepare for a
future with AAM?
Answer. The success of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry
requires cooperation from all levels of government. With all relevant
parties working together, AAM will be best positioned for seamless
integration into our communities, including those in Kansas. We're
eager to see the AAM Interagency Working Group's efforts kick off to
ensure that the U.S. can be a leader here.
For starters, BETA would like the working group to explore how this
industry can utilize existing infrastructure to help make AAM a
reality. Electrification of our nation's public airports and access to
existing heliports will help blend the innovation of AAM with assets
that already exist. That means installing interoperable, on-airport
charging infrastructure like BETA's that can service as many EVs as
possible--surface vehicles and aircraft alike. It also means providing
eVTOLs with a clear pathway to utilize existing heliports to safely
land at.
BETA would also like the working group to explore what use cases
the federal government has for AAM. Government adoption of these new
technologies will not only bring many benefits and opportunities to the
user, but also accelerate our industry's progress and spur commercial
investment. Some use cases that we're already exploring at BETA include
medical, patient, and equipment transport for the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services in a disaster-response role, and critical
resupply and strategic personnel transport for our nation's armed
forces, especially as the U.S. Department of Defense seeks to electrify
its fleets. The working group should help determine additional use
cases to maximize the benefits of AAM for as many stakeholders as
possible.
Question 2. Have you all had any interaction with U.S. DOT or the
FAA to begin participation in this working group?
Answer. BETA has had ongoing discussions with both U.S. DOT and FAA
regarding the interagency working group, as well as the federal
government's efforts related to ``Innovate 2028'' at the LA Olympics.
We have highlighted the benefit of the cargo and logistics use case for
AAM, and how it plays a critical role in the near-term deployment of
this technology. We've already hosted several FAA officials at our
headquarters, and have extended additional invites to Agency leadership
as well as senior leaders at DOT and members of the working group. We
know that seeing is believing, and are confident that bringing these
leaders to our facilities to see this technology up close as we start
manufacturing and delivering aircraft will help to demonstrate that
electric aviation is here.
Question from Hon. Mike Collins to JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, Joby Aviation
Question 1. Mr. Bevirt, I've been talking to several manufacturers,
and all of them have been talking about how difficult it has been to
get FAA to certify new aircraft as quickly as they do in Europe. So
much so that many companies are forced to consider moving operations
overseas to get approval there first and subsequently waived through
our process at FAA. That seems to give foreign manufacturers a
substantial edge over Americans.
Aside from more money--which is what we always hear from the
agencies--what policy changes are required to get FAA to move faster
and eliminate bureaucratic inertia?
Answer. For the last century, the FAA has set the worldwide
benchmark for aviation safety and operational efficiency. The FAA
ensures that the U.S. maintains global aviation leadership through a
balanced focus that assures that the complexities of the existing
aviation system are addressed while allowing for the evolution of new
technological innovations. Over the decades, this well-informed,
forward-leaning approach has been key to setting the gold standard for
aviation safety and efficiency.
To address these challenges, nuanced policy changes are necessary.
These changes may include:
1. Supporting the FAA to be more forward-leaning with respect to
the adoption of new innovations. As we evolve into the electric age of
flight, there is no more important time for the experts at the FAA to
assure these new capabilities are brought to market in a safe, timely
and efficient manner.
2. Assuring the FAA is staffed with the best and brightest
aviation minds and keeping the FAA involved in forums where leading
edge technologies and standards are being evolved.
3. Assuring that the FAA leadership maintains focus on the
efficient use of resources to assure that new aircraft projects can
come to market safely, quickly, and efficiently. The FAA should provide
Congress with a status of project efficiency and a plan for improving
those measures on a quarterly basis.
By implementing these changes, we can strike a balance between
maintaining a safe aviation system and fostering innovation. The FAA
must have the necessary support and direction to navigate these
complexities successfully.
Questions from Hon. Sharice Davids to JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, Joby Aviation
Question 1. I was proud to cosponsor a bill with Chairman Garret
Graves last congress that became law--the Advanced Air Mobility
Coordination and Leadership Act--that established an interagency
working group to plan and coordinate efforts related to some of the
most pertinent issues that can bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S. .
. . With this working group established at U.S. DOT to begin
coordinated discussions about the national future of AAM, what are the
questions you would hope this group would ask? What answers do cities,
states, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies need to prepare for a
future with AAM?
Question 2. Have you all had any interaction with U.S. DOT or the
FAA to begin participation in this working group?
Answers to Questions 1 & 2. Thank you for your leadership in
writing and passing the AAM Coordination and Leadership Act. As we
think about the maturation of the AAM industry, this Act will ensure
that the government doesn't create roadblocks to early and efficient
implementation, and lessons learned from these early days can be
utilized to create the safest, most successful, and most efficient AAM
industry in the world. Here are recommended questions that we would
like the working group to address:
How does the group assure the capabilities in the
existing FAA system can be fully utilized to support early AAM
operations?
What tools are available to quickly and efficiently
evolve the aviation system based on early lessons learned to increase
the operational efficiency and success of AAM?
What can future AAM programs learn from previous success
stories, like the Department of Defense's Agility Prime program and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's National Campaign?
Does the working group solely address electric vertical
take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft? If not, how has the working
group made the distinguishment between drones and eVTOLs? If both eVTOL
and drones are being considered, we recommend separate policy
recommendations, seeing that these two different industries already
fall under different regulatory frameworks.
What is the planned timeline to complete the work and to
sunset the AAM working group?
As you well know, early AAM stakeholders have designed aircraft and
operations that can be integrated into the existing FAA regulatory
frameworks for aviation. From these early implementations, the working
group could best interact with states and cities by listening and
surveying the community's background knowledge on eVTOLs and whether
these communities have engaged in preparing for the emergence of this
technology.
We are pleased to welcome the working group to tour our facilities
the week of June 26th, where we will continue conversations with the
working group on the future of eVTOLs. We appreciate the working
group's diligent work as they consider the maturation of the eVTOL
industry, after Day-1 operations, and accompanying policy
recommendations.
Questions from Hon. Sharice Davids to Christopher Bradshaw, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the
Helicopter Association International
Question 1. I was proud to cosponsor a bill with Chairman Garret
Graves last congress that became law--the Advanced Air Mobility
Coordination and Leadership Act--that established an interagency
working group to plan and coordinate efforts related to some of the
most pertinent issues that can bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S. .
. . With this working group established at U.S. DOT to begin
coordinated discussions about the national future of AAM, what are the
questions you would hope this group would ask? What answers do cities,
states, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies need to prepare for a
future with AAM?
Answer. Aircraft design is one part of AAM's pathway to
realization, and safely operating those aircraft is where AAM's promise
will succeed or fail. Bristow is uniquely positioned to leverage its
over 75 years of global leadership in vertical flight operations to
help ensure safe operations of Advanced Air Mobility aircraft.
Operating aircraft is our mission, and safety is our number one core
value. We all own safety in everything we do.
AAM pilot certification is key to safe operations and an area where
the industry needs Congress' help. FAA must ensure a clear and viable
pathway for civilian pilots to obtain the powered-lift certificate
required to operate AAM aircraft.
We urge Congress to direct the FAA to modernize its regulations by
establishing the powered-lift rating requirements as part of the FAA
reauthorization legislation. Below is draft legislative language for
your review, and we respectfully ask for your support.
When it comes to safety, Bristow leads by example. Through our
Target Zero safety program, Bristow promotes and measures a safety
culture that aims to achieve our goal of zero accidents and zero harm
to people. Externally, Bristow is a founding member of HeliOffshore,
the association of global vertical aviation operators dedicated to
leading a collective safety conversation and transforming frontline
safety performance.
Bristow is eager to take a leading role in defining the common
language and framework that will enhance safety and ensure that the AAM
industry focuses on activities that prevent accidents.
draft legislative text:
If the FAA has not promulgated a proposed SFAR before the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee takes its FAA
Reauthorization bill to markup:
SEC. XX. PILOT CERTIFICATION FOR POWERED-LIFT AIRCRAFT.
(a) RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS.--
(1) MODERNIZING POWERED-LIFT PILOT CERTIFICATION.--The
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a
rulemaking proceeding to modernize its existing pilot certification
requirements for powered-lift aircraft--
(A) to take into account the previous experience of the pilot
in an airplane or a helicopter as appropriate;
(B) to take into account the important role that simulators
will play in addition to flight time in this emerging aircraft segment;
and
(C) to grant an individual with an existing commercial
airplane (single- or multi-engine) or helicopter pilot certificate the
authority to serve as pilot in command of a powered-lift aircraft (in
commercial operation) following the successful completion of an FAA
approved pilot type rating course for that type of aircraft.
(2) DEADLINES.--The Administrator shall--
(A) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, issue a notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1);
and
(B) not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, issue a final rule for the rulemaking under paragraph (1).
If FAA has issued a proposed rulemaking, but not a final
rulemaking:
SEC. XX. PILOT CERTIFICATION FOR POWERED-LIFT AIRCRAFT.
(a) RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS.--
(1) MODERNIZING POWERED-LIFT PILOT CERTIFICATION.--The
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a
final rulemaking to modernize its existing pilot certification
requirements for powered-lift aircraft--
(A) to take into account the previous experience of the pilot
in an airplane or a helicopter as appropriate;
(B) to take into account the important role that simulators
will play in addition to flight time in this emerging aircraft segment;
and
(C) to grant an individual with an existing commercial
airplane (single- or multi-engine) or helicopter pilot certificate the
authority to serve as pilot in command of a powered-lift aircraft (in
commercial operation) following the successful completion of an FAA
approved pilot type rating course for that type of aircraft.
(2) DEADLINE.--The Administrator shall not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, issue a final rulemaking under
paragraph (1).
Question 2. Have you all had any interaction with U.S. DOT or the
FAA to begin participation in this working group?
Answer. Bristow proposed a candidate for membership on the FAA
Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee, but has not received outreach
from this group. However, we welcome participation and involvement in
the Committee as it does its work. The AAAC can--and should--provide
critical feedback and guidance to the FAA as AAM emerges.
Questions from Hon. Dina Titus to Christopher Bradshaw, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Bristow Group Inc., on behalf of the
Helicopter Association International
Question 1. As new airspace entrants continue to grow in our skies,
it is critical that all airspace users are at the table to ensure the
safe integration of these technologies.
In your opinion, are industry and the FAA adequately considering
feedback from the conventional aircraft sector as they work towards
integration?
Answer. Bristow Group is proud to have established strong
partnerships with several manufacturers of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)
aircraft as we look to safely integrate this new technology into our
fleet. We are committed to continuing to foster those relationships and
to using over 75 years of experience as an operator in the vertical
flight ecosystem to provide critical safety, operational, certification
and logistical support to our partners in the AAM industry. We view AAM
as an opportunity to augment our current operations to meet the ever-
developing demands of our customers. Bristow envisions a future in
which AAM can seamlessly co-exist with conventional aircraft in the
National Airspace System (NAS).
Further, Bristow proposed a candidate for membership on the FAA
Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee. While our candidate was not
selected, James Viola of Helicopter Association International (HAI)
was. Bristow is a member of HAI and looks forward to engaging with the
Committee through Mr. Viola's representation.
While we understand the challenges the FAA faces in setting rules
of the NAS for an entirely new industry, we are disappointed by the
agency's lack of timely direction on issues that will affect us as a
future operator in the AAM space. For example, the FAA has failed to
adequately convey a pathway for civilian pilots to operate AAM systems.
Current standards for AAM pilots require a powered-lift certification,
but there are no powered-lift aircraft in operation outside of the
military. Thus, civilian aviators seeking to enter the AAM field have
no means of achieving the flight time necessary to satisfy the current
requirement. We need practical options for operators to upskill their
existing workforce and attract new talent to meet the anticipated
demand for pilots in the AAM industry.
We believe that the FAA recognizes this problem. Deputy FAA
Administrator Brad Mims stated at the recent Advanced Aviation Advisory
Committee meeting that the FAA is on track to release an AAM pilot
standard prior to the first generation of AAM aircraft being certified.
We certainly hope so. Creating a defined, reliable route for civilian
pilots to become qualified to fly AAM prior to aircraft certification
is essential to aligning workforce and operational needs and getting
AAM off the ground.
Question 2. Going back to the discussions on the previous panel
with the BVLOS ARC report:
What do you recommend this Committee consider as it contemplates
the safe co-existence of all airspace users in the upcoming FAA
reauthorization bill? Is it the Thune/Warner bill? Is it requiring the
FAA to pursue rulemakings without considering the recommendations of
the BVLOS ARC? Or is it in somewhere in between?
Answer. The upcoming FAA reauthorization bill presents Congress
with a critical opportunity to address the safe integration of AAM
aircraft into the NAS. With the expected entry of AAM aircraft into
service by 2024 or 2025, we urge the Committee to take a thoughtful
approach to ensuring the United States can lead the world in this next
phase of aviation. We ask that strong consideration be given to the
needs of operators in the AAM space, including the aforementioned issue
surrounding civilian pilot certification for which we have drafted a
legislative solution.
Bristow Group stands ready to serve as a resource to the Committee
and your office in achieving by leveraging our unique perspective as a
mature and proven operator of vertical lift aircraft.
Questions from Hon. Sharice Davids to Clint Harper, Advanced Air
Mobility Expert and Community Advocate
Question 1. I was proud to cosponsor a bill with Chairman Garret
Graves last Congress that became law--the Advanced Air Mobility
Coordination and Leadership Act--that established an interagency
working group to plan and coordinate efforts related to some of the
most pertinent issues that can bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S. .
. . With this working group established at U.S. DOT to begin
coordinated discussions about the national future of AAM, what are the
questions you would hope this group would ask? What answers do cities,
states, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies need to prepare for a
future with AAM?
Answer. The U.S. Department of Transportation's newly established
working group on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has a critical role in
shaping the industry's future. The questions it asks and the answers it
seeks will have far-reaching implications for cities, states,
stakeholders, and regulatory bodies. Here are the key questions and
required answers to consider for effective AAM integration.
Questions for the USDOT Working Group on AAM:
1. How can we modernize and leverage existing airports (including
the surrounding land, and surface corridors connecting to other
economic activity centers) to serve as multimodal hubs that seamlessly
integrate AAM with other forms of transportation and complimentary land
uses?
2. How can AAM be integrated into the existing transportation
system in a way that complements mass transit, rather than competes?
3. How can we ensure equitable access to AAM services for all
communities, including underserved and rural areas?
4. What are the environmental implications of widespread AAM
adoption, and how can these be mitigated?
5. How can public-private partnerships be leveraged to accelerate
the development and adoption of AAM technologies and encourage cross-
agency, multimodal, collaboration?
Answers Needed for Cities, States, Stakeholders, and Regulatory Bodies:
1. Cities and states need to identify potential funding sources
for modernizing existing airports into multimodal hubs that integrate
AAM with other forms of transportation.
2. Stakeholders require a clear roadmap for workforce development
to ensure a pool of qualified staff for AAM planning, operations, and
oversight.
3. Regulatory bodies need to establish a framework for oversight,
including safety protocols, noise monitoring, and emissions standards,
that is both comprehensive and flexible enough to adapt to emerging
technologies.
4. All parties need to address the allocation of resources for
emergency response, not only for incidents involving downed AAM
aircraft within communities but also for the seamless integration of
AAM into existing emergency services and disaster relief strategies.
5. A national strategy is needed to facilitate collaboration among
federal agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Highway Administration (FHWA),
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure a cohesive
and efficient approach to AAM integration.
6. Cities and states need assurance on how electrical grids will
remain resilient with the increased demand from AAM services.
7. Stakeholders require information on how AAM infrastructure can
serve multiple purposes, such as integrating new microweather sensors
for broader community benefits.
8. A comprehensive plan is needed to demonstrate how AAM
infrastructure can contribute to community resiliency in the face of
natural disasters and other emergencies, especially for tribal, rural,
and marginalized communities.
9. Educational institutions and workforce development programs
need guidance on how to prepare the next generation for the
technological demands and career opportunities presented by the AAM
industry.
10. What lessons are being drawn from the historical inequities
and community displacements caused by past transportation
infrastructure projects, such as the construction of urban highways
that disproportionately affected communities of color, to ensure that
AAM infrastructure is developed in a manner that is equitable,
inclusive, and does not perpetuate systemic injustices or further
isolate marginalized communities?
Question 2. Have you all had any interaction with U.S. DOT or the
FAA to begin participation in this working group?
Answer. While I haven't formally engaged with the USDOT AAM
Interagency Working Group, I have had previous collaborations with many
of its members in my community advocacy role. My diverse background in
aviation and city planning equips me with a unique vantage point to
contribute meaningfully. With 24 years of aviation experience,
including a career in the U.S. Air Force, I've gained invaluable
insights into the intricacies of aviation infrastructure and
operations. My journey also led me to earn a Master of City and
Metropolitan Planning degree, further enhancing my understanding of
urban dynamics and community needs.
Throughout my career, my passion for aviation and communities has
been the driving force behind my pursuits. From my role in NASA's Air
Traffic Management exploration program to serving as the first AAM
Fellow for the City of Los Angeles, my work has always been guided by a
commitment to equity, environmental sustainability, and accessibility.
What sets me apart is my belief that AAM should not be treated as a
technological sideshow, but rather as an integral component of
community ecosystems. For me, the key lies in integration--through
thoughtful collaboration, AAM should complement, not replace, existing
transportation options.
If afforded the opportunity to speak on these critical matters, I
would emphasize the need for a holistic approach to AAM integration. I
would highlight the significance of integrating AAM seamlessly into
existing transportation systems, leveraging the potential of multimodal
hubs and integrating supporting infrastructure, such as novel
microclimate sensors, for community benefits. Furthermore, I would
underscore the importance of addressing historical transportation
inequities and avoiding the perpetuation of systemic injustices. My
goal would be to advocate for a future where AAM is embraced as a
solution to current challenges while upholding the values of equity,
sustainability, and accessibility.
Conclusion
In closing, by focusing on the critical questions and required
answers outlined in this testimony, we can pave the way for an AAM
ecosystem that addresses the diverse needs of communities, ensures
equitable access, mitigates environmental impacts, and leverages
effective partnerships. Through open dialogue and collaborative
efforts, we have the potential to shape an AAM future that is grounded
in real-world solutions and beneficial outcomes for all.
Feel free to contact me for any further questions. I thank you for
your service and appreciate this unique opportunity to serve my country
in return.
Attachments for Reference:
1. Statement of Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility Expert &
Community Advocate, Before the Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing on
``FAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver
for the American People'' [Editor's note: See pages 85-91]
2. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) as a Foundation of Community
Resiliency: A Visionary Response to the USDOT Request for Information
on AAM Integration [Editor's note: See pages 143-149]
Questions from Hon. Dina Titus to Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility
Expert and Community Advocate
Question 1. Climate change is already impacting millions of
Americans and noise impacts are a constant concern for many
communities, including in Las Vegas. Many advanced air mobility (AAM)
aircraft are expected to use either low- or zero-emissions technology
and be much quieter than traditional aircraft.
Question 1.a. Based on your expertise, how do you anticipate this
will impact community acceptance for this new technology?
Answer:
Community Acceptance Now:
At present, I anticipate that community reactions to Advanced Air
Mobility (AAM) will be dominated by skepticism. Given the historical
context of aviation's environmental impact and its perceived
exclusivity, community members are likely to be cautious about any
claims made by the AAM industry. This skepticism stems from a broader
distrust in new technologies that promise environmental benefits but
often fall short in practice.
Community Acceptance in 5 Years:
Should the AAM industry fulfill its promises of low- or zero-
emissions and quieter aircraft, I anticipate a complex evolution in
community concerns within the next five years. As noise pollution
becomes less of a focal point, attention will shift to grid
sustainability, equitable access to services, and escalating safety
concerns. The increasing operational intensity of AAM services will
heighten worries about public safety, especially with more aircraft
occupying the skies. Concurrently, questions will arise about the
strain AAM technologies might place on the electrical grid, a concern
amplified by the limited access most residents will have to these
services. In essence, the dialogue will expand from environmental
impact to encompass a broader spectrum of issues, including
infrastructure resilience and public safety.
Community Acceptance in 10 Years:
A decade from now, if the AAM industry successfully integrates into
the broader transportation system, I anticipate a notable increase in
community acceptance. This acceptance will largely depend on AAM's
ability to complement a safe, reliable, and interconnected mass transit
network, providing an economically viable alternative to private
vehicle ownership. Despite this progress, evolving concerns about
safety, grid resilience, and equitable access will persist. While
technological advancements and proactive industry efforts may mitigate
these issues to some extent, they will remain central to public
discourse. The industry's effectiveness in addressing these enduring
concerns will be pivotal for both sustaining and enhancing community
acceptance.
Question 1.b. What should companies be doing today to increase
community engagement before entering into service?
Answer. Community members often first encounter AAM through
sensational headlines fulfilling promises of `flying cars,' obscuring
the fact that AAM is fundamentally an aviation technology. When viewed
through the lens of aviation, AAM emerges as the latest chapter in a
century-long effort to democratize aviation services while reducing
noise, environmental impact, and accessibility barriers. While this is
a milestone worth celebrating, it can only be fully appreciated when we
are transparent about the technology and its potential opportunities.
Proactive Community Outreach and Educational Initiatives:
To cut through the sensationalism surrounding AAM, companies must
initiate honest dialogues with community members, addressing both the
opportunities and challenges the technology presents. Alongside this,
investments in educational and outreach programs are crucial. This dual
approach not only clarifies misconceptions but also provides accurate
information, fostering trust in the process. By channeling community
concerns constructively, the industry can fine-tune its technology to
serve as a viable solution for gaps that current transportation systems
struggle to fill.
Collaboration, Equity, and Long-Term Commitment:
Companies must forge strong partnerships with local authorities to
seamlessly integrate AAM into existing transportation infrastructures.
This collaboration should be underpinned by an equity-focused approach
to ensure that AAM services are accessible and affordable for all
community members. Moreover, a long-term commitment to safety and
sustainability is essential. This involves not only adhering to
stringent safety protocols but also voluntarily investing in
sustainable technologies and practices. By aligning these three
pillars--collaboration, equity, and sustainability--the industry can
address evolving community concerns and contribute to a more inclusive
and resilient transportation ecosystem.
Transparency and Demonstrable Actions:
The AAM industry has a unique opportunity to substantiate its
commitments through transparent data sharing and public demonstrations.
Companies should openly disclose data on emissions, noise levels, and
safety protocols, thereby providing tangible evidence of their progress
and accountability. Public demonstrations can act as real-world test
cases, providing communities with firsthand experience of AAM
technologies. However, these demonstrations should not be limited to
exclusive, invite-only events, conferences, or trade shows. Rather,
they should be genuinely public experiences to offer communities direct
exposure to AAM technologies. These transparent and demonstrable
actions not only validate the industry's claims but also serve as a
powerful testament to its dedication to collaboration, equity, and
long-term sustainability. Now is the time for the industry to move
beyond promises and show, through transparent and accessible actions,
how it is fulfilling its commitments to communities.
Question 1.c. Are you concerned about visual pollution? If so, what
recommendations do you have to reduce visual pollution?
Answer. My primary concerns lie in the realms of safety, equity,
and sustainability. The cinematic portrayal of skies littered with
aircraft is far from our current reality for several reasons. First,
the National Airspace System imposes stringent regulations that control
aircraft separations to mitigate hazards, such as aircraft wake
turbulence. Second, aircraft operating under Visual Flight Rules are
required to self-separate, allowing pilots plenty of time to visually
identify and mitigate potential hazards. Lastly, the availability of
landing infrastructure, whether at airports or vertiports, naturally
restricts the number of aircraft that can operate in a given area. As
long as these constraints exist, the number of aircraft in the sky will
be limited, making concerns about visual pollution less immediate than
issues of safety, equity, and sustainability.
However, dismissing concerns about visual pollution would be
irresponsible. This issue should be integrated into broader community
outreach and educational initiatives. Companies can utilize existing
technology to offer visual simulations that depict realistic scenarios,
such as the number of aircraft that could be accommodated by local
airports, single-pad vertiports, or multiple-pad vertiports. These
simulations can serve as educational tools, helping to set realistic
expectations and mitigate concerns. Transparency is key here, as with
other aspects of AAM. Openly sharing these visual simulations can be a
part of the industry's transparent and demonstrable actions,
reinforcing its commitment to addressing community concerns in a
holistic manner.
Conclusion
In closing, the AAM industry's future is anchored in a steadfast
commitment to equity, sustainability, and accessibility. Collaboration
with local authorities is not merely beneficial but crucial, serving to
create a multimodal synergy. This ensures that AAM becomes a genuine
complement to public transportation, rather than an exclusive service
for a select few. Transparency is key, and open data sharing, coupled
with public demonstrations, will be instrumental in building community
trust. By focusing intently on these core priorities, the AAM industry
is well-positioned to address public concerns and contribute
meaningfully to a more resilient and inclusive transportation
landscape.
Feel free to contact me for any further questions. I thank you for
your service and appreciate this unique opportunity to serve my country
in return.
Attachments for Reference:
1. Statement of Clint Harper, Advanced Air Mobility Expert &
Community Advocate, Before the Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing on
``FAA Reauthorization: Harnessing the Evolution of Flight to Deliver
for the American People'' [Editor's note: See pages 85-91]
2. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) as a Foundation of Community
Resiliency: A Visionary Response to the USDOT Request for Information
on AAM Integration [Editor's note: See pages 143-149]
Attachment
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) as a Foundation of Community Resiliency:
A Visionary Response to the USDOT Request for Information on AAM
Integration
By: Clint Harper
August 15, 2023
This document is intended to be freely accessible and open to the
public. Readers are encouraged to share and distribute this work. While
this document is provided as open access, the author kindly requests
that proper attribution be given when citing or referencing this work.
I. Introduction
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) represents more than just a novel means
of transportation; it holds the transformative potential to unite,
uplift, and connect communities in unprecedented ways. Beyond serving
as a mere novelty for the affluent, AAM is envisioned as a practical
and affordable solution that can address a wide range of community
needs, from daily commuting to emergency response. This vision
positions AAM as a key tool for enhancing overall community resilience.
However, realizing this vision requires substantial effort to equip
communities with advanced tools and knowledge. For AAM to be genuinely
integrated into the fabric of our communities, proactive engagement and
education are essential. This involves more than just words; it calls
for transparent dialogues, educational initiatives, and, most
importantly, public demonstrations of vehicles that allow people to see
and understand AAM in action.
My journey in aviation and community service spans over two
decades, beginning with military service and extending through fire
service, aviation planning, transportation planning, and economic
development. These diverse roles have been more than just jobs; they
have been a continuous education in the intricate relationship between
technology, community, and service. My passion for serving communities
has been the compass guiding me to explore innovative ways to better
integrate aviation within our daily lives. Working alongside local and
state officials has been not just a professional duty, but a personal
privilege. I see advanced air mobility as an opportunity to contribute
to sustainable community development efforts that are already underway.
There are several well-thought-out responses detailing valid
concerns and issues regarding the integration of Advanced Air Mobility
(AAM) technologies; I fully support their careful and thoughtful
consideration. However, I have chosen to steer my response in a
different direction. I aim to propose a vision--a vision that outlines
how we can tailor AAM to work harmoniously within our communities. My
hope is to inspire positive change within the aviation industry, to
advocate for a future where air mobility is more sustainable and
accessible, and to encourage the industry to become better stewards of
the communities they serve. In doing so, I hope that the aviation
industry can position itself as a part of the solution to existing and
ongoing efforts aiming to rectify the harm inflicted by past
transportation decisions. It is these goals that inform the vision
proposed here.
II. Vision for AAM: A Community-Centric Approach
Integrating Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) into our national
transportation fabric is more than a technological milestone; it is a
profound opportunity to reimagine aviation as a catalyst for equitable
and sustainable community development. While the urban air taxi use
case is glamorous and groundbreaking, AAM should serve more than just
large metropolitan areas and those who can afford steep ticket prices.
It should extend to applications like medical logistics and emergency
response, thereby enhancing overall community resilience.
Let's envision vertiports and UAS infrastructure as vibrant,
multifaceted hubs--integral parts of our communities rather than
isolated, purely functional, and mechanical sites. These Resiliency
Hubs should fulfill at least three core roles: they must serve as
multimodal transportation centers, act as energy hubs contributing to
community resilience and sustainability, and function as digital nerve
centers, enhancing digital connectivity for all. These hubs, whether
arising from private investment or public funding, should harmonize
with and complement local businesses, enrich public spaces, and respect
the natural and cultural character of our communities.
For AAM to be genuinely integrated into communities, proactive
engagement and education are essential. Addressing misconceptions and
fears requires transparent dialogues, educational initiatives, and
public demonstrations of vehicles. By actively involving communities in
the AAM conversation, we can foster a sense of ownership and
partnership. This ensures that the development of AAM aligns with
community values and aspirations, rather than being perceived as an
imposition.
III. Resiliency Hubs: The Heart of AAM Infrastructure
An Introduction to Resiliency Hubs
Resiliency Hubs are envisioned as vibrant, multifaceted centers
that are integral parts of our communities. More than just functional
sites for AAM, they are conceived as community partners contributing to
broader sustainability and resilience goals.
Multimodal Transportation Centers
Resiliency Hubs are designed to serve as multimodal
transportation centers, seamlessly connecting AAM with other
forms of transportation. This integration is essential. By
weaving these hubs into the fabric of our neighborhood, they
can enhance local transportation options and improve
accessibility.
Energy Hubs
These hubs are microgrids, designed to contribute to community
resilience and sustainability. They would generate renewable
energy, which, while likely having limited capacity to charge
aircraft, can significantly benefit host communities by
supplying power to essential local services, thereby
integrating AAM infrastructure into local energy resilience
strategies.
Digital Nerve Centers
Resiliency Hubs are also poised to function as data and
communications hubs, enhancing digital connectivity for all. As
AAM, and other transportation modes, moves towards more
autonomous operations, the digital infrastructure at these hubs
will be integral to ensuring the safe and efficient operation
of autonomous vehicles across different modes, making these
hubs as central nodes in a complex, interconnected, safe, and
reliable transportation ecosystem.
Whether arising from private investment or public funding, these
hubs are designed to harmonize with and complement local businesses,
enrich public spaces, and respect the natural and cultural character of
our communities, rather than disrupt or overshadow them.
Resiliency Hubs Envisioned
As we examine deeper into the concept of Resiliency Hubs, it
becomes clear that their implementation is not a one-size-fits-all
approach. Instead, they are adaptable, designed to meet the unique
needs and characteristics of the communities they serve. Two key forms
of these hubs--airports and vertiports--serve as prime examples of how
this innovative infrastructure can be tailored to different scales and
settings, each with its own distinct opportunities and challenges.
Let's explore these visions further:
Vertiports: The Community Connectors
Imagine a Vertiport located at or very near a major public
transit station. It is a bustling center of activity beyond
simply a landing pad for air taxis and drones. The integration
of aviation into these multimodal hubs, along with associated
investments, has elevated the overall character of the station
for all modes, making the entire transportation experience
safer, cleaner, and more efficient. An integrated microgrid,
while not robust enough to charge aircraft, funnels produced
energy back into the neighborhood, illuminating public spaces,
powering community centers, and charging micromobility options.
Airports: Resiliency Powerhouses
In addition to being regional multimodal transit or freight
hubs, existing airports are transformed into significant
renewable energy generators. Their expansive footprints harness
clean energy that powers not only airport operations but is
also stores energy to contribute to the local grid. In times of
a power outage, these airports can act as reliable backups,
ensuring that essential services remain uninterrupted. They
evolve from mere aviation hubs to critical components of the
community's resilience strategy.
Resiliency Hubs also function as state-of-the-art digital
communications centers. They ensure that essential digital services
remain operational during significant network outages. These hubs offer
high-speed internet access, enabling workers and community members to
remote-work effectively and reliably, thereby serving as vital
resources in bridging the digital divide. In emergencies, they
transform into robust command and control centers, where various
agencies can gather to manage response efforts effectively, taking
advantage of, and building upon, aviation's natural role in emergency
and disaster response.
These visions for Resiliency Hubs illustrate the transformative
potential of integrating Advanced Air Mobility infrastructure into our
communities. They are designed to be more than just functional sites;
they are community partners that contribute to broader sustainability
and resilience goals, harmonizing with and complementing local
businesses, enriching public spaces, and respecting the natural and
cultural character of our communities.
IV. Regulatory Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities
The regulatory landscape for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is complex
and, at present, still somewhat murky. As we navigate this landscape,
the need for a national strategy that is as dynamic as the technology
it governs is paramount. This strategy should be expansive, inclusive,
and agile, designed to address several key regulatory challenges and
opportunities.
An Expansive and Inclusive National Strategy: Addressing Regulatory
Challenges
Central to navigating these challenges is the development of a
National Strategy for AAM that prioritizes equity at its core, ensuring
that regulations are crafted to serve diverse community needs and not
just a select few. This means welcoming the full spectrum of new and
emerging aircraft, while embracing a rich spectrum of use cases that go
beyond air taxis, including medical logistics, organ transport,
emergency response, and regional air mobility.
By adopting an expansive and inclusive national strategy, we can
address several key regulatory challenges:
Harmonizing Standards: A unified national strategy can
help to harmonize standards across states and localities, reducing the
complexity for operators and manufacturers and ensuring consistent
safety and operational protocols.
Equitable Access: A focus on equity within the strategy
ensures that regulations are crafted to promote widespread access to
AAM services, avoiding the creation of a system that serves only the
affluent in urban areas.
Adaptive Regulations: An agile strategy allows for
regulations that can evolve in step with rapid technological
innovation, ensuring that rules remain relevant and effective without
stifling innovation.
Navigating the Dichotomy: Federal, State, and Local Regulatory Roles
The current ecosystem for AAM presents a unique interplay between
federal and local authorities. While the FAA clearly delineates the
regulation of aircraft, operations, and airspace, the expected private
development of AAM infrastructure introduces a new dynamic where state
and local authorities play a significant role.
Federal Role: Setting the Standards
Performance-based regulations and standards, currently under
development for vertiport infrastructure, present a promising path
forward. These standards, led by the FAA, aim to establish a consistent
safety baseline for AAM operations nationwide. They are adaptable and
allow for local customization while maintaining a core set of safety
and operational protocols. Performance-based regulations and standards
should extend to vital supporting infrastructure, including
communications, weather monitoring, and emergency response
capabilities.
State and Local Role: Customization and Implementation
With much of the AAM infrastructure expected to be developed by
private entities, state and local authorities are positioned as key
partners in this process. They have the option to adopt federal
regulations as they are or to adapt these policies and regulations to
better align with local contexts and needs.
The Importance of Informed Decision-Making
Given the novelty and complexity of AAM, crafting effective state
and local regulations is a nuanced task. This reflects the specialized
nature of AAM. Collaborative efforts, involving federal agencies,
industry stakeholders, and academic institutions, can provide valuable
insights and resources to state and local authorities, supporting them
in this important role.
The Risk of Inconsistent Regulations
The decentralized nature of this regulatory framework around
privately developed infrastructure carries the potential for varied
approaches across jurisdictions. This is not inherently problematic as
each locale has unique needs but does highlight the importance of
coordination to avoid unintended inconsistencies and consequences that
could complicate or compromise the safety of AAM operations that occur
over multiple jurisdictions.
The Need for Collaboration
This unique regulatory landscape of privately developed
infrastructure underscores the need for clear and effective
collaboration between federal, state, and local authorities.
Establishing mechanisms for ongoing dialogue and coordination is
essential, ensuring that regulations evolve cohesively as AAM
technology advances and becomes an integral part of our national and
local transportation ecosystems.
Adaptive and Evolving Regulations for a Dynamic Landscape
As Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) continues to evolve, so too must the
regulatory frameworks that govern it. The rapid pace of technological
innovation in this sector presents both an opportunity and a challenge.
It is an opportunity to foster innovation through regulations that are
as dynamic as the industry they are designed to support. It is a
challenge because it requires a level of agility and responsiveness
that traditional regulatory processes are not always designed to
accommodate.
In this context, the concept of adaptive regulations emerges as a
key theme. These are regulations designed to be flexible and
responsive, evolving in tandem with advancements in AAM technology and
operations. They are crafted with the understanding that as AAM
matures, the rules that govern it may need to be updated, refined, or
reimagined entirely. This adaptive approach is not solely the
responsibility of federal authorities; it is a collaborative endeavor
that involves state and local jurisdictions, industry stakeholders, and
the public. It is about creating a regulatory environment where ongoing
dialogue, data sharing, and joint problem-solving are the norms, not
the exceptions.
In conclusion, the regulatory landscape for AAM is as pioneering as
the technology itself. It is a landscape that we, as a nation, are
charting together--federal, state, and local authorities, industry, and
communities alike. As we move forward, our regulations must be more
than just rules; they must be living, evolving frameworks that enable
safe, equitable, and sustainable AAM operations, while empowering our
communities to thrive in this new era of aviation.
V. Technological Foundations for AAM
The promise of our presented vision for AAM and Resiliency Hubs is
deeply intertwined with the technological innovations that underpin it.
It is essential to understand the current technological landscape, the
hurdles that must be overcome, and the symbiotic relationship between
AAM technology and infrastructure.
AAM is not just about the aircraft; it's about the aircraft,
operations, and symbiotic relationship with the entire ecosystem. The
technology that powers AAM vehicles is deeply interconnected with the
infrastructure that supports them. For example, the design of
vertiports will be influenced by the energy needs of eVTOL aircraft,
and the communications systems used by these aircraft will need to be
integrated with broader traffic management systems and other supporting
ground infrastructure.
Current Technological Hurdles
Energy Challenges and Infrastructure Solutions
One of the most significant hurdles for AAM is energy. Is the
technology feasible, accessible, and reasonable in cost to enable the
rapid charging of large battery systems, without inducing exorbitant
ticket prices? The development of energy-dense and rapidly rechargeable
batteries is critical for the widespread adoption of electric vertical
takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This challenge extends to the
infrastructure, where the design of vertiports and other facilities
will need to account for these energy needs.
Autonomy and Safety
Achieving the levels of autonomy required for large-scale AAM
operations is a complex challenge. Ensuring the safety of these
autonomous operations, particularly in densely populated areas, is
paramount. The infrastructure plays a vital role here as well, as it
will need to be designed to support the high-speed, low-latency
communications needed to ensure safe and efficient operations.
The Role of Resiliency Hubs in Overcoming These Hurdles
Resiliency Hubs, as envisioned within the AAM context, are designed
to be integral components of the AAM ecosystem, and of the communities
they serve. In the context of these challenges, these hubs emerge as
pivotal players, poised to address some of the key technological
hurdles facing AAM in a thoughtful and holistic manner.
As we move forward, it is essential that our approach to AAM
technology and infrastructure development is comprehensive and
harmonized. The aircraft, the vertiports, the traffic management
systems, and the energy infrastructure must all be developed in
concert. This coordinated development should be guided by a unified
vision that prioritizes safety, equity, sustainability, and community
benefit, ensuring that AAM integration into our national and local
landscapes is transformative and responsible.
VI. Social Acceptance and Community Engagement
AAM integration into communities is not solely a matter of
technological capability. It is equally a matter of social acceptance
and actual need. Without community engagement and dialogue, AAM
technologies present as a neat solution, without a real problem to
solve.
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) deserve a measure of appreciation for propelling
AAM into the national spotlight. However, it is concerning that our
leadership has responded by leaning heavily towards the air taxi use
case. While this application is undeniably groundbreaking, its initial
deployment is poised to serve only a select few large metropolitan
areas, primarily catering to those who can afford the inevitably higher
ticket prices. This approach risks setting a precedent of exclusivity
that could prove challenging to overturn.
Equity must be at the heart of our national strategy. To this end,
our strategy must encompass a rich spectrum of use cases that go beyond
air taxis, embracing roles such as medical supply delivery, organ
transport, emergency response, mid-mile cargo movement, last-mile
package delivery, and regional air mobility. This means welcoming a
diverse fleet of emerging aircraft, including electric conventional
takeoff and landing (eCTOL) aircraft, electric short takeoff and
landing (eSTOL) aircraft, and innovative uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)
technologies. These varied use cases hold the promise of delivering
tangible benefits to a broad cross-section of our communities, urban,
suburban, and rural; extending AAM's benefits to beyond a privileged
few.
Safety
Public acceptance of AAM is inextricably linked to safe aircraft,
operations, and infrastructure. Comprehensive pilot training, and
robust aircraft certification processes are foundational to this new
era of aviation. However, safety extends beyond the aircraft
themselves; it is deeply intertwined with the infrastructure that
supports these operations. Communities need to be assured that the
vertiports and other supporting infrastructure are designed, developed,
and MAINTAINED with the highest safety standards in mind.
Noise
Noise pollution is a significant concern for communities when
considering the integration of AAM. While many AAM vehicles might
produce lower overall noise levels compared to traditional aircraft,
the nature of the noise--often higher-pitched in the case of UAS--can
still be perceived as disruptive. The Day Night average sound Level
(DNL) metric, which currently governs legacy aircraft, may not be
adequately equipped to address the unique acoustic profile of AAM
vehicles. As AAM becomes more prevalent, there is a pressing need to
revisit and possibly recalibrate these metrics to ensure community
comfort, compatibility with wildlife populations, and acceptance.
Energy
With the onset of AAM operations, the demand on energy
infrastructure will inevitably increase, posing significant challenges
in a landscape where some energy providers already face strains. For
instance, on hot days when air conditioning usage soars, energy
infrastructure can be stretched thin, leading to situations where
providers must institute policies such as rolling brownouts or requests
for the public to refrain from charging electric vehicles during peak
hours. A comprehensive AAM strategy must engage in a broader dialogue
about how to enhance and stabilize the overall energy supply
infrastructure in the U.S., ensuring that AAM can be integrated into
communities in a way that is sustainable and equitable.
Proactive Community Engagement and Education
For AAM to be successfully integrated into daily life, proactive
and transparent engagement with communities is essential. This involves
educating the public on the benefits and safety measures of AAM,
addressing concerns, and actively involving communities in the planning
and decision-making processes. It means not only responding to
community concerns but anticipating them and addressing them
proactively through open dialogue.
Public Demonstrations
To build trust and acceptance, transparency in AAM operations is
key. This extends beyond the aircraft themselves to encompass the
entire AAM ecosystem, including infrastructure and operational
procedures.
Aircraft Demonstrations: Public demonstrations that allow
people to see, hear, and understand AAM vehicles in action are
foundational. These events provide an opportunity for the
public to witness the capabilities of these aircraft,
understand their safety features, and appreciate the stringent
standards they are designed to meet.
Infrastructure Showcases: Open houses at vertiports can
demystify the infrastructure that supports AAM. These events
can educate the public on the energy-efficient designs of these
facilities, the renewable energy sources they may employ, and
the community benefits they are designed to provide as
Resiliency Hubs, such as emergency power during grid outages.
Emergency Response Exhibitions: As electric and autonomous
technologies continue to proliferate across various industry
sectors, the probability of related incidents will likely
increase. These exhibitions could showcase how new response
capabilities enabled by AAM can assist local fire departments
and public safety officials in preparing for and responding to
a variety of incidents, including those involving electric
vehicles and related infrastructure.
Autonomy and Safety Exhibitions: Demonstrations that showcase
how advanced autonomous systems can prevent incidents are
vital. For example, simulations or live demonstrations could
illustrate how autonomous systems can detect and avoid
obstacles, manage complex air traffic scenarios, and safely
handle emergency situations.
Microclimate Sensor Technology: Public demonstrations of
advanced microclimate sensors can preemptively identify
potential hazards--such as sudden wind gusts, microbursts, or
severe turbulence--as well as provide a higher fidelity of data
to decision making processes that will optimize the airspace;
these demonstrations underscore a proactive commitment to
safety. These sensors can also be instrumental in tracking
hazardous plumes in emergency scenarios, or identifying areas
with extreme weather conditions that might impact vulnerable
populations.
Transparent Sharing of Records and Procedures: Coupled with
these demonstrations, the transparent sharing of safety
records, operational procedures, and incident response plans
can go a long way in fostering public confidence. This could
include public forums where operators and regulators answer
questions and address concerns directly from the community.
These comprehensive public demonstrations and transparency
initiatives are designed to demystify AAM and foster public confidence
by allowing people to see, hear, and understand the full scope of the
AAM ecosystem in action.
Equity and Inclusivity
To ensure that the AAM industry is reflective of the diverse
communities it serves, intentional efforts must be made to cultivate a
workforce that is diverse in race, gender, age, and background. This
involves creating pathways for underrepresented groups to enter and
thrive in the AAM sector, from pilots and engineers to policy makers
and community liaisons.
Comprehensive and accessible training programs are therefore
essential. These programs should not only focus on the technical skills
required to operate and maintain new types of aircraft and
infrastructure, but also on community planning, economic development,
outreach and engagement, and cultural competencies.
The integration of Advanced Air Mobility into our communities is a
societal shift that requires thoughtful, proactive, and transparent
engagement with the public. This extends to fostering a diverse and
well-trained workforce that is reflective of the communities AAM aims
to serve. It is imperative that equity and inclusivity are central to
this transformation, ensuring that the benefits of AAM extend beyond a
privileged few and contribute positively to all segments of society.
Achieving this vision demands substantial funding, resources, and
cooperation from industry stakeholders, government agencies, and
communities themselves. It is through this collaborative and well-
resourced approach that we can ensure AAM is introduced not as an
imposition, but as a welcomed, beneficial, and integral part of our
national and local transportation ecosystems. This collective effort is
vital for enabling the AAM industry to launch, scale, and thrive in a
manner that is safe, equitable, and sustainable for all.
VII. Conclusion and a Call to Action
Integrating AAM as a catalyst for equitable and sustainable
community development is possible through a collaborative effort.
However, the current trajectory, leaning heavily towards the air taxi
use case, risks setting a precedent of exclusivity that could prove
challenging to overturn, serving only select large metropolitan areas
and those who can afford higher ticket prices.
For AAM to be genuinely integrated into communities, proactive
engagement and education are essential. This involves transparent
dialogues, educational initiatives, and public demonstrations of
vehicles. By actively involving communities in the AAM conversation, we
can foster a sense of ownership and partnership, ensuring that the
development of AAM aligns with community values and aspirations, rather
than being perceived as an imposition.
The economic impediments facing AAM are deeply intertwined with the
regulatory, technological, and social challenges that characterize this
emerging industry. To chart a financially sustainable trajectory for
AAM, a strategy must harmonize technological innovation with strategic
infrastructure investments, offer clear and adaptive regulatory
guidance, and maintain an unwavering dedication to community
involvement and inclusivity. Federal investments should not just seek a
return-on-investment in enabling safe operations, but also in how
investments promote healthier, livable, and sustainable communities.
These investments should not be viewed merely as costs, but as pivotal
contributions to building stronger, more resilient communities, and
ultimately a more resilient nation. By aligning AAM development with
broader goals of community resilience, we can ensure that economic
investments in this sector yield dividends that extend far beyond the
industry itself, fortifying communities against a range of future
challenges.
This document is intended to be freely accessible and open to the
public. Readers are encouraged to share and distribute this work. While
this document is provided as open access, the author kindly requests
that proper attribution be given when citing or referencing this work.
Harper, Clint. (2023). Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) as a Foundation of
Community Resiliency: A Visionary Response to the USDOT Request for
Information on AAM Integration. Unpublished manuscript.
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