Blue-green, wallet-size cards now carried by U.S. remote pilots of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) closely resemble the certificates that airline transport pilots and other safety-certificated airmen have earned. Technically, the distinguishing elements are the background artwork and the acronym UAS in prominent white text. Culturally, the similarities are not coincidental; they reinforce the safety-critical responsibility and authority that holders must exercise to fly these drones (ASW, 5/15).
This pilot rating — introduced Aug. 29, 2016 — and its effect on the sUAS domain came up frequently in panel discussions held by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials and UAS industry safety leaders at the FAA UAS Symposium on March 27–29 in Reston, Virginia. Between August 2016 and late March, FAA issued more than 37,000 remote pilot certificates. A key interest of the panelis…
