Technologies, certifications needed to ensure safe integration of RPAS in public air space

ORLANDO, Fla., 31 Oct. 2012. “Change in our air space is inevitable,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said in reference to the future integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), into the national air space (NAS), during NBAA 2012 in Orlando, Fla., this week.

Bolen, in a talk during NBAA 2012, added: The industry needs “technologies and certifications and policies to make sure it’s safe.”

General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO Pete Bunce expressed concern over shifting the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) focus and attention off manned aircraft and onto the issue of unmanned integration in public air space. “There’s already a backlog [at the FAA],” he explained.