Drone Activity Update
Many of you have a growing concern about the increase in drone activities in your area. The growth of the number of companies that have obtained an operations certificate, better known as an FAR 135 Certificate is something to take note of. These companies have been authorized by their certificate to operate over areas in and near many major metropolitan areas, many of which overlay areas of ballooning activity. The BFA has received copies of several regulatory waivers that are being issued to these drone operators for operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) by the FAA. However, there is some good news attached to these approvals. Every one of them causes the drone operators to detect and avoid (DAA) and cleverly states that the pilot and company are responsible for avoiding all manned aircraft. This includes balloons.
They are not being given right of way in any of the cases brought to our attention, so the work of not only the BFA but of all of our partners in both sport and business aviation have had the desired effect with our comments to the Aviation Rulemaking Committee that any relief by the FAA to these drone operators by allowing them any right of way would seriously increase the likelihood of a midair collision and injury to passengers and crew. In addition, pilots of these drones are required to have both a pilot certificate and an aviation medical. Visual Observers (VOs) along the flight routes are required unless they can prove that they have other means of securing the safety of all other manned aircraft or that the drone is equipped with “DAA” equipment.
One word of caution: We should not get complacent in violations of 91.119, which requires us to be at or above 500 feet AGL or not closer than 500 feet from persons, building, etc, except for takeoff and landing. Drones are in the airspace below 400 feet AGL. That is their maximum allowable altitude. The BFA is actively involved with at least one of these major drone operators to solve the problem of visibility to them while we are flying and a full article will be written about these efforts in an upcoming Ballooning Magazine article.
Sincerely,
Pat Cannon, BFA President
ELECTION 2023
Candidates have been selected by their respective nominating committees and we are please to announce the candidates for the 2023 election. All seats are for 3 year terms unless noted.
Online voting will begin on July 30, 2023. For those members without an email address, a paper ballot will be sent on that date. Voting will end on August 29, 2023.at 5:00pm.
For those candidates that have provided profiles, you can click on their names to learn more about them.
BFA Board of Directors
Northeast Region Director
Western Region Director
At Large Director
Hot Air Competition Division
Great Lakes Region Director
At Large Director
Southwest Region Director
GAS DIVISION
(Vote for 2)
PRO DIVISION
All PRO Board of Director's position will be appointed by the PRO Division Board. If interested in representing At-Large or any Region please notify a current member of the PRO Division Board of Directors.
UAS Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight Operations
UAS Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight Operations
On the evening of June 13, 2023, the BFA made its final comments (see attached) in response to the recommendation made to FAA by the UAS community in their attempt to secure special airspace within which the UAS would have the right of way over all other air traffic. The BFA remains steadfast in its earlier comments to the ARC, that any modification of FAR 91.113, or right of way rules, would result in an unacceptable risk to balloons flying in the same airspace if the UA is given the right of way.
The BFA, along with other organizations such as AOPA, EAA, NATA, and HAI, have all commented with the same purpose: to stop the land grab tactics of some UAS operators to favor their commercial delivery enterprises. This process began with BFA’s discovery of the UAS industry’s first 400-page recommendation to the FAA, to give UAS the right of way, with little or no concern for the safety of other aircraft occupying the same airspace. We were successful in bringing the unacceptable safety issues to light and publicly commenting on our disagreement with their recommendations. With the ARC’s new comment period, we are now seeing the FAA working toward a requirement for UAS to be equipped with detect and avoid equipment. If it becomes a requirement, it will help to ensure that UAS and balloons may coexist in the National Airspace System with an eye toward the mutual safety of both.
This BVLOS comment package is somewhat more complicated than the first and as you read through, you will see that it covers many aspects of regulatory requirements raised by the FAA to the ARC. The comment period was a short 20 days and the BFA, along with numerous other organizations, issued a letter to FAA requesting an extension to the comment period. This was not granted but each of our organizations was afforded the opportunity to discuss this matter, by phone, directly with AFS-800 and the person in charge of the ARC. You may still submit your comments today, June 14, until 11:58 P.M. EDT. A simple comment is all that is necessary stating your position or concern regarding the requirement for all UAS to have detect-and-avoid equipment on board. Please upload your comments to https://www.regulations.gov and find the docket provided in the list on the right side of the page (Docket No. FAA-2023-1256). Find the BVLOS comment area and upload your comments. We will continue to fight the proposals from UAS operators to gain the right of way over balloons and we are stronger now, with excellent partners from the many other aviation organizations who support us.
BFA Final Comments - Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight Operations
Sincerely,
Pat Cannon, BFA President
Balloon Federation of America
PO Box 400
Indianola, Iowa
Action Needed - Drone Interaction Comment Period
Most of you will remember that we brought to your attention a few months ago, an attempt by some commercial drone operations to change the right of way rules to allow drones operating BVLOS, or beyond visual line of sight, to have the right of way over all other aircraft. What that means to balloons is that a drone, the size of a washing machine, and weighing over 90 lbs, traveling in excess of 60 mph, could fly directly into your balloon without having any means to detect that you may be in its flight path, and YOU would be at fault. This is because they would have the right of way. The BFA and other organizations made public comment to attempt to stop this madness. The BFA, AOPA, and many other users of Class G airspace below 400 feet, where these drones intend to operate, have been monitoring this situation since our public outcry, during which we warned these operators that they were going to cause an accident and that they would be at fault because of the lack of the very inexpensive modification of detect and avoid.
Please see the attached call for public comment. It appears that the drone industry intends to adopt a detect and avoid system for some of these drones, but it seems that they are intending to use these to avoid collisions between drones. They have not said that they are for the intent fo detecting other non ADS-B objects in their path. Further, in the last section of this latest call for comment, they are still asking for the right of way in what is called a “shielded” area. They fail to define this area, which seems to indicate that they are still wanting to change the right of way rules anyway, but are restricting that right of way to areas yet to be designated. Please also see Kent Barnes graphic below showing 11 drone-related NOTAMs that show how this process works. It seems to blanket the flying area used by balloons in this area. Effectively this is just another way of grabbing control and right of way from balloons without them defining where “shielded” airspace will be.
Once again, we need your help to send public comment on this subject. Please do this within the next 15 days as the comments period of 20 days has already started. BFA will work with all other aviation concerns to put an end to this blatant attempt to change the current right of way rules..
Sincerely,
Pat Cannon, BFA President
Crossing the Line - Power line safety video
MUST-SEE Safety!
Ballooning’s biggest buzzkill – literally and figuratively - is a power line strike. The just-released 20-minute video “Crossing the Line” offers pilots and crew dozens of practical strategies for power line awareness, strike prevention, and mishap management – all delivered with stunning imagery. Use it as a pre-season refresher, crew training resource, or turnkey seminar presentation. Click on the link below for the video and let us know how you used and liked it.
If you missed the webinar, you can watch it in its entirety on the FAASTeam education link. When you complete the program, you will receive Wings credit. Click on the link below for the WINGS program.
FAASTeam Link to Video - WINGS
