Thursday, December 03, 2015

Virginia Tech research probing question: What dangers do drones pose for airlines?

Walter O'Brien is an expert on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. He is also an engineer at Virginia Tech with expertise in the design and operation of aircraft engines. 



BLACKSBURG – Produced by a Virginia Tech professor, the computer simulation of an eight-pound drone crashing into a commercial jetliner engine vividly shows a potential danger.

The drone destroys a chunk of the engine’s blades.

Whether a drone actually could bring down a commercial plane would depend on the size of the drone, and the question requires further study, researchers said. But the dangers, they said, are real.

Far less clear are the legal boundaries for drones as their use soars and the hazards multiply.

In 2013, the FAA had licensed 327 drones to fly, but the agency expects that number to balloon to 30,000 by 2020, according to a report from the Medill National Security Zone at Northwestern University.

The global civilian drone market has hovered at just under a $1 billion since 2014, but that industry is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2024.

Virginia Tech is at the forefront of drone research and development. Working through the Blacksburg-based Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, the school is one of six federally approved drone test sites in the U.S.

Study of the dangers is increasing at Tech and elsewhere across the country. The computer simulation of the drone hitting the jet engine, produced by Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor Javid Bayandor, is an example.

"Quite honestly, I think it's late in coming," Kevin Kochersberger, another Tech mechanical engineering professor, said of the latest research. "It's probably something we should have looked at a few years ago. It would help manage the public's perception of the danger. The public really has no basis for finding the true risk without having the data.”

Research drones are heavily regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Private use by hobbyists is far less regulated, while operating a commercial drone without an FAA exemption is banned.

"We expect to issue our final rule for small UAS this spring," FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said about regulations the agency has long worked on to not only allow, but better police all private drone use.

In the meantime, the FAA offers guidelines that hobbyists “are strongly encouraged to follow:” Flying the machines no higher than 400 feet, remaining at least five miles away from airports unless contacting the control tower first and steering clear of people and stadiums.

"Outside of 'stay away from the airport and (fly) below a certain altitude,' there's no federal aviation regulations that address operation of unmanned aircraft,” Kochersberger said about hobbyist use.

There have been no reported drone strikes on commercial aircraft, but FAA records show the number of close calls between drones and pilots by August this year was nearly triple the total for all of last year. There has been a total of 650 sightings as of Aug. 9, up from 238 in all of 2014.

The FAA so far has channeled its safety efforts largely through education on where drone flight is allowed, the agency said in an emailed statement. "Know Before You Fly" and "No Drone Zone" are the two safety campaigns the agency has directed hobbyists to.

Projects at Tech involve the testing and flying of drones. Over the summer, the aviation partnership oversaw the drone delivery of medicine to a remote medical clinic in the largely rural corner of Southwest Virginia. It was the first FAA-approved flight of its kind.

Research like that being conducted by Bayandor and others can help show the true risk posed by drones, Kochersberger said.

"This is data that will help resolve some of that uncertainty,” he said. “It will be a piece of the story that tells you what the potential damage to an aircraft can be and what the risk is."

The FAA has granted more than 2,200 exemptions for commercial drone operations since September 2014. Without an exemption, commercial operators can’t put their drones into the national airspace.

The FAA has also so far initiated 24 enforcement cases for people flying drones, settling half with violation findings, according to the agency.

In October, the FAA proposed a $1.9 million civil penalty against a company that conducted dozens of unauthorized flights over Chicago and New York despite warnings that the activities were not allowed.

"This sends a clear message to others who might pose a safety risk: Operate within the law or we will take action," Salac said.

Jayson Firebaugh, a commercial airline pilot who operates a small drone business on the side in Blue Ridge, has an FAA exemption to do work, which he said involves using the aerial footage to produce tourist videos and taking photos for real estate firms.

Firebaugh expressed support for the research at Virginia Tech and for tougher regulations on hobbyists.

“It’s basically the wild west right now when it comes to hobbyist use of drones,” he said. “I would say the biggest threat is the uneducated person who doesn’t do their homework and doesn’t understand how dangerous this item could be.

“It’s the uneducated who are going to end up flying them and getting them in the way of commercial airlines. It’s only a matter of time.”

Some manufacturers, however, have looked at ways to self-regulate their products to promote safety, Firebaugh said.

For example, global technology company DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional model comes with a technology that disables prevents the user from flying their drone past the designated airport boundaries, said Firebaugh, who himself saw the function in action during a his own exercise a few months ago.

The FAA plans to require operators to register drones, which could lead to greater enforcement, the agency said.

Until then, the largely undefined risk remains.

Bayandor said he still needs to run further tests with his simulation.

FAA requirements stipulate that aircraft be built to withstand foreign objects.

"They have to be tolerant to bird strike or runway debris and large-size hail," Bayandor said. "You can't fly an engine unless it's been approved by the FAA for those kinds of foreign objects."

Because the machines are relatively new, federal aircraft manufacturing standards don't necessarily address the potential impact of drones.

Three years ago, Bayandor’s group began researching the impact of birds on aircraft engine. The team then added drones to their work.

Drones are harder than birds, heightening the risk. Drone battery packs themselves could explode on impact, Bayandor said. He said he also is studying what could happen if a drone hits a helicopter rotor.

Bayandor said he hopes the FAA will look at his group’s work when they decide to establish drone regulations, and he plans to relay the research to manufacturers so they can build "friendlier" unmanned aircraft.

"There needs to be more information," he said.

Story and photo gallery: http://www.roanoke.com


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