91视频

Drones: high-tech, brimming with promise, slightly unsettling. They’ve already changed how modern warfare is waged, and are thought to hold disruptive potential for numerous other industries 鈥� shipping, journalism, law enforcement and feature filmmaking, to name a few.

Right now, despite the hype about drones, relatively few outlets exist for legal commercial use in the U.S., in part due to regulatory dysfunction. But around Portland, insiders report that drones 鈥� legal and otherwise 鈥� are hard at work for construction companies, from preconstruction to the P.R. shot. And use of drones is expected to broaden as legal and technical barriers are smoothed over in the coming years.

Until then, with applications stunted in a choke point at the Federal Aviation Administration, companies have had to get creative with how they employ their drones when they even bother to go the 鈥渓egal route.鈥�

Manned to unmanned

鈥淒rones鈥� are only what people outside the Federal Aviation Administration call them, according to Todd Boyd, an aviation safety assistant for the agency. To everyone at the FAA, they’re 鈥�unmanned aerial systems鈥� (UAS), and often called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

About 80 people work out of the FAA office in Portland. But the office, like others around the country, is overwhelmed with applications from drone owners to use U.S. air space. One potential drone pilot reported waiting four months before confirmation the FAA received his request. It’s thought the agency is biding its time and won’t fully commit to processing them until new regulations are enacted. That could happen as early as this summer.

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act, passed in 2012, got the ball rolling on integrating commercial UAVs into the FAA. But the agency so far hasn’t met many of the timeline goals contained in the legislation, including full integration of all nongovernmental drones by September 2015.

鈥淓ssentially, if you’re a hobbyist, you’re very unrestrained in how you may you use your UAV,鈥� attorney Craig Russillo said.

Several years ago, Russillo, with the blessing of his bosses at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, began researching laws surrounding drones and today counsels in the emerging legal area.

A 鈥渞ecreational鈥� tag applies to any craft lighter than 55 pounds and flying lower than 400 feet. Each remote-controlled craft must also be registered with the FAA, which includes a $55 one-time fee.

The FAA’s current position is that federal law prohibits the commercial use of drones, Russillo said. To fly one commercially, an operator must apply for a 鈥�333 exemption,鈥� and ask the FAA to not apply all the regulations originally written for manned aircraft.

鈥淭he FAA’s just been inundated with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don’t think they have the personnel to handle it.鈥�

The FAA does have the power to levy large fines on scofflaws. Last year it fined Chicago-based SkyPan International $1.9 million for unauthorized UAV operations.

鈥淯AVs are becoming super-useful in the construction industry, but I don’t know how many of these people are doing it lawfully,鈥� Russillo said.

Companies skirting the law to take progress photos expose themselves to serious liability should something go wrong, Russillo said. He advises companies to at the very least file an exemption application before working with a UAV, even though it’s unlikely the FAA would process it before a new legal framework is rolled out.

Among the FAA’s current rules, drone pilots must be licensed sport aircraft pilots, have a spotter with them at all times, maintain visual contact with the aircraft at all times, and operate only during daylight hours and at prescribed altitudes. Many of those restrictions are expected to be eased under the new rules, Russillo said.

An elevated perspective

Legal concerns proved too much for Fortis Construction, which recently looked into purchasing its own drone before deciding not to, according to secretary-treasurer Rene Gonzalez.

鈥淲e believe there are safety issues and gray areas surrounding drone usage, which present a greater risk than benefit to our projects,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a company, we have made a decision not to use drones at this time.鈥�

JE Dunn Construction does use drones, primarily for aerial progress photos, president Darin Stegemoller said.

Drones are being used to compose project renderings. They can capture visuals in the difficult-to-capture 鈥渓ow-altitude opaque鈥� area. Mike Hopper’s Eugene-based produces renderings with an 鈥渆levated view perspective.鈥�

For R&H Construction, the question wasn’t whether to use drones, but whether to do it legally, principal Norm Dowty said. In looking into the issue, he learned it didn’t matter if R&H used its drone only for internal use; commercial licensure was still required. So, UAV consultant was hired to walk R&H officials through the FAA’s byzantine certification process.

鈥淥ne of the things we debated was whether to go legal or not, and go through the time and expense,鈥� Dowty said. 鈥淎nd we did 鈥� We just like doing things right around here.鈥�

Luckily for the company, it had a licensed pilot on staff. And senior project manager Duane Francis happened to be willing to take on the challenge of learning the ins and outs of drone technology. R&H uses its craft on a fairly regular basis, several times a month 鈥� usually for marketing purposes, though the company has also used it to document rebar placement and inspect suspected roof damage.

Chopper city

Joe Vaughn’s Skyris Imaging has a fleet of six drones of varying capacities, but he’s been exploring a different avenue for aerial photography while the rules around drones are being worked out. Vaughn regularly charters helicopters ($500 per hour) and performs 鈥渕issions鈥� around the Portland area covering up to a half dozen sites.

He performs primarily three services for construction companies, all of which could be performed with drones. First are preconstruction photos, used in project planning. Then there are progress shots, which show all responsible parties that work is actually being done on a project. (Sometimes these are required by banks or lenders.) The third is the marketing shot, or, as Vaughn calls it, the ego shot.

The ego shot isn’t just about self-esteem, he said.

鈥淚t’s important to the architects, the contractors, the subcontractors 鈥� anybody associated with the project, really,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he main reason people need a good shot of their last project is in helping them get their next project.鈥�

Legal drone use right now is pretty limited 鈥� no flying above crowds or near airports. A pilot typically may only take up a craft vertically, and under 400 feet, and return to the same spot on the ground. But with a helicopter, Vaughn has far greater access. To stay profitable using a costly chopper, he has several strategies for saving money 鈥� Skyris’ 鈥渟ecret sauce鈥� 鈥� that he asked the 91视频 to not share.

Russillo said tech leaders have barely scratched the surface developing uses for UAVs: micro-UAVs that are cheaper and less intrusive and UAVs capable of autonomous flight (there’s even talk of fixed-wing 鈥渕other ships鈥� delivering swarms of shipping drones to cities, before packing them all back in and returning home). He said America is already being passed technologically by the rest of world, and will continue to be if pathways aren’t cleared for further commercial use.

鈥淭hey’re already doing some of this stuff in other countries,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s happening.鈥�