MJones
lvl.2
Flight distance : 74783 ft
United States
Offline
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Hi Licensed Pilot,
Congratulations on obtaining your Remote Pilot Certificate! With regard to "Waiver" or "Authorization/Clearance" the FAA, beginning on page 328 of their release document for 14 CFR Part 107, has a discussion about this issue. Basically, a "waiver" means authority to deviate from an existing regulation. So requesting a waiver for a night flight that is specifically prohibited by the existing Part 107 regulation is entirely correct.
However, for flight in certain controlled airspace, the language in the regulation is that it is already allowed with ATC authorization. So the question is "How does one request ATC authorization?" The current situation, and explained in the FAA document, is that currently there are TWO methods: one is to use the online waiver/authorization request. For night flight, you requested a waiver; for flight in controlled airspace you would be requesting authorization for an activity already allowed by the regulation. Another method would be to contact the ATC facility directly in writing or perhaps with a phone call. Radio call is not permitted as explained in the FAA discussion.
The FAA is clear that requesting authorization will be an evolving process, but the good news is that they are expecting sUAS operations in controlled airspace and want a systematic way to handle these operations safely.
Regards,
Mike |
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