Waiver Watch | Ep 20: Drone Delivery during COVID-19
Welcome to Waiver Watch!
Here is the agenda for this episode:
Weekly totals
NOAA UAS Responsible Person update
Drone delivery during COVID-19
Let’s get into it!
Weekly Waiver Totals
Waivers Granted
March 19-25, 2020 saw 33 waivers approved:
30 for Daylight Operations (107.29)
2 for Operations Over Human Beings (107.39(a))
All ParaZero SafeAir Mavic
1 for 107.51(c) and 107.51(d)
Cloud clearances and visibility
Pretty quiet week by the FAA and this was expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week is the first full week that most of the FAA was working remotely. The waiver approved this week are routine and we have another Responsible Person update.
NOAA UAS - 107W-2020-00846
This week’s 107.51(c) & 107.51(d) waiver may seem exciting, but 107Waivers has actually already covered it! In our special 2019 Waiver Review episode, we each picked our favorite waiver of 2019 and Brent picked a NOAA waiver issued to CDR Jonathan Neuhaus. The waiver number was 107W-2019-04978.
Mark Roger’s waiver this week supersedes 107W-2019-04978 and has all the same provisions. This indicates a change of Responsible Person waiver and this is something we covered a bit more in depth in Episode 19 of Waiver Watch. Massachusetts Department of Transportation did the same last week as they updated a daisy-chain visual observer waiver.
Besides the waiver provisions being identical, the effective date gives away that this is an update and not a new waiver. 107W-2020-00846 is valid from March 23, 2020 to October 31, 2023. Normally the FAA approves waivers for full calendar years. For example March 23, 2020 to March 31, 2023.
The previous waiver, 107W-2019-04978, had an original expiration of October 31, 2023 so the FAA just carried that date forward to this new waiver.
107W-2020-00846 Operational Area
Drone Delivery and COVID-19
The number of people talking about how drones can be used during the COVID-19 pandemic has grown the past few weeks. 107Waivers has decided to dedicate a portion of this week’s Waiver Watch to discussing perhaps one of the biggest potential use cases: drone delivery.
Why are we qualified to talk about drone delivery? In the fall of 2018, Brent supported some of the first drone delivery activities at Kings Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, ND. Since then, we’ve continued to be engaged with advancements in drone delivery from regulatory paths to the customer experience. We’re going to share some of the nuances and considerations for drone delivery, even during a pandemic.
Frequently Asked Questions on Drone Delivery Regulations
Can I do VLOS drone delivery?
Yes. Drone delivery is legal under Part 107 but only when operated within Visual Line of Sight. In order to operate BVLOS under Part 107, you need to receive a 107.31 waiver. However, 107.205(c) clearly states that no 107.31 waiver will be given for package delivery:
Section 107.31 - Visual line of sight aircraft operation. However, no waiver of this provision will be issued to allow the carriage of property of another by aircraft for compensation or hire.
Is the person receiving the package a participating person?
No. The person receiving the package is not considered a participating person even if you try to brief them on the operation. The Part 107 Preamble gives some guidance on who is considered participating and non-participating persons for the purpose of 107.39. Participating persons only extend to the flight crew and persons that serve a critical flight role.
What other regulations should I consider if I’m conducting Part 107 drone delivery?
107.23: Hazardous Operations is important to understand because even if you’re not flying directly over human beings or moving vehicles, you could still be flying close enough that a loss of control of the UAS could cause it to careen into a nearby human. You must consider the trajectory of the drone and failure modes at all times and make sure you do not cause harm in any scenario.
107.39: Operations Over Human Beings prohibits operation over human beings or moving vehicles. This is important to consider because your drone delivery route will likely cross a road at some point. How are you guaranteeing that no cars are overflown during delivery?
Can I do BVLOS drone delivery?
Yes but only under Part 135 with a Type Certified UAS and a host of exemptions. Part 135 is the set of rules that governs Air Carriers such as UPS or FedEx flights. You may have seen the news in 2019 that Google and UPS received Part 135 certificates. Holding a Part 135 certificate allows an organization to conduct commercial air transportation activities, but is not the only thing that’s required to do drone delivery.
One provision of a Part 135 operator is that they must operate Type Certified aircraft so now that requirement applies to the UAS conducting the delivery. To date, no UAS has received a type certificate but the FAA is working diligently with a number of drone manufacturers to reach this goal.
Besides having a Part 135 certificate and a Type Certified Aircraft, there are a number of other hurdles such as Part 61 and 91 exemptions that must be overcome to truly unlock BVLOS drone delivery, but we won’t dig into those at this time.
Consider the Customer Experience!
OK so let’s say you are going to do VLOS drone delivery under Part 107. It’s legal and with the right environment, there can be some real benefit to this type of operation. For example, with shelter in place orders and stores closing to customers, there may be opportunities for short distance delivery to keep people distanced.
Should you just clip a roll of toilet paper to your DJI Mavic 2 and go? Probably not.. It is critical to consider the customer experience.
How does the customer make the order? Do you have a store front setup to accept payment?
How do you ensure the customer doesn’t order something heavier than the drone can carry?
How are you receiving payment? A customer may not be comfortable Paypal’ing a random drone operator.
How are you actually making the delivery? If you are going to have a common drop point that customers have to gather around to get their packages, how do you ensure these customers are socially distancing themselves and not spreading COVID-19 at the drop point? If you are delivering to the customers house, how are you guaranteeing that the yard or driveway is clear?
How do you restrict the orders to a given geographical area that is within VLOS and not violating 107.23 and 107.39?
Drone delivery can provide a valuable service during this pandemic but it needs to be done right. If you have any additional questions that we did not answer, please contact us!
Wrap Up
Thanks for reading this week! Leave us a comment if you have any questions or would like us to write about any specific waivers next time! If you have a waiver and would like to join us on the show to talk about it and other waivers, drop us a note! Until then…
