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The geospatial industry is at a turning point

Geospatial data is becoming more complex by the day via Rockware.com The geospatial industry is at a turning point according to Christopher Rice, Founder of Colorado Cartographics Ltd.  We reached out to Christopher following his section 333 approval paperwork to learn more about his business, his experience with the FAA, and more. [Tweet “The geo industry is at a turning point #uas #uav #drone”] Q. Your section 333 paperwork notes that you are using drones for surveying, geo, and geoscience services. How will your approval impact what you are doing? Right now,…

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Land surveying with drones – Darling Geomatics Insights

Darling Geomatics is now using drones in their land surveying operations PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay Darling Geomatics provides a number of services including 3D scanning, land surveying, and  environmental permitting.  When they recently received their section 333 exemption we reached out to them to learn more. [Tweet “Darling Geomatics is now using #drones in their surveying operations #uav #uas”] Q. Would you have any recommendations to others who are just beginning the exemption process? My recommendation to anyone just beginning the exemption process is to study the FAA online list of exemptions granted…

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Elevated Perspective Media shares insights on section 333

Elevated Perspective Media recently received their Section 333 Exemption Q. Elevated Perspective Media filed its Section 333 exemption on September 25th of 2014, did the approval process go forward as you expected? The approval process went exactly as I thought it would. I found someone at the FAA to talk to and he was really helpful, he went over the entire process and gave us tips on how to proceed. Each step of the way if I had questions, the FAA helped us out. Luckily, there were the 7 original…

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Drones In The News 

The State of Section 333 Petitions – Blasting into a bright future

Section 333 Petitions are Getting Processed Faster Than Ever Data From JD Supra JD Supra ran an article today titled “Section 333 at 200 days: Where are we now?“, the article is well worth your time to read as it does an excellent job of providing a snapshot of the state of section 333 petitions. There are good reasons for the increased pace of approval: The Section 333 Summary Grant Approval Process.  The FAA has processed enough exemptions that it has a a clearer understanding of what people are doing.…

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Drones In The News 

The DJI Drone is leading the way with US-based companies

The DJI Drone family is leading the way with US Companies The DJI Drone is definitely the most popular choice amongst customers that have received their Section 333 exemption.  The FAA includes all exemption request paperwork on their site and the DJI family (Phantom and Inspire drones) are the leading model companies are stating they are using. DJI Drones The Voice of America has a great article providing additional details. “Technology Co Ltd has established a strong early lead in the U.S. commercial market as companies turn to its inexpensive, light-weight…

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Construction Drones: Bechtel on Section 333 and more

Drones will enhance safety jp26jp / Pixabay Construction Drones and More We reached out to Bechtel after they received their FAA Section 333 Exemption to learn more about construction drones, the section 333 process, and more.  While many at Bechtel assisted in this interview we wanted to thank Mike Lewis, Bechtel’s Global Manager of Construction, for his insights as he provided the responses. Q. You filed your Section 333 exemption on October 8th of 2014, did the approval process go forward as you expected? We followed a clear process and…

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The Section 333 Summary Grant Process – The Fastlane

The Section 333 Summary Grant Process is an improvement The FAA notes the following changes, including the new Section 333 Summary Grant Process (what we referred to as the Fastlane previously) : “The “summary grant” process the Federal Aviation Administration used last week to issue 30 Section 333 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is another example of how the agency is using a flexible regulatory approach to accommodate this rapidly evolving technology. The new approach will speed up Section 333 exemption approvals for many commercial UAS operators. Section 333 is the part…

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Drones In The News 

More than 100 Section 333 Exemptions granted this week

More than 100 Section 333 Exemptions granted The FAA appears to be hitting its stride, passing the 100 Section 333 Exemptions granted mark this week.  The list of this weeks approvals can be seen below. The FAA is quickly approving exemption requests that are similar to ones they have previously approved.    We encourage the FAA to create a “fast lane” process with simplified forms, bypassing the need for hours of paperwork, legal fees, etc… The current pace of approvals is an improvement from where we were just a couple of months ago.…

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FAA issues 30 Section 333 Exemptions on April 3rd, 2015

We noted that the FAA is getting into a rhythm with Section 333 Exemptions, having knocked out 21 for the week ending 3/27/2015.  They exceeded their last weekly review round with 30 section 333 exemptions being awarded on April 3rd, 2015.  Here is a summary of the listings, along with links to any interviews we have done with the companies to learn more about their exemptions and the exemption process. We will continue to update this as other companies on the list respond to our request for information. Grant Issued…

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A few Section 333 Insights from CineDrones

CineDrones CineDrones received their Section 333 exemption on April 3rd.  They are an aerial cinematography business in Orlando Florida, we reached out to them to learn more about their business and their experience with the Section 333 exemption process. Q. You filed your Section 333 exemption on October 9th of 2014, did the approval process go forward as you expected? It was a lot slower than we’d expected.  I wrote the exemption myself without any direction from an attorney. The FAA requested more info which I believe took a bit longer to…

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