Drones, Other Advanced Avionics Can Soar If FAA ‘Clarifies’ Approval Process, Witnesses Tell Congressmen

Airplane designer Adam Woodworth (R, at table), CEO of Wing, shows off one of his company's innovative small airplanes at a hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee in Washington, on March 30, 2023. Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video.

Drones and other high-tech aviation devices are in production all across America, poised to help people’s lives in novel ways, ranging from helping police preview possible crime scenes to transporting emergency medical supplies to patients.

But cumbersome, murky federal processes are impeding developers, witnesses told a Congressional subcommittee on March 30, calling for a reorganization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) lamented, “The FAA has an inability to make quick and sound decisions, and stand by those decisions, resulting in a lack of clarity for new entrants to the market. After over five years of trying, the FAA has succeeded in certifying a grand total of one drone.”

That model of drone was developed by a company called, “Wing,” and faced “innumerable roadblocks” in getting that approval, Graves said.

Kyle Clark is the CEO of BETA Technologies in Vermont, a company that now employs about 500 engineers who are waiting for the FAA to certify electric propulsion. “What we need is a simple regulatory unblock and clarity. That’s it. It’s not complicated,” he said. “The technology is here, and we’re ready to get to work.”

While the FAA holds American companies in regulatory purgatory, other nations, including hostile foreign powers such as China, are paving the way for rapid approvals of futuristic avionics, witnesses and Congressmen said during the hearing of the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.

A committee member, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.),  worries that America, which brought the magic of flight to the world, is now in danger of ceding its preeminence in aviation history.

Three Eras of Aviation

Van Drew started with a quick history lesson.

“The Golden Era” of American aviation began in 1903, he said. That’s when Orville and Wilbur Wright built the first functioning aircraft in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers completed the first powered, controlled flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Then, 75 years ago, “we entered the jet age, which dramatically expanded the safety and accessibility of air travel,” Van Drew said.

“Today, we find ourselves on the cusp of the Third Era of aviation,” a 75-year span that will be known as the Era of Advanced Aviation, Van Drew said. The term, “advanced aviation,” refers to “a wave of technologies including drones, supersonics, and many other technologies ”that have not yet been integrated into our National Aerospace System,” he said.

Despite the excitement over this new era, “the harsh reality is the United States is falling behind. And we can’t have that happen,” he said. “Stakeholders told me that while we still have the best technology in the world, a complete lack of clear regulation is preventing businesses from investing in the United States of America.”

The current path is “unacceptable,” he said, and will lead to America losing its “global aviation leadership.”

“The FAA is operating on an uncoordinated, 50-year-old organizational model. It should change,” he said.

Witnesses validated Van Drew’s assertions as they testified before the Aviation Subcommittee.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) makes a point during an Aviation Subcommittee hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 30, 2023. Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video

‘We’re Stuck’

Congressmen marveled at a 10-pound airplane that sat in the hearing room next to aircraft designer Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing, a company that develops drones to deliver small packages.

“Yes, sir, that’s a real airplane,” not a model, Woodworth told one Congressman.

Wing is “the first drone company” to receive U.S. approval for operations “beyond line-of-sight,” Woodworth said.

The company delivers goods ranging from over-the-counter medications to household essentials and meals,” and is approved to do so in four other countries: Australia, Ireland, Finland, and Switzerland.

“We’ve completed over 300,000 commercial deliveries to consumers and our service areas, and we’ve done so safely,” he said.

But the process of getting FAA approval is fraught with “lengthy delays, and confusing or often contradictory guidance,” he said.

“Quite simply, we’re stuck,” Woodworth said, calling for a clearer, more predictable process to “help break up these logjams.”

Drones Help Police

Roxana Kennedy, police chief in Chula Vista, Calif., described how a “Drone First-Responder Program” helped officers avoid overreacting to reports of a gunman at a local taco shop.

After receiving multiple calls from frightened patrons, “within one minute,” the airborne device arrived at the scene and began providing images to officers who were en route, Kennedy said. The camera showed that the suspected “gunman” was merely holding a gun-shaped cigarette lighter, not a firearm.

“The ability to view the scene before officers arrive saves lives,” Kennedy said. “This is, by far, the best de-escalation tool I have seen in my law enforcement career.”

While Kennedy said her agency’s partnership with the FAA has been “amazing,” she said the agent could improve its processes. She cited “inconsistencies” that create confusion.

China has pretty much cornered the U.S. drone market, and law enforcement agencies are leery of using China-produced drones, Kennedy said. However, they have figured out ways to “bypass” some of the manufacturer’s systems and encrypt data that the drones gather.

Police Chief Roxana Kennedy of Chula Vista, Calif., testifies to a Congressional subcommittee about drone use in law enforcement on March 30, 2023. Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video

Medical Uses, Too

Another witness, Dr. Stuart Ginn, a physician and surgeon in Raleigh, North Carolina, described medical uses for drones.

They can be used to transport blood to critically ill patients, deliver life-saving automatic defibrillators to rural communities, or even emergency medicines such as rescue inhalers for asthmatics and treatments for drug overdoses, Ginn said.

“Un-crewed aircraft systems can improve health care access, save lives, and bring new efficiencies,” he said.

The industry working on these systems “is at an inflection point,” Ginn said. “Innovative companies...are operating with little to no revenue or profit, awaiting development of a regulatory framework.”

He said Congress should instruct the FAA to reorganize “and to include a funded pilot program that will enable further testing, evaluation and deployment” to assist industries “that provide a clear public benefit.”

Overhaul Needed

In 2021, the FAA acknowledged that it needs an overhaul, Van Drew said, when the agency submitted a reorganization proposal to Congress.

At that time, the Aviation Subcommittee opposed the proposal. Van Drew opposed it, too.

But since then, he has spent the past two years working with other people to put together a workable FAA restructuring plan. Van Drew said the plan would establish an Office of Advanced Aviation, which will help “build teams of experts from across the USA.”

In addition, Van Drew’s proposal would create an online system where applicants can track progress on their certifications and submit inquiries. The new system would also help the FAA to keep track of these projects. He said the full plan would be unveiled soon.

“We will make sure the United States leads the world,” he said.