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Drone access to US skies faces significant hurdles

By WTOP Staff

JOAN LOWY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal effort to provide civilian drones regular access to U.S. skies faces significant hurdles and won’t meet a September 2015 deadline set by Congress, a government watchdog said Monday.

Despite years of research, the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t figured out what kind of technology unmanned aircraft should use to avoid crashing into other planes, or how to prevent lost links with ground control stations, Matthew Hampton, the Transportation Department’s assistant inspector general for aviation, said in a report.

The FAA also hasn’t set standards for certifying the safety of drone designs and manufacture like those that exist for manned aircraft, the report said. Nor has the agency developed standard procedures for air traffic controllers to guide drones, partly because the FAA’s air traffic control equipment wasn’t developed with unmanned aircraft in mind. There is no adequate program for training controllers how to manage drones. And criteria for training “pilots” who remotely control drones from the ground have yet to be developed.

The agency also isn’t effectively collecting and analyzing data on safety risks associated with unmanned aircraft operations, the report said. But the FAA also isn’t getting cooperation from the Defense Department, which has a wealth of data on drone accidents and incidents, the report said.

The Defense Department sends the FAA annual summaries on mishaps, but the information is so lacking in detail that FAA staff say it’s not useful, the report said. FAA officials requested more detailed data from the Pentagon more than two years ago, but defense officials have been reluctant to provide it “due to concerns regarding the release of sensitive information and uncertainty over who would bear the cost of retrieving the information,” the report said.

Until the FAA resolves these problems, the effort to integrate drones into the national airspace “will continue to move at a slow pace, and safety risks will remain,” the report said.

FAA officials, defending the agency’s record, said in a statement that the FAA “has made significant progress” toward giving drones wider access to U.S. skies “even as it dealt with disruptions” due to automatic, government-wide spending cuts and a three-week partial government shutdown.

The report makes 11 recommendations to FAA for improvement, all of which agency officials said they agree with and are working on.

A bill passed by Congress more than two years ago directed the FAA to set regulations for the safe “integration” of civilian drones into the national airspace by September 2015. There were 16 other deadlines along the way for the FAA to meet, of which nine were implemented late. Deadlines for the others have not yet passed.

One of those deadlines is in August, when the FAA is supposed to issue final regulations for use of small drones, defined as weighing less than 55 pounds. However, the agency hasn’t yet proposed regulations for small drones, and it will take months if not years after regulations are proposed before they can be made final. Meanwhile, the FAA continues to prohibit the use of commercial drones with a very few exceptions.

The FAA is under in intense pressure from Congress and companies that want to make or deploy drones to issue the small drone regulations. The FAA forecasts there will be 7,500 civilian drones in use within five years of new regulations being released, and that $89 billion will be invested in unmanned aircraft worldwide in the next 10 years.

FAA officials have been making an effort to show the agency is making progress. Three weeks ago, the FAA granted the first permission for commercial drone flights over U.S. land to the BP energy corporation and drone maker AeroVironment of California to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

The week before that, FAA officials announced the agency was considering giving permission to seven movie and television filming companies to use unmanned aircraft for aerial photography, a potentially significant step that could lead to greater relaxation of the agency’s ban on commercial use of drones.

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Online:

Inspector General’s report — http://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/6605

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Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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