Silicon Sky: Drones for Business and the Public Good

March 2, Volume 47, Issue 15

SILICON SKY:

DRONES FOR BUSINESS AND THE PUBLIC GOOD

Friday, March 13, 2015

While you are not likely to have a drone deliver a package to your door soon, the very thought of it underscores the high promise of these new machines.

Drones — or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) — are certain to affect commerce, public administration and, generally, our lives in the future. A shortlist of uses includes commercial surveillance and inspection, scientific research, disaster relief and medical assistance, search and rescue, conservation, crop management, domestic policing, film-making and, yes, quite possibly really fast food and widget delivery. By FAA estimates the UAS industry may grow to $89 billion in the next nine years, and a chunk of the industry is likely to be located in Oregon. Not surprisingly, policymakers and the courts are playing catch-up in the wake of rapid technological advances. They grapple with public concerns over privacy rights and rights of use, safety in the sky and on the ground, and the measured use of drones by governmental agencies and businesses. Big issues.

We’ve assembled a panel of aviation and legal experts to introduce us to the emerging “Silicon Sky.” Mitch Swecker Director, Oregon Department of Aviation, will moderate the panel and offer an introduction to this emerging technology and to legislative efforts in Oregon. Brian Whiteside, an aviator and UAS entrepreneur, will discuss drone-related research in Oregon and the emerging UAS commercial cluster – the FAA has permitted three UAS test facilities in Oregon with important resulting research and commercial prospects. Aviation lawyer Wendie Kellington, an attorney specializing in drone regulations, will outline current privacy, trespass and property rights issues and forecast how those rules will adapt to the “Silicon Sky.” She will also discuss federal law requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to put commercial drones into the National Airspace System in 2015, and the legal framework that the FAA uses to approve drones for domestic use.

PRESENTERS

Mitch Swecker is Director for the Oregon Department of Aviation and previously the Oregon State Airports Manager. Prior to his ODA career he served 26 years in the U.S. Navy where he filled a variety of senior management positions including Chief Information Officer for all Naval aviation, Aviation Type-Wing Commander, Squadron Commanding Officer, and senior aviation department head. Mitch is a pilot with over 3800 hours in various rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, and has been a flight instructor for both types of aircraft. He is a veteran of both Iraq conflicts and Somalia operations. Mitch has a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Auburn University, Montgomery, Alabama campus.

Wendie Kellington is a Lake Oswego-based attorney-at-law who focuses on administrative law emphasizing

FAA permitting and entitlements for drone technology. She serves on the SOAR Oregon Board of Directors, an Oregon nonprofit that supports Oregon’s drone industry and FAA designated Oregon drone test ranges. Wendie also serves on the federal advisory committee (RTCA-228) advising the FAA on technical topics associated with drone integration into the National Airspace System. She has written and presented extensively on the topic of navigable airspace and drone integration. She recently published “Why Land Use Lawyers Care About the Law of Unmanned Aerial Systems,” in Zoning and Planning Law Reporter (Summer 2014). Wendie is a graduate of Southern Oregon State College and holds a Juris Doctor degree (cum laude), Seattle University.

Brian Whiteside is a Navy veteran and former FA-18 pilot who is a leader in the commercial application of unmanned technology. Brian founded VDOS Global — a Corvallis, Oregon UAV inspection services company that was the first commercial entity to receive FAA approval to use drones for oil and gas inspections. Prior to VDOS he served as Executive Vice President of Evergreen Unmanned Systems, an industry pioneer providing the nation’s first commercial UAS service. Brian’s unmanned systems career began at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake where he “stood up” the Naval Unmanned Systems Integration Activity as the director of operations. He is president of the Cascade Chapter of AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) representing Oregon and Washington. Brian is a graduate of Oregon State University.

As is our tradition, we meet at the Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill, Salem. For lunch reservations, please visit our website at www.salemcityclub.com and register online. Reservations are due by noon Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Parking is free. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
(Drone photo: copyr. DHL International GmbH)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

SAVE THE DATES!

WINTER, 2015

Friday, March 27: Retirement Security (or Not) in Oregon. Ted Wheeler, Oregon State Treasurer, will present comment and context for the recently released report issued by the Oregon Retirement Savings Task Force, which he chaired. The task force was created by the 2013 Oregon Legislature. To view a copy of the report prior to the program, please go to the following website:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013I1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/40906

Thank You
Sustaining Contributors!

Platinum Contributors
Kathleen Beaufait
Keith and Madge Bauer
Channing Bennett
Egon and Diana Bodtker
Brian Fordham
Britta Lion Franz
Deborah Dancik and Edd LeSage
Sally Hollemon
Mary Kamppi
Steve Kenney
Jan and Les Margosian
Kathleen and Hans West
Larry Young
Bob and Leslie Zeigen