A recent Bloomberg News feature (see here), about helicopters filming for Hollywood, sported shots of helicopters flying at a good clip close to skyscrapers, natural rock walls and other massive objects. Although the FAA has recently given the green light to a half dozen companies to film with drones, they are currently restricted to closed movie sets and thus manned helicopters will still be needed for Hollywood aerial shots of downtown Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and any other area that is open to the general public.

Why is this?

By their very nature, helicopters are designed to fly in places that an airplane cannot. Manned airplanes need runways to take-off and land. These runways are typically several thousand feet long and they are located on airports well outside of the city center. Helicopters, on the other hand, are designed to land on rooftops (assuming the building has an appropriate helipad). Helicopter pilots are thus granted permission by the FAA to fly in very close proximity to buildings (among other things).

Although we do occasionally hear about helicopters crashing, these are very rare events given the vast amount of helicopter operations that take place all over the United States. Why are helicopters so safe?

The answer is two-fold: certified aircraft and certified pilots.

Just as with manned airplanes, manned helicopters are heavily regulated by the FAA. A helicopter manufacturer does not receive certification for a given aircraft until it has been extensively tested and proven safe to fly. The FAA also requires detailed inspection and maintenance procedures to ensure that the vehicle stays airworthy. Similarly, pilots are required to go through extensive training before they are issued a license. Furthermore the pilots are required to fly regularly to maintain their proficiency and also must undergo periodic reviews by instructors. These procedures to certify aircraft and pilots have been honed over many decades of experience (the first viable American helicopter was designed by Igor Sikorsky in 1939).

So why are drones not allowed to do what manned helicopters can? Simple: no certified aircraft and no certified pilots. Yet. The FAA is still in the process of developing the regulations that will permit the certification of drones and drone operators. The decision to allow the aforementioned drone moviemakers to operate on closed sets is certainly a prudent first step. It seems wise for the civil drone industry to get experience operating drones for business purposes in areas that are isolated from the general public. The accidents that (will) occur can serve as lessons on how to improve safety.

The civil drone industry, including aircraft designers, operators AND regulators, desperately needs this experience. The FAA needs to pave the way for other sectors of the civil drone industry to gain experience without unduly endangering the general public. There are tens of thousands of farmers with millions of acres of farmland that could easily be monitored by drones with little, if any, danger to the public. Similarly, there are pipelines in remote areas of the country that could also benefit from regular drone inspections. Let’s hope the FAA’s work with the movie industry is merely the beginning of their assistance to the civil drone industry in general.