The FAA is expected to decide whether to allow people to fly drones in certain parts of Colorado. That would be in a proposed FAA test site in this state... and it鈥檚 part of a larger effort to better understand whether the remote controlled, unmanned planes can be safely used in the airspace above communities - like airplanes or other aircraft.

CU Boulder is taking the lead on the application for the test site, partly because the University鈥檚 unmanned aircraft research center. Director EricFrewsays he鈥檚 recently stopped using the formal name, 鈥渦nmanned aircraft systems,鈥� and has started using 鈥渄rones.鈥�

鈥淚f you would have talked with me about two months ago I would have never used that term. I would have started this discussion by saying I鈥檓 going to call it an unmanned aircraft because I hate the word 鈥榙rone.鈥欌€�

Frew changed his ways because he wants people to understand they鈥檙e not scary or invade people鈥檚 privacy... contrary to ongoing debates about those concerns and military attacks against terrorists abroad.

鈥淲henever I talk to a public audience I always ask, who鈥檚 ever flown in an airplane. And then I ask who鈥檚 ever flown in an airplane that鈥檚 flown itself, and people always put their hands down. And I tell them put your hands back up. Because most of that plane flight was on an autopilot anyways.鈥�

CU Boulder scientists have been flying drones... with special permission... for more than ten years. That鈥檚 largely for arctic or polar science research.

鈥淢ost of the things that we fly, look like an aircraft. So they have, you know they鈥檙e fixed wing aircraft, they鈥檙e the same basic size and shape. Now, the ones that we fly at the university of Colorado are what are termed small unmanned aircraft. So they鈥檙e typically, you know, less than hundred pounds of weight, less than ten foot wingspan. And they鈥檙e carrying only science instruments, sensors, to measure the atmosphere.鈥�

And they鈥檙e far smaller than most military drones often in the news. There are estimates the drone industry could mean billions of dollars. Proponents say fears about the technology are one reason the industry is stalling.  Another is figuring out how drones can fly around in the air like other aircraft... without causing accidents or problems.

鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a little bit of a chicken and and the egg problem. How do you demonstrate the technology can help us be safe, if it can鈥檛 be in the environment to test the technology.鈥�

So the FAA is setting up test sites around the country to do just that... and hopefully in Colorado, too, if Director Eric Frew and his colleagues are successful.

鈥淎nybody who has an interest in developing unmanned aircraft technology, would come in and use the sites. Scientists, commercial companies. So the underlying purpose is to help the FAA how to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, and how to safely build unmanned aircraft technology.鈥�

As for the controversial military drones, Frew says it鈥檚 unlikely military drones would be flown in the proposed Colorado test site.

鈥淵ou know the military has its own airspace. So they鈥檙e not, i don鈥檛 think, lacking for places to fly. It鈥檚 more airspace that is public airspace, where you want to be able to interact with air traffic and manned aircraft.鈥�

Exactly where the test site would be in Colorado isn鈥檛 public just yet -- but some of the state鈥檚 bigger cities and towns would be off the map.

鈥淐ertainly I don鈥檛 know of anyone who鈥檚 even tried to fly an unmanned aircraft over a city like Denver. So we鈥檙e not talking heavy population, but we鈥檙e not talking barren land, either.鈥�

CU Boulder--and its partners-- will find out towards the end of this year, if the FAA has selected Colorado as a test site for drones.

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