Salon.com > FAA http://www.salon.com Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:50:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The price of airline iPad freedom http://www.salon.com/2012/12/10/the_price_of_airline_ipad_freedom/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/10/the_price_of_airline_ipad_freedom/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13120439 Look, I get it. I understand why the twittering masses are so excited to learn that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski sent a letter last week to the FAA encouraging the agency to get its act together and allow airline passengers to play with their mobile devices during takeoff and landing. I have long wondered, along with everyone else, why we haven't seen any meaningful scientific evidence that the use of such devices interferes with the operation of an aircraft. Miles away from the airport, I still feel the pain for those parents of toddlers (and everyone sitting within earshot) who are denied the right to distract their spawn with the fabulous interactivity of the latest iPad. And I always die a little death every single time I have to stop checking for the latest Facebook status updates just so my Boeing 727 can get launched off the ground. Let Alec Baldwin play as much "Words With Friends" as he wants! We're talking about freedom here!

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/10/the_price_of_airline_ipad_freedom/feed/ 29 Coming soon: Bigger drones http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/faa_approves_bigger_drones/ http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/faa_approves_bigger_drones/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:51:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12920993 Public safety agencies can now get expedited permission to fly drones weighing up to 25 pounds in U.S. airspace, according to new rules approved Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The size of the craft was the most significant change made by the FAA in responding to a congressional mandate to integrate unmanned aviation vehicles into domestic airspace. In February, Congress passed legislation calling on the FAA to expedite approval for law enforcement and first responder agencies that want to use drones smaller than 4.4 pounds.

FAA officials decided to boost the size of the largest permissible public safety drone after meeting with federal, state and local law enforcement representatives, a spokesman said. The officials "determined that small unmanned aircraft systems under 25 pounds would be the most cost-effective, easiest to manage and overall most appropriate to carry out the various first responder missions."

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