Bid for styling technology deploy Cloud-planted flares Small drone The resistance from the Airline Pilot Alliance is experiencing, and the union urges the Federal Aviation Administration to consider rejecting startup requirements unless it complies with stricter safety guidelines.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s decision will show how regulators view weather modifications in unmanned aerial systems. Rainmaker’s bet on small drones is pending.
The Air Pilot Association (ALPA) told the FAA that the rainmaker’s petition “failed to prove an equal level of safety” and posed “extreme safety risks.”
Rainmaker is seeking exemptions rules that prohibit small drones from carrying hazardous materials. The startup was submitted in July and the FAA has not ruled yet. Instead, it publishes follow-up requests for information and urges details about operational and security.
In the application, the styling rainmaker proposed using two flare types, one “on-site burning” and the other can be ejected on the Elijah four-wheel drive to disperse the particles that stimulate precipitation. Elijah’s maximum altitude is 15,000 feet MSL (measured from sea level), and this elevation is located within controlled airspace, and commercial passenger planes usually fly. Drones require air traffic control permission to fly inside this bubble.
Rainmaker’s petition says it will operate in Class G (uncontrolled) airspace unless otherwise authorized. The ALPA notes that the document has not clearly stated where the flight takes place or which altitudes are used. Rainmaker and ALPA did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
The alliance also considered concerns about foreign object debris and fire safety. The ALPA notes that the petition does not include trajectory modeling of the ejected shell or analysis of the environmental impact of the chemical agent.
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But, Yuyangren said the flights will be conducted on rural areas and on property owned by private landlords, and “Yuyangren has established a close working relationship with it.”
Cloud seeds have already happened today, mainly in the western United States, where crew planes coordinate with state agencies. The actions of the ski resort committee committee help keep its white, irrigated and water areas flying snowdrifts in winter to help feed its reservoirs during the spring melt.
The general practice of cloud seeds dates back to the 1950s. By spraying small particles into certain clouds, scientists found that they can induce precipitation. Typically, cloud seeding operations use silver iodide for particles, mainly because they mimic the shape of ice crystals.
When silver iodide particles hit into ultra-cold water droplets, they cause the droplet to freeze quickly because its water is already below freezing point. Once ice crystals are formed, if the conditions are correct, it will grow rapidly, faster than droplets in similar situations. Additionally, rapid growth helps the crystals last longer than water droplets, which may evaporate before precipitation is possible.
In the long run, Rainmaker’s twist – using drones instead of pilots to do the job – can prove safer. The company noted that the flight profiles conducted close boundaries between remote pilots and trained crew members in rural areas and conducted additional safety checks.
What happens next depends on whether the FAA believes that these reliefs are sufficient. However, this is determined, and the agency’s response may set the tone for novel cloud-based cultivation methods.
