UAS Procedures

Procedures

All UAS flights on behalf of Georgia Southern for research purposes must follow Georgia Southern UAS policy and Flight Procedures

• Research
  • All pilots must maintain a current FAA Part 107 remote pilot certification and GS flight check (see training and licensing procedures)
  • maintain a current FAA tail number registered through the Georgia Southern University FAA account for all GS owned UAS. (see registering your UAS and/or tail number lookup)
  • All UAS flown for GS or owned by GS must be equipped and compliant with Remote ID.  See FAA Remote ID Toolkit for more info.
    • Look up the Remote ID capability of your model at UAS Declaration of Compliance – Choose view public doc list and filter by RID to search for your model.
  •  All pilots must follow the restriction guidelines established by the FAA for the flight conditions.
  • All UAS flown must in good pre-flight condition.  The Pilot must assure appropriate equipment maintenance and software/firmware updates (See preflight checklist for details)
  • All flights must take place in the United States.  (Flights in other countries utilizing GS equipment must be approved by the Export Control prior to departure.)
• Education
  • All UAS flights must be supervised by a Georgia Southern instructor who maintains a current FAA Part 107 remote pilot certification and GS flight check (see training and licensing procedures).
  • flights must be conducted by a Georgia Southern student within sight of the supervising instructor.
  • all training UAS must maintain a current FAA tail number registered through the Georgia Southern University FAA account. (see registering your UAS and/or tail number lookup)
  • All UAS flown for GS or owned by GS must be equipped and compliant with Remote ID.  (See FAA Remote ID Toolkit for more info)
  • all UAS flown must in good pre-flight condition.  The instructor must assure appropriate equipment maintenance and software/firmware updates have been completed for any unit used in training. (See preflight checklist for details)
• Institutional Use- including events
  • All flights on GS property must be pre-approved through the GS Chief Pilot.
  • GS Pilot service
    • Send an email to drones@georgiasouthern.edu containing a description of the desired flight including times, locations and contact information.
  • Third Party Pilot:
    • Send an email to drones@georgiasouthern.edu containing a description of the desired flight including the business purpose, times and locations and, if applicable, the associated GS contact name and department/organization.
    • Attach the following:
      • A copy of the pilots FAA part 107 Remote Pilots Certification Operator’s License,
      • Proof of a currently registered FAA tail number for the UAS intended for flight
      • Proof of Remote ID compliance
      • Proof of adequate current insurance.  (Minimum required 1 million – Recommended 5 million. GS reserves the right to require higher levels of insurance based upon the scope of flight.)
      • The Georgia Southern University Chief Pilot will evaluate the flight plan and make a recommendation to the Vice President for Communication and Marketing, the Georgia Southern Official authorized to approve such flights.  You will receive an email response.
• Hobby
  • Georgia Southern University Campus is currently a No Fly Zone for hobby unmanned aerial systems (drones)
• Unregulated flights
  • UAS that weigh less than .55lb (250g) including all on-board equipment and attachments.
  • UAS that are flown completely indoors (from take off to landing inclusive).

Important:  At this time, all UAS flights require presidential approval and documentation of appropriate certifications and insurance.  Armstrong campus is in Hunter Army Airfield’s Class D airspace which will require a waiver or airspace authorization from the FAA to operate in that airspace.

Last updated: 7/13/2023