SYRACUSE, N.Y. — NUAIR president and CEO Ken Stewart has been appointed president of the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA).
The Washington, D.C.–based CDA says it is an independent nonprofit that works with all levels of government to collaborate on policies for industry growth and seeks to educate the public on the safe and responsible use of commercial drones to achieve economic benefits and humanitarian gains.
Stewart’s “wealth of experience and expertise” will help advocate for policies that spur innovation and growth for the commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM) industries, NUAIR said in a release.
“The future of drone technology is bright,” Stewart said. “I look forward to working with the CDA on behalf of the industry to enable companies to operate commercially at scale, so we can bring the immense safety and efficiency benefits of commercial drones to the American people.”
Syracuse–based NUAIR is short for the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance. The nonprofit focuses on UAS operations, aeronautical research, safety management, and consulting services. A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.
“The UAS industry provides significant safety and efficiency benefits for the American public — from inspecting and monitoring our nation’s critical infrastructure to delivering essential supplies,” Lisa Ellman, executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, said. “Mr. Stewart’s depth of experience in innovative industries will help the CDA promote emerging technologies that enable safe and secure integration of our national airspace.”
Stewart also represents NUAIR on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) aviation rulemaking committee (ARC). NUAIR supports this ARC focused on the development of performance-based regulatory requirements to normalize safe, scalable, economically viable, and environmentally advantageous unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) BVLOS operations.