Rural drone deliveries will be fairly common in five years, says former FAA leader on drones

Rural drone deliveries will be common occurrences within the next five years, said Jim Williams, who retired last week from the Federal Aviation Administration, where he managed the agency's office to integrate drones into the U.S. airspace, Matt McFarland reports for The Washington Post.

Williams, who spoke Thursday at McKenna Long & Aldrige’s unmanned aircraft systems symposium in Washington, D.C., said his biggest disappointment concerning drones was the time it took to release the proposed rules for drones weighing under 55 pounds, McFarland writes.

He also said dealing with the White House was a hassle, McFarland writes. Williams told McFarland, “Everybody who thinks having the White House interested in your program is a great thing, no. Just a lot of scrutiny from them and everything is questioned about how it is going to fit in the bigger scheme of things. It’s very much a blessing and a curse to have that level of attention.” (Read more)