Aviation is on the cusp of its "third great era" with the emergence of autonomous and unmanned aircraft, according to acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell. This new frontier is coming at a more complex time, with thousands of aircraft crisscrossing the globe and joined by commercial rockets and a million drones, Elwell said in prepared text for his speech before the Aero Club of Washington last month. "I'm not sure we appreciate how much of a seismic change it's going to be-for all of us." Warning that the government and industry do not want to be caught flat-footed, he said they must be ready for this next era of aviation; and the system in place today must get better.
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