UAS/UAV/Drone Procedures

W&M’s UAS/UAV/Drone procedures are being developed by the Drone Policy Group. This group is comprised of individuals from Public Safety, the Center for Geospatial Analysis, Applied Science and VIMS.

Departments owning UAS/UAV/Drone’s and all departmental drone pilots need to register with the Risk Management department.

W&M Departmental UAS/Drone Registration Form

W&M Faculty and Staff UAS/Drone Pilot Form

While the policy is in development, please be aware of the following procedures which must be followed to fly a UAS/UAV/Drone on W&M property. If you have any questions, please email B4UFLY@wm.edu

Recreational Flights

No recreational flights will be approved on W&M property.

Third-Party and outside vendors

The following applies to all third-party persons who wish to fly on W&M campus for business purposes.   First the company/agency/organization will need to submit a plan and proof of insurance to W&M’s UAS/UAV/Drone Flight Request email: b4Ufly@wm.edu  (see below for what will be needed in the submission).    This routes the information to both W&M Police and W&M Risk Management.  They review and then will choose to approve, conditionally approve, or reject the requests to fly.  The requested insurance information is required to be mailed in and on file with W&M Risk Management, even though a digital copy can be used for plan approval processes, an original mailed copy is required to be on file. 

Plans for requested UAS/UAV flight on W&M campus must include the following items/attachments when submitted to email address above.

Contact information for the requesting organization/business/agency. Note that in 6 below we ask for more specific information regarding the planned Pilot in Command.
W&M Sponsoring Department and Business Need.   Briefly describe the business need for the planned flight(s).  In your description make sure to include what William & Mary department or unit is this associated with as a business need on campus.
Requested date of planned flight (include any weather backup dates) & planned time of flights (start to intended end times using 24hour or military clock times, e.g. 0800 to 1330)
Description of the location and geographic area of the planned flight.   This can include an image with a polygon from geospatial software such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, Googlemaps, etc) Addresses for W&M properties may be found at: https://www.wm.edu/contactus/streetaddresses/index.php
Maximum altitude of Operation Above Ground Level (AGL). 
Meeting Federal Regulations & WM Policies for safety, security, and protection of property: 
Describe how you will comply with FAA 14 CFR 107 provisions to operate within line of sight and to protect people and property. In addition, please address the specific policies of the William & Mary Drone Policy.
Pilot In Command (PIC Information) Name and contact information for the Pilot in Command (PIC) for all planned flights.  Including:
- 1. - Name as listed on Part 107 Pilot Certificate
    - Certified Pilot Certificate number (Part 107) or other applicable FAA Authorization. This may be submitted as a copy of the approved certificate (commonly referred to as FAA Remote Pilot License) or may simply be written out.
    - Contact phone number(s) – more specifically a contact number while on site.
    - Email address of PIC
    - If more than one pilot will potentially be used or the company/business/Agency has a group of pilots, they will need to provide all information Part 107 Certified Pilots names and pilot Certificate Information and contact information.  (Once again, a copy of the Pilot Certificate information will work).  NOTE:  When employing more than one pilot on a project, W&M Campus police must be notified the day of the flight of who the PIC is for that day with their on-site contact information. In these instances, the W&M Police Department may be contacted at: 757-221-4596
Visual Observer Information. Names and if possible, contact information for all planned Visual observers (VO) or acknowledgement of why VO’s will not be used.
Aircraft Information: Provide a copy of the FAA aircraft registration for each aircraft being used from the FAA Drone Zone. This should include the FAA registration number, UAS Manufacturer, UAS Model, UAS Serial Number.
Proof of Insurance:     Please provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) that meets the following requirements:
- Minimum general liability coverage (commercial general liability) amount of $1M per occurrence for Small UAS operations
- Must name the following as additional insured: William & Mary and Commonwealth of VirginiaIMPORTANT INSURANCE NOTE:  Although the Certificate may be attached in an email as part of the review and permissions process, we require a copy to be mailed to:
  William & Mary Risk Management Office
  PO Box 8795
  Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
All flights must be approved in advance. The submission of the UAS operations request must be submitted to the appropriate authority(ies) for approval. This request must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the expected flight date(s). You will receive a response back from W&M Police, or W&M Risk Management or the appropriate authority, which may include requests for further information.

Questions concerning UAS operations on any W&M property may be sent to B4UFLY@wm.edu or you may directly contact the following with your questions. 

Main Campus and its surrounding properties (e.g. W&M Law School, Plumeri Park) must be requested and questions should be sent to B4UFLY@wm.edu
Inquiries regarding UAS operations at Highland in Albemarle County, VA should be directed to the Director of Highland, Sara Bon-Harper. Note, duties of volunteers flying at Highland are subject to existing Volunteer policies and questions should be directed to: sebonharper@wm.edu
UAS operations at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) campus must be directed to the VIMS Safety/Environmental Programs Manager, Eric Fiedler emfidler@vims.edu
UAS operations at Wachapreague should be directed to the Director of the Eastern Shore Laboratory, Richard Snyder rsnyder@vims.edu
No flights will be approved for the W&M Washington DC Center at this time.

Faculty/Staff

Faculty and Staff may use UAS/UAV/drones on W&M campus properties under the following conditions (all conditions below must be met):

The Pilot in command (PIC) is a Faculty/Staff member has a Part 107 license and has registered their status with University Risk Management through the W&M Faculty and Staff UAS/Drone Pilot Form
The purpose of the flight is for university official business, related to university related research, and/or as a part of a supervised university teaching experience. All flights and planned activities must meet with Federal, State, Local and University laws, guidance and policies.
A flight plan is approved, in advance of any planned flight activity on W&M property. Note off-campus flight activity does not require prior university approval however, see the requirements below regarding this type of flight.
- All flights must be approved in advance. The submission of the UAS operations request must be submitted via email to B4UFly@wm.edu This request must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the expected flight date(s). You will receive a response back from W&M Police, or W&M Risk Management or the appropriate authority, which may include requests for further information.

Questions concerning UAS operations on any W&M property may be sent to B4UFLY@wm.edu or you may directly contact the following with your questions. 

Main Campus and its surrounding properties (e.g. W&M Law School, Plumeri Park) must be requested and questions should be sent to B4UFLY@wm.edu
Inquiries regarding UAS operations at Highland in Albemarle County, VA should be directed to the Director of Highland, Sara Bon-Harper. Note, duties of volunteers flying at Highland are subject to existing Volunteer policies and questions should be directed to: sebonharper@wm.edu
UAS operations at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) campus must be directed to the VIMS Safety/Environmental Programs Manager, Eric Fiedler emfidler@vims.edu
UAS operations at Wachapreague should be directed to the Director of the Eastern Shore Laboratory, Richard Snyder rsnyder@vims.edu
No flights will be approved for the W&M Washington DC Center at this time.
Off campus flights: It is the responsibility of the faculty/staff member to obtain approval from the facility or landowner/responsible party of where you are flying. This may range from contacting the landowner or park manager to get approval or further processes as established by the landowner. Email the facility or landowner/responsible party to get approval and it is the faculty/staff member responsibility to maintain these records in case of need/review/audit.

4. The UAS/UAV/Drone(s) to be used is/are a university owned device which has been registered with Risk Management via the W&M Departmental UAS/Drone Registration Form and includes all FAA required registration information. This is in part to also secure the proper Insurance coverage necessary by the university. Personally owned UAS/UAV/Drones are not permitted to be used by W&M faculty and staff for W&M Activities or on W&M properties. Have a question? Contact B4UFLY@wm.edu

5. The Department and university faculty/staff member must meet all university storage and fire compliance policies.

Students

Students are strictly prohibited from UAS/UAV/Drone flights in and on all campus properties unless under the supervision of a faculty member with an approved purpose for coursework, research or other supervised educational experience.

Students are not allowed to store nor charge Drones/UAS/UAV in university residence halls or any other buildings on campus or campus properties.