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| Photo by "Silkysheetsmagoo" |
You more than likely have seen something about drones in the
media. Many of the focuses are hitting
the negative side of drone developments and skip over or lightly touch on the
facts of drone usage for the public. However, some media outlets like drama and
for some drone pilots, whelp…common sense seems to be on a 90 day back order,
giving media plenty of ammo to use.
I am here to share and focus more about what the current
conditions are for flying your drones in the US, especially for the hobbyist.
I’ll write a little about commercial usage as well, at least some steps to get
your commercial clearance but I am under the impression that process will change
in mid-2016 according to my discussions with the FAA.
I use facts not partial details. True facts from the horse’s
mouth and I won’t write something for you to connect the dots or leave a bread
crumb trail to get you coming back for more.
Just straight up facts without the fluff. Maybe a few jokes though but I
believe we can all appreciate the read.
So why is it important for me to write? It’s simple, I’m not only as drone hobbyist
but I also own the company Guerrilla
Entertainment and we host drone racing events in Minnesota. Anything and everything drone related has an
effect on my business and hobby. So yeah,
drone developments are pretty darn important to me.
Let’s chat about the word “drone.” Drone, as a noun, is a remote controlled
pilotless aircraft. Okay cool, however
it’s an umbrella word for everything that is pilotless. From what the military uses to model
airplanes, model helicopters, and even some weather balloons or paper airplanes
can be and, in many ways, are considered as a drone by the FFA. Anyway, you get
the idea.
What the media and public knowledge of drones have been
focusing on is the exponential growth of quad copter and multirotor copters. These drones are easy to use and are
inexpensive. They come ready to fly or as a kit to build. They are available
online or on the shelves at the local stores. There are many different sizes, known
as “classes” and styles can come with or without video/camera options. The
choices of drones is extensive depending on what you’re looking for.
Here are some facts for drone usages from the FAA, USDOT and
AUVSI. Don’t forget your state and local regulation also piggy back on national
regulations and they may have made their additions to the rules too.
The Federal Aviation Authority, FAA, has had numerous
publications dating back to 2012, with a few publications during some years
prior, for drone regulations. The FAA labels “drones” as sUMA (small unmanned
aircraft), UMA (unmanned aircraft), UMS (unmanned aircraft systems) etc. Confusing right? An additional reason why drone is an umbrella word.
The FAA has missed several deadlines toward the developments
of these regulations. Congress had to get after them and these rules are still
in draft form, which are now under public review and can change. A full working regulatory ruling is set for
Q4 of 2016, however, the FAA, will likely miss this deadline as well.
The best practice for new drone pilots is to start with the
site know before you fly . This FAA
collaboration program will give you some basic understandings about what is
expected from drone pilots with videos and reads.
For the drone hobbyist and its recreational use, the current
rules are simple, but there are more rules that are not listed unless you visit
several online FAA resources. For now here
are the basics:
- Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
- Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
- Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
- Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
- Don't fly near people or stadiums
- Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
- Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft
- No peeping Tom foolery...Okay I added that but there are “peeping Tom” laws and besides just don’t do it.
You can read more from the FAA website
or click
here for the PDF version. This will also include the commercial usages
as well as extras about FPV (First Person Point of View) cameras. Oh! Also the
PDF will state the max height is 500 feet.
NO IT IS NOT! 400 is your max.
Now let’s look at some additions to the
FAA rules not covered as well for the hobbyist.
Yep, the complete US air space. Not only is there a 400’ ceiling but for all
drone pilots, we have to deal with the circumference of the air space we are
flying in. But wait! The FAA says I can
fly at that max ceiling as well as around an airport as long as I contact the
tower. Yes, this is true but you also
need to define your location to the tower and make sure you hold your defined
airspace or face large penalties and risk collision with other piloted aircraft's as well.
More than likely you, as a hobbyist,
won’t get any tower clearance unless you have a standard pilot’s license and
talk the lingo, etc. To be honest, the 5
mile, call the tower at the airport should just be removed and made into “don’t
fly around any airports” but that might just be me.
For the hobbyist, our area of clearance
is the G air space. However even in your own backyard the FAA and local authorities
can contact you if they choose to. The likelihood though is low but they could
because of these undefined rules especially if you’re doing some kind of
knuckleheaded things.
If what I’m writing hasn’t shown you
why there so much confusion about drones there’s more. Like those late night, as seen on TV days,
you get a few extras, mostly unknowns, with your drone purchase and its
usage.
The U.S. Department of Transportation,
USDOT, has now thrown their hat into the ring to have your drone
registered. They are rushing through the
specks and definitions with a special task force and will have something in a
draft form by mid-December. Public
comment is open till November 6, 2015.
Here is the link to add your 2 cents if you would like. Regulations.gov
However, I feel such a rush will
continue to murk up the overall drone industry. At this time, there’s a lot more
questions than answers with the front office.
Without me going into a rant, I liked
this article by Motherboard.
It sums up the best way on what USDOT and the task force are trying to accomplish.
It highlights what the majority of drone pilots are thinking.
There are some bright spots for the
drone hobbyist and commercial usages though. For both, the FAA has rolled out a
beta app, currently going to be issued on the iOS and one for android users on
the way. When using the app, your smart phones GPS will show you if you’re in a
restricted area and what’s flying overhead. The app is called B4UFly.
At the least, you can feel a little more
comfortable knowing something before you fly. How well will this work? Your guess is as good as mine but again it’s
a good step in the right direction.
For commercial drone usage. Well the same murkiness of the rules we
talked about applies but now you want to use your drone to get paid.
Okay, cool. To do so you will need to
submit a 333 exemption form to the FAA for review. After that and if you receive your exemption
there is additional things you’ll have to do.
- Find a licensed pilot or get yours pilots license
- Get a TSA background check
- Submit all the local forms and fees associated with the drone filed
- Insurance and all the business goodies too
- Other
This process can be
done by you but I’d recommend seeking council and paying them to fill out all
the paperwork.
Here is a link to the
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, AUVSI. They have an online outline for your commercial
333 exemptions. In addition, here is a link to regulations.gov. You will be able to read current and past
document submissions, including rejections, by all those who have filed for the
exemptions. This information is all
public and there’s a few interesting private citizens and large companies in
the list of 5,626 applications to the date of this post.
Drone applications can and will be a good thing, when used
correctly for a community. For example
in Minnesota, the DOT is in its 2nd year of research with its use of
drones for bridges inspections. In
Virginia, drones are being tested to send medicines to out of reach people in
the Application Mountains. In California
the drones are being equipped with life saving devices to help save
people.
In all, drone applications and their practices will
continue to develop as drone technology and needs advance. We, the public, just
need more training availabilities and solid, reasonable rules for all pilots to
lower those potential risks for everyone.
I know I’m trying my best to help educate my fellow pilots
as well as those interested people to continue the growth of drone applications
for my community. I hope you’ll join me.
Cheers!
Mac
