Here Are the New Drone Rules

Drone owners can breath a small sigh of relief. The FAA has issued some proposed rules governing the use of drones for hobby and commercial use and they leave a fairly wide latitude for commercial photographers.

Here’s what the FAA had to say about drone use:

• Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs. (25 kg).
• Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the operator or visual observer.
• At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for the operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.
• Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation.
• Proposes a microUAS option that would allow operations in Class G airspace, over people not involved in the operation, provided the operator certifies he or she has the requisite aeronautical knowledge to perform the operation.
• Daylight-only operations (official sunrise to official sunset, local time).
• Maximum airspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).
• Maximum altitude of 500 feet above ground level.

The full proposal can be viewed here. In addition to the above, drone operators would not need a license but would instead by required to take an “aeronautical knowledge” test to verify that you know what the airspace rules are.

As long as you’re over 17 years old and take the test every two years, you will be permitted to operate your unmanned vehicle. Drone operators would also be required to report to the FAA any drone accident that results in injury or property damage within 10 days of the event.

The FAA is seeking public comment over the next 60 days. If you don’t like what you see, you can sound off here.