The FAA dealt a serious blow to hobby drone pilots when they released these new rules that restrict them from flying in controlled airspace over many American cities. Hobby drone pilots were allowed to fly in controlled airspace with a notification to air traffic control, or by flying at an AMA Field.
Are you looking for a real estate drone? Aerial real estate photography is becoming more popular all the time. In some markets, it is almost a requirement that a listing has photographs, and often video, taken from the air. Professional pilots today can earn fees starting at $200 for a 30-minute job. So what is the best drone for the job? And what do you need to know before you fly? We are here to help.
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Google’s Wing Aviation receives the first FAA approval for a drone delivery service in the US. We already reported on this two weeks ago, saying that it would likely be Wing Aviation that would receive the first approval for a delivery service by drone. Today, the commercial drone operator received important government approval to operate as an airline, which gives it the legal authority to deliver products by drone to real customers. The company plans to start routine deliveries by drone in two rural communities in Virginia within the next few months.
DJI urges drone pilots, operators, and drone fleet managers in the United States to comment on the proposed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules.
Before the proposed FAA rules come into effect there is a timeframe in which you can submit your comments. As of now, fewer than 100 comments have been received about flight at night and over people. The FAA actually pays attention to your input and takes it into consideration when making the final rules.
You can submit your comments on:
So, please take a minute or two and check out these links below and submit your comments for the FAA to consider. The deadline is Monday, April 15th. You can read DJI’s official statement below.
Update 1: when we wrote this article, only 84 comments had been submitted to the FAA. Now a few days later the counter sits at 306 comments. That is great news! DJI’s message has spread to a number of other websites as well and that obviously helped to reach a larger number of drone pilots. It is good to see such an immediate response coming out of our community. Keep in mind we still have four more days to go, so please keep submitting your comments to the FAA. the original article was posted on April 9th.
Update 2: Keep in mind the deadline is at the end of the 15th, meaning you can still submit your comments today! As of today, the comments counter stands at 647, which is quite an achievement, considering that we were only at 84 last week. Thanks to all of the media outlets pushing for comments over the last so many days, and to all the drone pilots and operators who submitted their feedback and comments to the FAA!
Last night a drone illegally flew over Fenway Park during a Red Sox-Blue Jays game. According to Boston Police, the drone was first spotted around 9:30 pm and was last seen around 10:20 pm. The Red Sox said that they have reported the incident to the Police. Both the police and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) are looking into the situation. Flying drones over crowds or over a packed stadium are against the FAA’s regulations. DJI issued a statement on the drone incident as well.
A Federal Aviation Administration official said that the agency expects to award the first license to operate a drone delivery service next month. The spokesperson did not name the company that would be receiving the license but it seems that the only likely candidate is Wing Aviation LCC, a subsidiary from Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc. And, the same company that received approval from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority to start making deliveries by drone in the northern suburbs of Canberra after a safety assessment.
Drone pilots may be facing more scrutiny and enforcement actions, as the FAA has released new enforcement action protocols for investigations, including new surveillance rules.
Kittyhawk is on a roll the last few weeks. First, they announced their new Kittyhawk Dynamic Airspace platform, which brings all the data, enterprise drone operators need to know in one handy app. Now the company announces that they are developing the B4UFLY app in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A new B4UFLY app is on the horizon and scheduled to be released later this year. That’s great news!
It’s back! Phew! For a while, we weren’t quite sure if the FAA Symposium would be canceled altogether or not. Luckily, it hasn’t and the FAA just announced a new date for the 4th annual UAS Symposium that the FAA organizes together with AUVSI. The UAS Symposium will now take place from June 3rd through 5th at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. You can register for the event here.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is holding a special Drone Safety Webinar for public safety officials on Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 at 2 pm EST. The webinar is titled: “Drone Safety: It’s the law.” You can find out more about this event below.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launches a new Drone Safety Tips video on Facebook. The short clip starts off with the question: “Getting a drone? Before you fly, register it at faadronezone.faa.gov.” you can watch the entire clip here below as well as two videos from 51Drones, who did a great job explaining the registration process on YouTube.
One of the treaths against our ability to fly drones comes from states, municipalities, and landowners as they try to use privacy concerns and private property rights to ban drone flights over their property. Even though the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently restated that only they control the airspace in the U.S., now the State of Oklahoma considers drone restrictions for hobbyist drone pilots.
New FAA requirement. Starting February 23rd you will have to display the FAA registration number on the outside of your drone or small unmanned aircraft. It will no longer be ok to display the number inside the battery compartment as so many drone pilots have done in the past.
The change is prompted by law enforcement officials and the FAA’s interagency security partners, who have expressed concerns about the risk of a concealed explosive device might pose to first responders upon opening a compartment to find a drone’s registration number. The FAA issued the new requirement as an Interim Final Rule, a rule that takes effect while inviting the public to comment as well. This is different from normal proceedings in which the rule is subject to comments before coming into effect. The new FAA rule comes into effect in 10 days, on February 23rd.
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The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) just issued a response to the FAA proposed rulemaking that will allow drones to fly over people and at night.
Never mind the partial shut down of the U.S. Government. Today in a speech in Washington, the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said that the U.S. Department of Transportation would for the first time allow routine flights over people and flights at night without waivers as long as the drone operators take the appropriate safety precautions. This is a groundbreaking announcement that opens up the possibility of deliveries by drone and a range of other commercial drone applications.
The big hurdle to overcome before commercial drone applications will be allowed on a large scale is remote drone identification. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now launched a test program to speed up the drone identification rules. Up to eight test programs are to be paid for by drone industry parties.
The UAV coach’s Drone Pilot Ground School is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, December 11th at 7PM EST on how to pass the FAA’s Part 107 Exam. Passing this test will make you an FAA certified drone pilot. If you plan to be able to make money flying your drone, then passing this exam is a requirement. They will discuss what it takes to pass the test, where to find resources as well as discuss ways to make money in the drone industry.
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Like last year, drones are expected to be a hot seller this holiday shopping season. And many of the recipients will be children. So, in anticipation of this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a new campaign: “Buzzy the Drone“. In a YouTube video, we are introduced to the ‘cute’ animated drone. The video is accompanied by a little rhyme that warns young drone pilots to keep the drone in sight and also check out some of the other rules that apply. The video seems to be somewhat childish, but as we know from research in Germany education goes a long way to preventing drone incidents. So, the FAA must have thought, better start them young! Nothing wrong with that, I suppose.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced Earl Lawrence’s promotion to the Agency’s Executive Director for Aircraft Certification. Lawrence was previously Executive Director for the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office. He succeeds Dorenda Baker, who retired Nov. 30 after a distinguished aviation safety career. Jay Merkle, Deputy Vice President for the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s Program Management Office, will become the new head of UAS Integration. The appointments are effective Dec. 9, and both executives will report to FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami.
In a WSJ article from yesterday, it is reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is significantly behind on implementing Remote ID for drones and that new rules are likely still years away. Raising concerns among industry officials that “the delay could stymie their most ambitious plans for years.”
With a 93-6 vote, the Senate passed the H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 today. After six extensions that kept the FAA’s funding at a level first set in 2012, it now has funding in place for the next five years. After the Senate vote, the Act moves on to the White House for President Trump to sign it into law. It brings many changes to the general aviation industry as well as to the drone industry specifically. We have included a summary of the changes in this post.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced nine new partners to its Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) program. LAANC provides near real-time access to controlled airspace for Part 107 drone operators nationwide. The new partners are Aeronyde, Airbus, AiRXOS, Altitude Angel, Converge, KittyHawk, UASidekick, Unifly, and DJI as we reported on earlier.
DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, has been approved to offer Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) services for professional drone pilots. After a rigorous test and validation of DJI’s technology capabilities, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday announced its approval of DJI as a UAS Service Supplier, allowing the company to offer its customers near-real-time authorization to fly in controlled airspace near airports.
On Wednesday, a United Airlines crew spotted a drone flying ‘near’ the Statue of Liberty. It disappeared before the NYPD could ground the ‘illegal’ unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Reportedly the drone flew about 3,000 to 4,000 feet away from the landmark sometime between 6 pm and 6:30 pm on Wednesday.
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