The Federal Aviation Administration is a very conservative organization, and rules for commercial drones are strict. But the agency does have a mechanism for issuing waivers to these rules. And it appears that the FAA has finally issued its first COVID-19 drone waiver.
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Professional drone flying in the US finally went legit in August 2016. That’s when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued what’s known as Part 107, the rules for flying small unmanned vehicles (55 pounds or less) for business.
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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Skyward has been approved as a LAANC provider, an automated, fast-track approval process to allow commercial drone pilots to gain instant access to controlled airspace. This is a huge step forward as it reduces wait times for commercial drone operators to mere seconds whereas the traditional approval process could take months.
Skyward, which is owned by Verizon, is the first FAA-approved vendor to begin administering the automated Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) approval process. They have announced that the system will go live this fall at the following four airports: Cincinnati International Airport (CVG), Reno (RNO), San Jose (SJC), and Lincoln (LNK). The FAA plans to include 49 airports in the program by the end of next year.
