The Part 107 rule is created to bridge a gap between the FAA’s recreational and commercial flying rules by giving businesses an easier way to legally fly small drones for business use without having to go through a long and expensive licensing process.
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One privacy advocate said he still has concerns about the technology since the new regulations address safety but ignore privacy risk. The first exam was available at 8 a.m. Monday, which 3,351 people have signed up to take. In addition, pilots must keep the drones within eyesight and fly them at a speed of no more than 160 kilometers an hour.
Drone operators must also pass a test of their aeronautical knowledge administered by the FAA.
Whoever operates the drone will be required to keep the aircraft in their line of sight at all times.
With the new regulations, the Corpus Christi Police Department will certify two new officers to fly their two drones. And remember, stay low and slow: The drone should remain below 400 feet and never operate faster than 100 miles per hour.
“Over the next 10 years, commercial unmanned aircraft systems could generate more than 82 billion dollars for the USA economy and by 2025 be supporting as many as 100-thousand new jobs”, explained Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), accompanied them on stage.
The new regulations don’t pertain to the hobbyist, like if someone uses a drone to take video or pictures of their kids. In effect, under a waiver system, Hollywood production companies had already been operating under these rules on productions such as The Mentalist and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
But companies with more ambitious or capital-intensive plans, such as oil and gas firms that want to investigate pipelines, or farmers that want to look at large fields, will largely be limited by restrictions such as the visual line-of-sight rule. But he said they will eventually have to turn to companies such as Measure to fully benefit from the technology.
“The drone market is probably the fastest growing segment of the electronics industry right now”, said Don Garland of Drones Plus Dallas in Frisco.
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Fly no higher than 400 feet. Still to come will be things like aerial application. The FAA has a separate set of rules for those drone operators.
