There will be 600,000 commercial drone aircraft operating in the USA within the year as the result of the new safety rules that opened the skies to them Monday, according to a Federal Aviation Administration estimate. New rules from the F.A.A. say all you need now is a commercial pilot license – making it much easier for people to legally fly drones.
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Members of the commercial drone industry cheered as the FAA’s new rules went into effect.
In addition to the line-of-sight and flight-over-people changes coming, the experts said the FAA’s waiver process will most likely help the agency gauge how companies are using drones so that they can further fine-tune the rules.
Huerta says more than 3,000 people pre-registered to take the certification test today – the first day of the new regime.
Once potential drone pilots pass the test, they’re required to fill out an FAA Airman Certificate application.
He took the new FAA test on Monday and passed.
According to estimates from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the drones industry will create more than 100,000 jobs by 2025 and generate at least $82 billion in revenue in the first ten years following the integration of drones into domestic airspace. “Those high barriers to entry have prevented many companies from exploring the benefits of drones in their industry, and have been a source of frustration for business owners for years”, DJI, the world’s biggest commercial drone-maker, explained in a June statement.
Drones are flown at a training class in Las Vegas in anticipation of new regulations allowing their commercial use.
Read Google Announces Drone Delivery Service: Project Wing to Be Available in “Less than a Decade”. As a nod to privacy concerns over growing drone use, the federal rules prohibit flying drones above other people or their property.
Drones must weigh less than 55 pounds and have anti-collision lights.
Pilots can ask the FAA for a waiver from some rules.
Farmers aren’t happy with all of the regulations, especially the limits on line-of-sight operations, since many farms are quite large and acreage may not be contiguous.
He said the use of drones could also save lives.
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The drones may only fly during daylight hours and they must be kept away from crowds.
