FAA officials say the new guidelines allow commercial drones to do missions that would otherwise put humans at risk such as responding to natural disasters, search and rescue missions, inspecting bridges and countless other fields.
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The new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules allow commercial drones to fly up to 400 feet in altitude, if it remains in the visual sight of a human operator.
Industry experts said commercial drone use is a growing and competitive market. “No night flying is another one”, Garrison said. “In another 15 to 20 minutes, do the analysis for you and hand you a report”.
“Not easy, and it takes a lot of time, and most people just don’t bother with it”, Urban said. “Being in the industry, we’re certainly interested in making sure that everybody who is operating a drone is doing it responsibly”.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International published a report predicting that in “the first three years of integration” more than 70,000 jobs will be produced while also yielding a $13.6 billion “economic impact” for the U.S. But some critics raise concerns about the lack of space to operate safely in metropolitan areas across the country. Drone operators must keep their drones in their line of sight, fly during daytime hours and avoid flying over people not participating in their operation.
The agency has predicted there could be as many as 600,000 drones used for commercial operations during the next year. “That will take a different set of rules”, he said.
With an investment of $1,000 or more in equipment, and after passing a hard 60-question test, most drone business operators will make sure they are competent drone pilots before offering services, said Vincent Nestler, a professor of Information and Decision Sciences at Cal State San Bernardino.
Aside from concerns about privacy, one local drone operator said he was anxious about the likely increase in competition and feared it would put him out of business.
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“With Part 107, the FAA is encouraging the commercial drone operation at scale and anticipating huge economic impact”.
