Drone legislation coming soon

[DattaGroover]

I just spoke (in person) with the president of the Oregon Pilots Association, and she said that her group has been meeting with representatives from most of the drone manufacturers, as well as the FAA. I was surprised to hear that there are over 100 different drone manufacturers.

What she said is that the manufacturers, the pilots Association, and the FAA are all supporting registration of all drones above a certain weight. Registration would be mandatory, and would be a condition to receive the drone.

She did not have all the details, including what the weight limit would be, and all the details of how this would be implemented. She said that the serial number, model number, etc. of each drone would need to be in the registration database with the owner's name and contact information.

She said this will most likely not be an FAA regulation at this point, but will be implemented state-by-state. She also mentioned that if the states don't act fast enough, then the FAA will take over and implement Federal legislation.

For sure, we all know something has to happen. There have been too many commercial airline complaints. This same president of the pilots Association mentioned that someone was just arrested in Portland for flying his drone in a landing path of the Portland international Airport, so they are obviously taking this very seriously.

Interestingly enough, having just flown my drone in Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, all these places have more rules already in place then we do in the US.

 

[Rig]

Did Mary mention a time frame?

 

[AllanVB]

Mary? Guess I am losing touch.. I live in Central Oregon.

 

[Rig]

Mary? Guess I am losing touch.. I live in Central Oregon.

Mary Rosenblum, President of the Oregon Pilots Association. I don't live in Oregon or know her either, just Googled the keywords from the OP to get some background on who/where this information is coming from.

 

[ISP5557]

FAA UAV registration is already available. It is 10.00 and you can do it over the internet. My department has already registered our UAV and have put the tail number on the booms. In fact the price has already gone up, it was $5.00 last year. I have applied for two numbers for my personal UAVs. We talk to the FAA weekly and have heard nothing of them leaving anything to the states. It is the FAA's job to regulate the airspace. With that being said, I have heard that states are going to mirror the FAA UAS rules with state statute so that they can enforce any infraction as well. (moreso they want the ability to fine so they can make some money) I know our state is going to do that first thing when the new regs come out.

 

[RJ Evans]

As an interesting aside to this subject...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngog...ut-doesnt-prosecute-those-flying-without-one/

 

[AllanVB]

Mary Rosenblum, President of the Oregon Pilots Association. I don't live in Oregon or know her either, just Googled the keywords from the OP to get some background on who/where this information is coming from.

Thanks... I have not seen anything about the subject. I will look.

 

[DattaGroover]

Did Mary mention a time frame?

She didn't, but said it is a very hot topic right now. She can't know exactly when because legislation unfortunately has something to do with legislators, and they can behave erratically, to be polite about it. She said the drone manufacturers (all 115 or so of them) seemed to be on board with it, and the FAA is pretty hot to see some rules passed on the state level.

 

[DattaGroover]

Mary Rosenblum, President of the Oregon Pilots Association. I don't live in Oregon or know her either, just Googled the keywords from the OP to get some background on who/where this information is coming from.

Yes, that's definitely her.

 

[DattaGroover]

Thanks... I have not seen anything about the subject. I will look.

Don't know how public it is, but I'd like to know what you find.

 

[DattaGroover]

FAA UAV registration is already available. It is 10.00 and you can do it over the internet. My department has already registered our UAV and have put the tail number on the booms. In fact the price has already gone up, it was $5.00 last year. I have applied for two numbers for my personal UAVs. We talk to the FAA weekly and have heard nothing of them leaving anything to the states. It is the FAA's job to regulate the airspace. With that being said, I have heard that states are going to mirror the FAA UAS rules with state statute so that they can enforce any infraction as well. (moreso they want the ability to fine so they can make some money) I know our state is going to do that first thing when the new regs come out.

Do you have a link to that FAA UAV application?

I can't say first-hand about the state legislation, but I would guess the President of the Oregon Pilots Association may have information the rest of us don't.

 

[DustyVisor]

Media Advisory – DOT and FAA Announce New Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
https://www.faa.gov/news/media_advisories/news_story.cfm?newsId=18294
Have a listen at 10am EST this morning

 

[DustyVisor]

Well, I tried calling in and it says there is no conferences at this number at this time. Maybe the number has chaged, or its not Eastern Standard Time. Sorry for the mis-information.

 

[DattaGroover]

Well, I tried calling in and it says there is no conferences at this number at this time. Maybe the number has chaged, or its not Eastern Standard Time. Sorry for the mis-information.

Thanks for the try.
Do you have a link to a PDF of the rules?

 

[RJ Evans]

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/media/021515_sUAS_Summary.pdf

They're very reasonable IMHO.

 

[Tahoejmfc]

Here is the Conference call that no one could get into - Im calling BS on not getting in,

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[amp]

Anyone know the difference between a microUAS and a small UAS, and which category the Inspire falls into? It looks like the new regs propose an exemption for microUAS for flying above people (other than operators).

"Proposes a microUAS option that would allow operations in Class G
airspace, over people not involved in the operation, provided the
operator certifies he or she has the requisite aeronautical knowledge to
perform the operation."

Not that I would ever fly it near people, but sometimes when you're filming I like to take a shot looking straight down (higher altitude of course).

 

[GizaDog]

Its a good thing my Inspire 1 is not a drone! No regulation on me!

 

[DattaGroover]

Anyone know the difference between a microUAS and a small UAS, and which category the Inspire falls into? It looks like the new regs propose an exemption for microUAS for flying above people (other than operators).

"Proposes a microUAS option that would allow operations in Class G
airspace, over people not involved in the operation, provided the
operator certifies he or she has the requisite aeronautical knowledge to
perform the operation."

Not that I would ever fly it near people, but sometimes when you're filming I like to take a shot looking straight down (higher altitude of course).

What Mary (the President of the Oregon Pilots association) told me is that as far as she knows, that has not been set, but it will be soon,a nd will probably be based on weight (in grams)

 

[DattaGroover]

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/media/021515_sUAS_Summary.pdf

They're very reasonable IMHO.

Interesting, thanks for sharing. They are a lot like Australia and New Zealands's laws, with some important differences:

You may not fly over private property there (backyards are specifically mentioned), but you MAY fly over public (including National) Parks that are not "densely populated," which is an obviously ambiguous definition, but they expect people to use common sense.

Here in the US, though it's not an FAA rule, Mr Ranger may give you a fine.