How did this commercial license thing come about?

[Casey53]

I cannot find in the FAA rules where taking aerial photos became commercial with regards to normal aircraft. I'm sure some pilot's magazines had aerial photos taken from plane-to-plane while being flown by private pilots without holding a commercial pilots license. Same for helicopter pilots who take a photographer/cinematographer up sans a commercial license. The FAA commercial license seems to have evolved from hauling people for profit, but the photo end of it somehow became profitable and then seen as commercial by the FAA if sold later and even if the pilot was sole operator taking a photo?

So why does this commercial 107 need apply to drones? I see too many hobbyist or recreational drone operators flying for jobs appearing on TV and local news sans any 107 license (The local 107 test center knows who is licensed and not doing this stuff.). The 107 waivers take forever in a news event, yet they fly regardless of being nighttime flights (Like local fire dept. looking for illegal fireworks.), news of structure or wildfires, car lot TV sales ads near airports, etc.

The hobbyists (Who sell to whomever.) seem to get away with far less restrictions than holding a 107 and dealing with the FAA waiver wait. The 107 seems more like a hindrance than helping fly for profit, imho.

 

[Wiley Coyote]

I agree, this is a very frustrating aspect that I have been dealing with as well. It seems that it would have been better to have just flown without licensing and authorizations.

 

[AMGPilot]

I cannot find in the FAA rules where taking aerial photos became commercial with regards to normal aircraft. I'm sure some pilot's magazines had aerial photos taken from plane-to-plane while being flown by private pilots without holding a commercial pilots license. Same for helicopter pilots who take a photographer/cinematographer up sans a commercial license. The FAA commercial license seems to have evolved from hauling people for profit, but the photo end of it somehow became profitable and then seen as commercial by the FAA if sold later and even if the pilot was sole operator taking a photo?

So why does this commercial 107 need apply to drones? I see too many hobbyist or recreational drone operators flying for jobs appearing on TV and local news sans any 107 license (The local 107 test center knows who is licensed and not doing this stuff.). The 107 waivers take forever in a news event, yet they fly regardless of being nighttime flights (Like local fire dept. looking for illegal fireworks.), news of structure or wildfires, car lot TV sales ads near airports, etc.

The hobbyists (Who sell to whomever.) seem to get away with far less restrictions than holding a 107 and dealing with the FAA waiver wait. The 107 seems more like a hindrance than helping fly for profit, imho.

Commerical flight has always meant flying for compensation and that flying is'nt limited to hauling people. There has never been anything confusing about it and the FAA is actually quite clear about it, the confusion only comes from drone "operators" trying to skirt the law, just like they do with altitude limits or no fly zone limits

 

[licensed pilot]

I cannot find in the FAA rules where taking aerial photos became commercial with regards to normal aircraft. I'm sure some pilot's magazines had aerial photos taken from plane-to-plane while being flown by private pilots without holding a commercial pilots license. Same for helicopter pilots who take a photographer/cinematographer up sans a commercial license. The FAA commercial license seems to have evolved from hauling people for profit, but the photo end of it somehow became profitable and then seen as commercial by the FAA if sold later and even if the pilot was sole operator taking a photo?

So why does this commercial 107 need apply to drones? I see too many hobbyist or recreational drone operators flying for jobs appearing on TV and local news sans any 107 license (The local 107 test center knows who is licensed and not doing this stuff.). The 107 waivers take forever in a news event, yet they fly regardless of being nighttime flights (Like local fire dept. looking for illegal fireworks.), news of structure or wildfires, car lot TV sales ads near airports, etc.

The hobbyists (Who sell to whomever.) seem to get away with far less restrictions than holding a 107 and dealing with the FAA waiver wait. The 107 seems more like a hindrance than helping fly for profit, imho.

"Like local fire dept. looking for illegal fireworks."??? IF you know the FD is not 107 nor COA that's an easy report to your local FSDO, Public agencies can operate under 107 or a COA, period. Lazy feds will probably just issue a warning letter, but one step at a time.

It is up to us to fight illegal UAV operations.

 

[beneidemthepilot]

I'm a private pilot, and I cannot take up a passenger wanting to take pictures for hire. The bottom line is, does somebody make money due to the operation of the aircraft? If so, it's a commercial operation. (EDIT: Like Eric says below, money does not have to exchange hands to require 107. Simply anything that cannot meet the hobby or recreation as defined in Section 336 or FAR par 101) For example, I can take photos on a recreational sightseeing flight, but cannot sell them. The same thing goes for drones. You can take photo and video as you buzz around, but as soon as you make a profit off of them (that includes monetized videos on youtube in which these photos are used), then it is a commercial operation, and you need to have operated that flight under part 107.
You are right, in that there are people out there who do not have commercial certificates (both manned and unmanned) that are making money from their flights. But it is illegal, and there can be significant consequences if caught. The FAA is usually lenient if it's an honest mistake or they didn't know, but they have near zero tolerance if you know an operation is illegal and you choose to fly anyway.

 

[Eric Braun]

Commerical flight has always meant flying for compensation and that flying is'nt limited to hauling people. There has never been anything confusing about it and the FAA is actually quite clear about it, the confusion only comes from drone "operators" trying to skirt the law, just like they do with altitude limits or no fly zone limits

The 107 requirements are much more restrictive than “flying for hire”. We are required to operate under 107 for anything that is not hobby/recreational. Money does NOT have to change hands to trigger 107 requirements. For example volunteer activities like search & rescue are not hobby/recreational and require 107 certification.