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FAA: Small Drones Must Be Registered By February (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has finally unveiled its new drone registration rules. Starting on 21 December, all newly-purchased drones between 250 grams (.55 lbs) and 25 kg (~55 lbs) must be registered before their first flight. Owners of drones purchased before that time must register by 19 February 2016. The FAA will charge $5 to register the drones, though the first month of registrations will be free. "Make no mistake: unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators, and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Registration gives us an opportunity to work with these users to operate their unmanned aircraft safely. I'm excited to welcome these new aviators into the culture of safety and responsibility that defines American innovation." There is also an age requirement: kids under the age of 13 will not be allowed to register a drone by themselves.
In related news, Bard college has compiled a report on drone safety with respect to encounters with manned aircraft.
I predict the rise of a huge market for 249g drones in the very near future.
That said, "Civilian drones weighing more than 250 grams (0.55 pounds) must be registered and identified with markings so that authorities have a better chance of finding the owner in the event of an illegal flight or crash"... Riiight, because someone planning to illegally use their drone will certainly make sure to properly register it first?
Just because there is a new toy that is out, that happens to have the name of a controversial military device it becomes a major threat.
First, before I get mauled, I'm not entirely crazy about this new proposal. Under a particular altitude and as a hobby I think we should leave unregulated, that said... The drone market is filling up. Drones have way more people in it than the model rocket and RC Airplane markets and I would dare say combined. Drones are also a lot more industrious than say the model rocket or RC plane. Drones are being used for photography, to move goods, be the ultra creeper you've always wanted to be, traffic reports, and so on which are all way more than what the model rocket and RC plane market have ever done.
So considering that the drone market has been able to do all of that and the others are a no go, yeah I can see why the FAA feels there is a need to regulated it. Now that's not to say the others can't do that, it just to say that they haven't, if and when they do, then I'm pretty sure they'll start regulating that as well. But let's be very clear that this comment isn't a voice of support or disdain at the regulation. It's that you can't very easily compare model rockets, RC planes, and what have you with the drone market simply because they are vastly different markets. People have found drones to be really useful and have started creating a lot of points where they intersect with everyday life. The same can't be said for those other markets.
For those who like rigorous formulae on why anyone does anything, I would say (and simply my opinion) that the FAA acts when a particular class of aircraft is used in X number of applications that has Y number of general public using those applications and there are Z number of opportunities to purchase that class of aircraft. (I know really rough formula there, I don't espouse to know what goes on inside the FAA's head) However this rough formula would say that as any of those values X, Y, or Z increases, the likelihood that there will be regulation increases proportionally. Drones are "X" used in numerous applications, "Y" are criss crossing the general public a lot, "Z" you can buy them pretty much everywhere. I'm pretty sure the same could have been said about bi-planes in the early days of aviation.
Again, I'm speculating here as to the logic because it would be wrong for us just to assume, "Hey I'm government and I just want to regulate anything and everything I can possibly." If that was truly the case one would think we'd have a modern Stamp Act. However, considering that we are talking about a public entity, we could forgo the speculation and render my entire comment useless and just simply write them an email asking, "Hey what particular factors does your agency feel led to the regulation of drones and not something like RC airplanes or model rockets?" Again, this just my two cents, I don't condone or condemn this new regulation, just speaking purely out of the these things you talked about model rockets and RC planes != drone market and for better reasons than it's named after the thing we use to murder (don't get me started on that) people around the world with.
Just buy a drone, register it under your enemy's name...and then fly it into an airport.
They are screwed at that point.....
At that point, they appear on all sorts of governmental lists, no fly...no buy weapons...etc.
And those are virtually impossible to get yourself off of....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
RC planes didn't sell 200 units per day from a single retailer (B&H Photo, NY, selling 200+ Phantoms / day). RC pilots tended not to buzz the Macy's Day parade nor drop down on stadiums full of people nor fly around in controlled airspace. The shear magnitude of this phenomenon is staggering. And that is before Christmas.
This is just another Eternal September, albeit with a physical object. There are going to be so many yo-yos out there buzzing up and down that somebody is going to get into serious trouble. Of course, pasting a number on the shell of a drone isn't going to stop stupid anymore than requiring license plates and driver's licenses has stopped road stupid. The system really isn't onerous. Five dollars every three years to register as many drones as you like. Money is refunded if you sign up in the first thirty days (this should be an interesting test to see if somebody can create a website that can scale).
It looks like you're going to have to attest that you have Read The Fine Manual. Of course, that really won't help, people will do what they want. I now am the proud owner of two Phantom 3's. They're great fun and awfully impressive bits of kit for the money. But the forums are filled with people who are blatantly flaunting the rules - flying over people and houses, fly way past visual control. Modding every little bit they possibly can. There are going to be problems with these things (naturally) and having some way of finding the owner of said drone does make sense.
BTW, if you're looking for a good deal on a slightly abused Phantom, I'd watch eBay and Craiglist on Dec 27th (give people a day to charge the battery). Just make sure you have a set of small torx and hex drivers and a steady hand.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
How about we only require remote controlled aircraft large enough to carry a weapon to be registered...
The problem is not "weapons" but collisions. If a drone collides with a manned aircraft, it doesn't matter if it is carrying a weapon or not. Of course, a 250 gm drone is not going to fly high enough or be big enough to be a problem. This law is fine in principle, but is a big overreach in going after toys.
Note, that is $5 every three years. The FAA is making a list without any benefit to the people on the list. Thanks.
The point of the list isn't to benefit the people on the list, the point of the list is to benefit everyone else against the people on the list.
I'm a licensed amateur radio operator. I have a very basic tech/no-code license, and as such I am limited to a very specific set of frequencies and power levels. This is to protect everyone else from me, while giving me some guidelines so that I may actually pursue the hobby, so that your TV and radio and cordless phone and cell phone and WIFI don't stop working because I'm pursuing my hobby.
Licensing of drones works in a similar fashion- it gives the hobby some room to operate but works to curtail abuses and abusers. I expect rules to be developed for where people can fly and what can be flown in what kinds of locations and conditions. I expect rules on altitude, the crossing of private property, the use of cameras regarding private property, etc. Given that I legally own the airspace over my house to a certain extent, operators will have to learn what they are and are not allowed to do, in the same way that I don't transmit on frequencies that break your electronics.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.