All air traffic, including that of drones, in the United
States is regulated by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). Large businesses like Google,
Amazon, and big oil companies, and small businesses
and hobby enthusiasts, have been pushing for relaxed
regulations that would allow for broad commercial
uses of drone technology as well as fewer
restrictions for hobby flying.
Pilots, the ACLU, and other organizations concerned
with privacy rights have been pushing for regulations
that would clamp down on how drones can be used
not only by citizens and businesses but by the public
sector.
To address the increasing demand for drones, the
FAA is re-evaluating its regulations on drone use in
America. As it stands, the FAA has proposed lighter
restrictions but the proposed regulations would still
make it prohibitive for businesses like Amazon and
Google to be able to use drones to deliver packages,
as well as companies like Marathon and BP to use
drones to inspect pipelines in remote areas.
Existing FAA regulations
Some regulations were implemented before civil
drone use was “on the FAA’s radar”:
Drones cannot be used for commercial
purposes, or the completion of a job task or a
task that produces revenue.
Drones can only be flown by line of sight,
which means you cannot fly in a first person
view or with any other sort of technological
assistance.
You cannot fly above 400 feet, within 5 miles of
an airport, above government buildings, or in
national parks.
Proposed FAA regulations
Following is a list of the newly proposed operational
limitations for drones (or UAS):
Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs.
(25 kg)
Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned
aircraft must remain within VLOS of the
operator or visual observer.
At all times the small unmanned aircraft must
remain close enough to the operator for the
operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft
with vision unaided by any device other than
corrective lenses.
Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over
any persons not directly involved in the
operation.
Daylight-only operations (official sunrise to
official sunset, local time).
Must yield right-of-way to other aircraft,
manned or unmanned.
May use visual observer (VO) but not required.
First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-
and-avoid” requirement but can be used as long
as requirement is satisfied in other ways.
Maximum airspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).
Maximum altitude of 500 feet above ground
level.
Minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from
control station.
No operations are allowed in Class A (18,000
feet & above) airspace.
Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are
allowed with the required ATC permission.
Operations in Class G airspace are allowed
without ATC permission.
No person may act as an operator or VO for
more than one unmanned aircraft operation at
one time.
No careless or reckless operations.
Requires preflight inspection by the operator.
A person may not operate a small unmanned
aircraft if he or she knows or has reason to
know of any physical or mental condition that
would interfere with the safe operation of a
small UAS.
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.
Source:dummies
States is regulated by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). Large businesses like Google,
Amazon, and big oil companies, and small businesses
and hobby enthusiasts, have been pushing for relaxed
regulations that would allow for broad commercial
uses of drone technology as well as fewer
restrictions for hobby flying.
Pilots, the ACLU, and other organizations concerned
with privacy rights have been pushing for regulations
that would clamp down on how drones can be used
not only by citizens and businesses but by the public
sector.
To address the increasing demand for drones, the
FAA is re-evaluating its regulations on drone use in
America. As it stands, the FAA has proposed lighter
restrictions but the proposed regulations would still
make it prohibitive for businesses like Amazon and
Google to be able to use drones to deliver packages,
as well as companies like Marathon and BP to use
drones to inspect pipelines in remote areas.
Existing FAA regulations
Some regulations were implemented before civil
drone use was “on the FAA’s radar”:
Drones cannot be used for commercial
purposes, or the completion of a job task or a
task that produces revenue.
Drones can only be flown by line of sight,
which means you cannot fly in a first person
view or with any other sort of technological
assistance.
You cannot fly above 400 feet, within 5 miles of
an airport, above government buildings, or in
national parks.
Proposed FAA regulations
Following is a list of the newly proposed operational
limitations for drones (or UAS):
Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs.
(25 kg)
Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned
aircraft must remain within VLOS of the
operator or visual observer.
At all times the small unmanned aircraft must
remain close enough to the operator for the
operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft
with vision unaided by any device other than
corrective lenses.
Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over
any persons not directly involved in the
operation.
Daylight-only operations (official sunrise to
official sunset, local time).
Must yield right-of-way to other aircraft,
manned or unmanned.
May use visual observer (VO) but not required.
First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-
and-avoid” requirement but can be used as long
as requirement is satisfied in other ways.
Maximum airspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).
Maximum altitude of 500 feet above ground
level.
Minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from
control station.
No operations are allowed in Class A (18,000
feet & above) airspace.
Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are
allowed with the required ATC permission.
Operations in Class G airspace are allowed
without ATC permission.
No person may act as an operator or VO for
more than one unmanned aircraft operation at
one time.
No careless or reckless operations.
Requires preflight inspection by the operator.
A person may not operate a small unmanned
aircraft if he or she knows or has reason to
know of any physical or mental condition that
would interfere with the safe operation of a
small UAS.
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.
Source:dummies