DoT and FAA has issued relaxed rules for commercial drone

Really excited to read last week that the DoT and FAA has issued relaxed rules for commercial drone use (https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=20515). By no means have all the problems – and potential problems – been sorted out. But greater clarity helps those of us who use drones get closer to solving those issues. Some top provisions:

• Operator must be 16 years and older with a remote pilot certificate (with a small UAS rating, testing available at an FAA Knowledge Testing Center – we have one right here in Auburn, CA)

• Operate no higher than 400 feet

• Daylight hours only, must always be in sight of the operator

Something interesting for privacy advocates: flights are prohibited over unprotected persons who are not a part of your drone activities – to a large degree, operators will still have to use equal parts common sense and human decency 😉

Tags: Bill Rolland, Bill Rolland Inc, technology, Video