FAA unveils mandatory registration program for drones

[Borgholio]

http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/ ... &cid=TW378

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced a streamlined and user-friendly web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small unmanned aircraft (UAS) weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) including payloads such as on-board cameras.

The Registration Task Force delivered recommendations to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on November 21. The rule incorporates many of the task force recommendations.

“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.”

Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who has previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to December 21, 2015, must register no later than February 19, 2016. Owners of any other UAS purchased for use as a model aircraft after December 21, 2015 must register before the first flight outdoors. Owners may use either the paper-based process or the new streamlined, web-based system. Owners using the new streamlined web-based system must be at least 13 years old to register.

Owners may register through a web-based system at www.faa.gov/uas/registration

Registrants will need to provide their name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.

Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation will only have to register once and may use the same identification number for all of their model UAS. The registration is valid for three years.

The normal registration fee is $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, the FAA is waiving this fee for the first 30 days (from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan 20, 2016).

“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” said FAA Administrator Huerta. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”

The online registration system does not yet support registration of small UAS used for any purpose other than hobby or recreation – for example, using an unmanned aircraft in connection with a business. The FAA is developing enhancements that will allow such online registrations by spring of 2016.

The full rule can be viewed here: www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/20151213_IFR.pdf

So model and hobby flyers above a certain weight must register. Commercial drones will have to register at the beginning of next year.

Good. With the number of drones out there it's time there be some kind of regulation to make sure their operators can be held accountable if they do something stupid.

[Elheru Aran]

Well, at least this won't make little toy-drones difficult to own, which would be a hassle. I haven't fucked with any of those, but it's been tempting. Good to know the kiddie toy market is probably safe.

[Borgholio]

Well, at least this won't make little toy-drones difficult to own, which would be a hassle. I haven't fucked with any of those, but it's been tempting. Good to know the kiddie toy market is probably safe.

Yeah I have a little RC helicopter and that thing is made for indoor use only. Some of the bigger outdoor models I contemplated getting would certainly run afoul of this rule.

[Broomstick]

>sigh<

Gonna have to start weighing our collection - we still have about two dozen RC model aircraft and some of them are definitely over .55 lbs. Also have to have a discussion with the spouse about whether we're going to get serious about selling some of them.

Since we both fly them I'm wondering if we both need to register - there doesn't seem to be anything about joint ownership of these aircraft. Wonder if anyone bothered to consider that?

While a part of me isn't enthused about more regulation on my flying hobbies I absolutely see the need for better control over little flying machines. I'm not worried about it - hell, the FAA already has my home address, phone number, e-mail, and my medical records due to my private pilot privileges - but this is going to cause some ruckus with the old codgers who like to fancy themselves free to do what they want and government be damned.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Well, at least this won't make little toy-drones difficult to own, which would be a hassle. I haven't fucked with any of those, but it's been tempting. Good to know the kiddie toy market is probably safe.

Yeah, kids' quadcopters won't be affected. However it will affect the model aircraft market, since most of those will have to be registered under the new rules. However, the guidance I'm seeing suggests that it's not a per-craft registration, but a per-pilot registration (i.e. the "pilot" pays one fee and gets one registration number that must be applied to all the drones or model aircraft he or she owns.)

[Borgholio]

Plus the registration is only 5 bucks...so it's not like an actual pilot's license or anything.

[Sea Skimmer]

I like the concept that 250 gram drones are dangerous enough to need to be registered, but a 13 year old kid who can't drive can be allowed to do so.

[Malagar]

I like the concept that 250 gram drones are dangerous enough to need to be registered, but a 13 year old kid who can't drive can be allowed to do so.

Younger than that, the age restriction is only for the online registration.

[Simon_Jester]

I think the idea is that registering the drones tells you who's responsible for them if there's a legal issue. It's the equivalent of putting license plates on a car. Even if we didn't have a system to vet the drivers, or if we trusted the drivers implicitly, we'd still need to know which car was involved in an accident or parked illegally.

So sure, it may be fine to let thirteen year old children operate the drones, IF you know who to sue for letting Timmy crash the drone into your roof.

[Borgholio]

I think the idea is that registering the drones tells you who's responsible for them if there's a legal issue. It's the equivalent of putting license plates on a car. Even if we didn't have a system to vet the drivers, or if we trusted the drivers implicitly, we'd still need to know which car was involved in an accident or parked illegally.

So sure, it may be fine to let thirteen year old children operate the drones, IF you know who to sue for letting Timmy crash the drone into your roof.

I think that's why they're doing it so cheaply and with a minimum of red tape (at the moment). There have been so many reports of drones causing problems with emergency services and at airports that they need to find a way to start tracking these things and fining violators.

[Simon_Jester]

Yeah. It wasn't a big deal when radio-controlled airplanes had very limited flight durations and were basically a specialist hobby, but when they started mass producing drones powered by lithium batteries... something like this became inevitable.

[Broomstick]

The other thing(s) to remember is that (according to the FAA websites) when you register you will be given the full list of rules (such as flight no higher than 400 feet, no flight within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the control tower/ATC, etc.), and you'll no doubt be put on a massive mailing list to receive any updates or bulletins (I'm still on the one for licensed pilots, I'm always receiving that sort of thing).

The AMA guys, however, have already started bitching. I know for years they were hoping that if the FAA did something like this they'd use AMA numbers for the purpose and basically further consolidate them as dominant in the model aircraft field. Too bad - the FAA doesn't have to go through them. Of course, the AMA has also been bitching about indoor flying NOT being part of their near-monopoly of RC flying fields but the FAA explicitly said they don't regular indoor flying (very, very few indoor flyers would fall under these new rules anyway). In other words, no, AMA, you will NOT become a de facto licensing agency for model aircraft.

The mavericks/anti-government sorts are also bitching - too bad for them, too. Too many problems with people being stupid.

I also suspect their will be cross-referencing with no-fly lists and terror suspects, too. They did that with the license pilot's database years ago.

[Broomstick]

Yeah. It wasn't a big deal when radio-controlled airplanes had very limited flight durations and were basically a specialist hobby, but when they started mass producing drones powered by lithium batteries... something like this became inevitable.

Don't forget - it used to take a LOT more skill in order to fly RC, too. The advent of computer chips that control stability, provide location information, use GPS navigation, and can be programmed to either home if contact is lost or go to a designated location have also been game-changing.

[Grumman]

Does the definition require that the "drone" be guided? Powered? I saw mention that one of the groups they asked for input told them they needed to distinguish between a drone and, say, a paper aeroplane, but haven't found yet where they actually did so.

[Joun_Lord]

Big gubmint sticking its nose where it don't belong. They can pry my quadcopter from my cold dead hands!

Seriously though, I can see arguments for both sides, why registration is a good idea and why its not. To use a shit analogy I personally think its like guns at a range, its safer for registration both for safety and legal purposes. The entire sky is the shooting range of aircraft and these drones can cause problems flying around unregistered just the same as some yahoo redneck with a Mosin blasting on a range without getting registered or permissions can cause serious problems. People being registered means there is accountability should something go wrong and will be easier informed if something goes wrong. Or its like having a registered car on the road, again for safety and legal purposes.

This is also a good thing because this is the first step on the road to making commercial drones a reality. With drones unregulated nobody in their right mind would allow drones used commericially. With rules in place for civilians and eventually commericial interests it seems much more feasible.

[Broomstick]

Does the definition require that the "drone" be guided? Powered?

Guided and/or powered.

I saw mention that one of the groups they asked for input told them they needed to distinguish between a drone and, say, a paper aeroplane, but haven't found yet where they actually did so.

You have to drill down into the FAQ sheets (which took me, maybe, three minutes). The FAA specifically excluded paper airplanes (or "aeroplanes), which are until to meet the weight requirements anyhow. Seriously, a 250 gram paper airplane would be one fuck of a big paper airplane don't you think? (That's a half-pound brick of paper in English units, for us Americans on the list.)

[Temjin]

I can understand people getting bitchy at mandatory registration, but it's honestly a good idea at this point. For one reason, just type "forest fire" "helicopter" and "drone" into google. What pops up is article after article of fire fighting aircraft being grounded for hours on end because of drones who want good shots of the fire. What you don't see is these people getting caught.

I can understand the drone community being pissed off, and the vast majority of them have probably been doing nothing wrong. Unfortunately, these few bad apples who are doing wrong through either negligence or ignorance have been endangering enough lives that something really does need to be done.

[Broomstick]

Actually, one of the worst offenders is the NEWS MEDIA. They should have to have their drones licensed for commercial operations and operated by someone who can be defined as a professional drone pilot.

[MKSheppard]

no flight within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the control tower/ATC, etc.

Considering my backyard is a mere 7~ n.mi from an airport; um no. Some parts of the country are pretty much offlimits (AFAIK good portions of Ohio) due to that rule.

This rule has all the hallmarks of being aggressively ignored by well, everyone except those who hold specialist licenses such as pilot's licenses and can't afford to lose said licenses.

[Pu-239]

no flight within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the control tower/ATC, etc.

Considering my backyard is a mere 7~ n.mi from an airport; um no. Some parts of the country are pretty much offlimits (AFAIK good portions of Ohio) due to that rule.

This rule has all the hallmarks of being aggressively ignored by well, everyone except those who hold specialist licenses such as pilot's licenses and can't afford to lose said licenses.

Note that it's prior *notice*, not permission, at least according to what I've read.

For me, the blanket ban on all flights within a 30 mile radius of DCA pretty much kills the hobby in much of Maryland/NoVA , due to the update in https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/med ... 91-57A.pdf banning flights in special flight rule areas. There's currently some lobbying to make it not applicable to the permanent flight restrictions in the area going on though... In the meantime, need to drive out to the middle of Loudoun county to fly things.

[Broomstick]

no flight within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the control tower/ATC, etc.

Considering my backyard is a mere 7~ n.mi from an airport; um no. Some parts of the country are pretty much offlimits (AFAIK good portions of Ohio) due to that rule.

This rule has all the hallmarks of being aggressively ignored by well, everyone except those who hold specialist licenses such as pilot's licenses and can't afford to lose said licenses.

Note that it's prior *notice*, not permission, at least according to what I've read.

We've got an RC field closer than 5 miles to an airport currently - it's never been a problem as far as I know (I used to fly out of both fields, by the way, both model and full size aircraft). They're looking into getting permanent permission to continue to fly there. It wouldn't be much different than when my spouse used to fly an ultralight out of Schaumburg airfield, which lies entirely within O'Hare's airspace. While there were certain times he wasn't allowed to fly there due to commercial traffic patterns, most of the time he just needed to call the ATC tower and let them know what he was doing. Similar thing - no flight within Class B airspace for ultralights unless you contact ATC. This is a not really a big deal

For me, the blanket ban on all flights within a 30 mile radius of DCA pretty much kills the hobby in much of Maryland/NoVA , due to the update in https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/med ... 91-57A.pdf banning flights in special flight rule areas. There's currently some lobbying to make it not applicable to the permanent flight restrictions in the area going on though... In the meantime, need to drive out to the middle of Loudoun county to fly things.

Unfortunately, yahoos flying things like ultralights and drones onto the White House lawn these last few years is probably going to make getting an except to the no-flight rule impossible there. But I'd be happy to be wrong.

As far as ignoring the rule - to some extent, it is a rule made to deal with obnoxious, rude assholes who lack common sense. Sure, ignore it - but take a look at the possible fines for doing so. I am certain there will be some offenders selected to be made an example to others.