AV News: UPDATE: FAA Officially Releases New Commercial Drone Rules

Drone enthusiasts! We have big news for you from the FAA. The agency has released its anticipated new rules for commercial drone use, set to take effect in August. In its official announcement, the FAA basically set a group of rules for the drone and another set for the person flying the drone. For your drone: it has to weigh less than 55 pounds; the drone can carry a payload, as long as it is securely attached and doesn’t change how the drone flies; it cannot fly over people not involved in the operation; you must fly during daylight or, with lights, you can fly a half hour before sunrise or half hour after sunset; you can’t go more than 400 feet above the ground. The rules also create guidelines for the person flying the drone. Congrats! You’re now what the FAA calls the “Remote Pilot in Command.” To qualify the FAA says you must be at least 16 years old and have a remote pilot certificate. To get that, you have to pass an FAA test. Before flying, you have to do a safety check on the drone and, as the pilot, you’re responsible for reporting any injury or damage over $500 (USD) within 10 days. Those the the highlights. You can find the full rundown and ways to get some of the new rules waived at www.faa.gov. We reached out to the FAA, but they told us they were not doing interviews on these developments. But, in their news release, they say these rules could generate 82 billion dollars in new business, and 100,000 new jobs over the next decade. Jobs where many of you in the AirVuz community are already on the leading edge. Follow AirVuz News for the latest updates in the drone community.