The Fed is slowly chipping away at rules regulating the use of drones for commercial and non-commercial operators.
On June 21, the Federal Aviation Administration adopted new rules focused on making unmanned vehicle flight safer than ever. Some of the new rules include limiting flight of commercial drones weighing less than 55 pounds to an altitude of 400 feet unless operated within 400 feet of a taller structure, and must remain within site of the operator at all times. Flight is limited to within 30 minutes of sunrise and sunset.One of the driving forces behind the new legislation is the increasing use of drone flights near airports. The FAA says it receives reports of drones flying near airplanes and airports every day.
The rule also dictates that operators must be 16 years old and, are required to speak, read, write and understand English. Before being approved to fly, operators also must pass an aeronautics exam every two years to become a certified remote pilot.
Like before, commercial operators must keep their vehicle within view at all times, and are prohibited from flying them within 5 miles of an airport.
Commercial use is defined as those paid to provide drone-based services, such as aerial photography. The FCC has published the new regulations governing commercial use - named the Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule (Part 107) - in a 600-plus-page rulebook divided into several categories, including aircraft requirements, remote pilot certification, and responsibilities and operational limitations.
"With this new rule, we are taking a careful and deliberate approach that balances the need to deploy this new technology with the FAA's mission to protect public safety," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade organization representing the drone industry. "But this is just our first step. We're already working on additional rules that will expand the range of operations."
The rule will take effect in late August following a 60-day comment period after it is posted to the Federal Register.
The rule does not address private or hobbyist users. The FAA already released separate rules for private users last December, including a requirement for all private users to register vehicles with the FAA.
According to the FAA, about 465,000 private operators have registered their vehicles since December. As many as 1 million vehicles were sold during the 2015 holiday season alone, according to the AUVSI.
The industry trade organization estimates the drone industry will have projected economic impact of nearly $14 billion in the next three years and more than $80 billion over the next three decades.
The Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule also does not specifically address privacy issues that have grabbed headlines since drones first took flight. However, the conflict between the FAA and individual states remains an issue.
Congress ordered the federal agency in 2012 to begin cracking down on drone rules and regulations with the passage of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The act gives the FAA the authority to develop a comprehensive plan for safe use of unmanned vehicles. That plan will be rolled out in incremental phases, the first of which requires drone owners to register all unmanned aircraft between 0.55 and 55 pounds.
The U.S. Senate introduced a bill last week that would cede authority in all drone law instances to the FAA, and the agency in December issued a warning to the states not to pass any laws that are in conflict with federal rules, either in place or planned.
But a lot has happened at the state level before that warning due to the FAA's delay in acting on four-year-old legislation, according to the National Law Review.
The industry is mixed on that solution, with drone manufacturers coming down on the side of the FAA and the American Civil Liberties Union siding with the states.
Last year, 45 states introduced nearly 170 pieces of legislation addressing drone usage, including one in Arkansas that passed prohibiting all drone activity over private property. Another law on the books in North Carolina requires drone owners there to pass a test before flying a vehicle.