6 ms·

You can likely monetize Youtube for incidental footage during your flights without a commercial drone license, but not for real estate, pipeline, etc. This is

You can likely monetize Youtube for incidental footage during your flights without a commercial drone license, but not for real estate, pipeline, etc. This is more of a concern, and likely heavily violated: "You must fly in Class G airspace. If you need to fly in Class B, C, D or E controlled airspace, you need to apply for airspace authorization." https://www.dronepilotgroundschool.com/drone-license/ https://www.dronepilotgroundschool.com/drone-license/ Most US cities would be Class B/C to the ground near a large airport, and Class D/E would be common for smaller cities.

scoot 6y ago
> You can likely monetize Youtube for incidental footage during your flights without a commercial drone license It's a grey area I agree; but if you're filming your flights with the intention of putting the videos on YouTube and monetizing them, that's arguably commercial use.
- aeternum 6y ago
  It is a grey area, but if the FAA goes after drone pilots for this, then they should also go after the many student and private pilots who monetize their training and flight videos.
  - danaliv 6y ago
    Fair warning to anyone thinking of taking advantage of this gray area: the FAA is very, very strict when it comes to interpreting whether something is a commercial op. Pilots, for example, are considered to be getting compensation when they log flight hours, even if no money changes hands. (If this sounds ridiculous, you’ve never had to build 1500 hours. Every tenth is solid gold.)
    - redis_mlc 6y ago
      > Pilots, for example, are considered to be getting compensation when they log flight hours, even if no money changes hands. The above comment is so vague that I won't even comment on it. Depending on the details, it could be either correct or not. 1) For example, if I fly an airplane, I can take real estate photos that I sell myself as a private pilot. That's how many new pilots funded further training back in the day. There are several other business activities that private pilots are allowed to do. 2) Most pilots log all hours flown, without concern for whether being paid or not. (The only required logged hours are to meet various currency requirements, but I've never seen anybody do minimal logging.) So when interpreting FAA drone rules, I would carefully read them with the understanding of how airplane and airspace rules reply, hence my original post above. If you don't know why and how the FARS were written, then you're probably wrong, as most of the posts above appear to be uninformed. The most important thing to know about FARS is that they're intended to separate traffic. So if your drone is in an airspace where other aircraft are flying, you likely have a violation. If you recall a couple years ago, drone pilots griped about 400' or 500' AGL max. Well, look at a sectional chart to see why. If you can't read a sectional chart, you shouldn't be flying drones near a city or airport.
cardiffspaceman 6y ago
A popular blogging couple were fined for making blogs in national parks. I link to a different website for the short version. https://drivinvibin.com/2020/10/23/rv-couple-fined/ https://drivinvibin.com/2020/10/23/rv-couple-fined/
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > [they] were fined $1000 from the National Park Service That was by National Parks, not the FAA. When interpreting FARS, please be more observant.
Ancapistani 6y ago
I’m a Part 107 licensed “remote pilot”, and YouTube monetization was explicitly called out in the training materials. If you make money with your drone or use it in support of any commercial activity, the FAA requires certification.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  Normally the FAA thinks of commercial activity as advertising a [drone] service to the public, or being paid by somebody else to pilot a [drone]. They have never consistently said that incidental (flying it yourself and making sightseeing photos) is commercial activity. If you read the entire article, a Miami FSDO issued a letter regarding Youtube posting, but another (traditional) FAA official did not agree, and said it was likely a perceived safety issue. https://www.vice.com/en/article/gvykaq/the-faa-says-you-cant-post-drone-videos-on-youtube https://www.vice.com/en/article/gvykaq/the-faa-says-you-cant... I tried the FAA flow chart tool for drone operator certification, and they do not call out Youtube-type sightseeing photography for certification - only drone training films. So my point is that you should research it yourself and get the rating you think you need, but Youtube videos you make yourself don't appear to be commercial activity. Part 107 "drone operator" certificate is a good idea so you know what you're doing, especially if you're not an airman. Source: I hold a commercial pilot license. This means I've spent a significant amount of time reading and understanding FARS, including airspace and regulations. Drone rules are evolving, but they will parallel other ratings since they share the same airspace and enforcement personnel. Virtually no drone hobbyist would understand the above, hence the FAA being so hesitant about how to integrate drones with the NAS - it really can't be done safely, which is why they want hobbyists in Class G.

scoot 6y ago

> You can likely monetize Youtube for incidental footage during your flights without a commercial drone license It's a grey area I agree; but if you're filming your flights with the intention of putting the videos on YouTube and monetizing them, that's arguably commercial use.

aeternum 6y ago
It is a grey area, but if the FAA goes after drone pilots for this, then they should also go after the many student and private pilots who monetize their training and flight videos.
- danaliv 6y ago
  Fair warning to anyone thinking of taking advantage of this gray area: the FAA is very, very strict when it comes to interpreting whether something is a commercial op. Pilots, for example, are considered to be getting compensation when they log flight hours, even if no money changes hands. (If this sounds ridiculous, you’ve never had to build 1500 hours. Every tenth is solid gold.)
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    > Pilots, for example, are considered to be getting compensation when they log flight hours, even if no money changes hands. The above comment is so vague that I won't even comment on it. Depending on the details, it could be either correct or not. 1) For example, if I fly an airplane, I can take real estate photos that I sell myself as a private pilot. That's how many new pilots funded further training back in the day. There are several other business activities that private pilots are allowed to do. 2) Most pilots log all hours flown, without concern for whether being paid or not. (The only required logged hours are to meet various currency requirements, but I've never seen anybody do minimal logging.) So when interpreting FAA drone rules, I would carefully read them with the understanding of how airplane and airspace rules reply, hence my original post above. If you don't know why and how the FARS were written, then you're probably wrong, as most of the posts above appear to be uninformed. The most important thing to know about FARS is that they're intended to separate traffic. So if your drone is in an airspace where other aircraft are flying, you likely have a violation. If you recall a couple years ago, drone pilots griped about 400' or 500' AGL max. Well, look at a sectional chart to see why. If you can't read a sectional chart, you shouldn't be flying drones near a city or airport.

cardiffspaceman 6y ago

A popular blogging couple were fined for making blogs in national parks. I link to a different website for the short version. https://drivinvibin.com/2020/10/23/rv-couple-fined/ https://drivinvibin.com/2020/10/23/rv-couple-fined/

redis_mlc 6y ago
> [they] were fined $1000 from the National Park Service That was by National Parks, not the FAA. When interpreting FARS, please be more observant.

Ancapistani 6y ago

I’m a Part 107 licensed “remote pilot”, and YouTube monetization was explicitly called out in the training materials. If you make money with your drone or use it in support of any commercial activity, the FAA requires certification.

redis_mlc 6y ago
Normally the FAA thinks of commercial activity as advertising a [drone] service to the public, or being paid by somebody else to pilot a [drone]. They have never consistently said that incidental (flying it yourself and making sightseeing photos) is commercial activity. If you read the entire article, a Miami FSDO issued a letter regarding Youtube posting, but another (traditional) FAA official did not agree, and said it was likely a perceived safety issue. https://www.vice.com/en/article/gvykaq/the-faa-says-you-cant-post-drone-videos-on-youtube https://www.vice.com/en/article/gvykaq/the-faa-says-you-cant... I tried the FAA flow chart tool for drone operator certification, and they do not call out Youtube-type sightseeing photography for certification - only drone training films. So my point is that you should research it yourself and get the rating you think you need, but Youtube videos you make yourself don't appear to be commercial activity. Part 107 "drone operator" certificate is a good idea so you know what you're doing, especially if you're not an airman. Source: I hold a commercial pilot license. This means I've spent a significant amount of time reading and understanding FARS, including airspace and regulations. Drone rules are evolving, but they will parallel other ratings since they share the same airspace and enforcement personnel. Virtually no drone hobbyist would understand the above, hence the FAA being so hesitant about how to integrate drones with the NAS - it really can't be done safely, which is why they want hobbyists in Class G.