4 ms·

Since the title * can be mis-interpreted to mean that you’ve never needed a license, I can forgive some commenters here from forgetting that just a few years ag

by dahart 5y ago

Since the title * can be mis-interpreted to mean that you’ve never needed a license, I can forgive some commenters here from forgetting that just a few years ago, the only legal way to fly a drone was with an actual aircraft pilot’s license. Drone operators, rightly, thought that was pretty silly, but it took a number of years before the FAA crafted drone-specific rules and allowed drone flights under 400 feet without a license. Having to attend a short online training course about what the rules are and to stay away from people and out of the airspace of manned aircraft seems pretty reasonable, and perhaps necessary given the growing number of drone accidents in the recent past https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UAV-related_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UAV-related_incidents * edit: the HN title has been changed for the better. To clarify for anyone reading this now, my comment was referring to the previous HN title: “Effective Immediately: You need a drone license before you fly in the US”

syshum 5y ago
If I remember correctly that legal requirement was rejected / nullified by legal challenge to the FAA n federal court,
swiley 5y ago
>the only legal way to fly a drone was with an actual aircraft pilot’s license. That must have been a rather large drone (or maybe what you mean is "fly a drone near an airport or city") since you don't even need a pilot's license to fly small planes in the US.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  You don't need a pilot's license* to fly ultralight category aircraft in the US, but for the category commonly called "small planes", you do. Ultralights are governed by Part 103 and limited to: single-seat, day-only, VFR-only, weighing less than 254 pounds, carrying 5 US gallons or less, and having a top speed of not more than 55 knots [calibrated]. * - Technically "certificate", but practically the same.
  - swiley 5y ago
    Yes, to people who don't fly though an ultralight and Cessna both look like "small planes."
  - tinus_hn 5y ago
    The only reason I see for drones not being compliant with that is that they lack the single seat.
    - ptero 5y ago
      One part commonly overlooked is "see and avoid". That is, under VFR, a pilot should look out the window and avoid hitting other things. Which, strange as it sounds, has been a sticking point for some drone flight approvals.
      - labcomputer 5y ago
        It’s not strange at all. Drone pilots have more limited visibility. The bigger issue is that drone pilots have no skin in the game. If they cause an mid air collision resulting in fatalities: opsie daisy!
        sigstoat 5y ago
        only the most psychopathic individuals say "oopsie daisy" after causing accidental death. for everyone else the result is usually a lot of sobbing. that doesn't mean they're not blase about taking risks ahead of time. but that's more because they misevaluate the risk, and can't clearly imagine the negative outcomes.
    - xhkkffbf 5y ago
      Does a person need to be sitting in the seat? Or could I just put some plastic Lego seat on my drone and qualify?
      - sokoloff 5y ago
- TheFreim 5y ago
  You don't? Multiple people I know who fly regularly say they're required to fly a certain amount or else they'll lose the license to fly.
  - briandear 5y ago
    They won’t lose their license. They’ll just be out of currency. Which means they can’t fly passengers until they get current which is as single as three takeoffs and landings.
34679 5y ago
I appreciate the new system. When the first set of rules requiring certification went through, I called all 3 of the training locations the FAA had listed in my state and none of them had any idea what I was asking about. I ended up not flying my drone for over a year, until I brought it to Mexico.
dperfect 5y ago
> ...just a few years ago, the only legal way to fly a drone was with an actual aircraft pilot’s license. As I understood it, small unmanned aircraft flown for hobby or recreational use had long been excluded from the full authority of the FAA (except for some basic rules for respecting the airspace of manned aircraft), or the need for a pilot's license. They were essentially treated like RC airplanes, which of course have not required a pilot's license to operate, albeit with some of those basic rules (I believe the AMA was involved in establishing some of those guidelines). Of course, when drones became more popular, there was a lot of misunderstanding when it came to the interpretation of current regulations (e.g., line-of-sight operation vs FPV), and it was debatable whether or not the FAA even had the authority to regulate the operation of small hobby aircraft, including drones. Commercial operation was and still is clearly regulated by the FAA and requires a license. Basically, what I'm saying is that in this category of aircraft (for recreational use), the FAA has become more involved and restrictive over the past few years, not less so. In my opinion, that's generally been a good thing (some people do foolish things with drones), but the regulation should also be balanced in maintaining some of those reasonable freedoms of operation.

by dahart 5y ago

syshum 5y ago

If I remember correctly that legal requirement was rejected / nullified by legal challenge to the FAA n federal court,

swiley 5y ago

>the only legal way to fly a drone was with an actual aircraft pilot’s license. That must have been a rather large drone (or maybe what you mean is "fly a drone near an airport or city") since you don't even need a pilot's license to fly small planes in the US.

sokoloff 5y ago
You don't need a pilot's license* to fly ultralight category aircraft in the US, but for the category commonly called "small planes", you do. Ultralights are governed by Part 103 and limited to: single-seat, day-only, VFR-only, weighing less than 254 pounds, carrying 5 US gallons or less, and having a top speed of not more than 55 knots [calibrated]. * - Technically "certificate", but practically the same.
- swiley 5y ago
  Yes, to people who don't fly though an ultralight and Cessna both look like "small planes."
- tinus_hn 5y ago
  The only reason I see for drones not being compliant with that is that they lack the single seat.
  - ptero 5y ago
    One part commonly overlooked is "see and avoid". That is, under VFR, a pilot should look out the window and avoid hitting other things. Which, strange as it sounds, has been a sticking point for some drone flight approvals.
    - labcomputer 5y ago
      It’s not strange at all. Drone pilots have more limited visibility. The bigger issue is that drone pilots have no skin in the game. If they cause an mid air collision resulting in fatalities: opsie daisy!
      - sigstoat 5y ago
        only the most psychopathic individuals say "oopsie daisy" after causing accidental death. for everyone else the result is usually a lot of sobbing. that doesn't mean they're not blase about taking risks ahead of time. but that's more because they misevaluate the risk, and can't clearly imagine the negative outcomes.
  - xhkkffbf 5y ago
    Does a person need to be sitting in the seat? Or could I just put some plastic Lego seat on my drone and qualify?
    - sokoloff 5y ago
TheFreim 5y ago
You don't? Multiple people I know who fly regularly say they're required to fly a certain amount or else they'll lose the license to fly.
- briandear 5y ago
  They won’t lose their license. They’ll just be out of currency. Which means they can’t fly passengers until they get current which is as single as three takeoffs and landings.

34679 5y ago

I appreciate the new system. When the first set of rules requiring certification went through, I called all 3 of the training locations the FAA had listed in my state and none of them had any idea what I was asking about. I ended up not flying my drone for over a year, until I brought it to Mexico.

dperfect 5y ago

> ...just a few years ago, the only legal way to fly a drone was with an actual aircraft pilot’s license. As I understood it, small unmanned aircraft flown for hobby or recreational use had long been excluded from the full authority of the FAA (except for some basic rules for respecting the airspace of manned aircraft), or the need for a pilot's license. They were essentially treated like RC airplanes, which of course have not required a pilot's license to operate, albeit with some of those basic rules (I believe the AMA was involved in establishing some of those guidelines). Of course, when drones became more popular, there was a lot of misunderstanding when it came to the interpretation of current regulations (e.g., line-of-sight operation vs FPV), and it was debatable whether or not the FAA even had the authority to regulate the operation of small hobby aircraft, including drones. Commercial operation was and still is clearly regulated by the FAA and requires a license. Basically, what I'm saying is that in this category of aircraft (for recreational use), the FAA has become more involved and restrictive over the past few years, not less so. In my opinion, that's generally been a good thing (some people do foolish things with drones), but the regulation should also be balanced in maintaining some of those reasonable freedoms of operation.