The News Corp’s The Daily has a drone that it’s sent out a few times. Taking footage for news-gathering purposes seems like a commercial use of a drone. I followed up with the FAA asking if News Corp was one of the companies with an experimental certificate. The inquiry got lobbed to the FAA’s legal department…
“We are examining The Daily’s use of a small unmanned aircraft to see if it was in accordance with FAA policies,” said Les Dorr in an email. A Daily spokesperson has not yet responded to an inquiry about ownership and licensing of the company’s drone.
The FAA says that the Unmanned Aircraft Systems office has issued 83 experimental certificates for 20 different kinds of drones. “Currently, 18 of those experimental certificates are active,” said spokesperson Les Dorr. The FAA declined to identify the companies that hold those certificates (and have not yet responded to a FOIA for those names). “An experimental certificate allows the holder to do tests, training and demos but not for-hire operations. Ops also must be conducted away from populated areas,” added Dorr.
Hobbyists are basically free to use drones as long as they keep them under 400 feet. At this point, civil and commercial use of drones is only allowed for research and development purposes. “Not for compensation or hire” says one FAA notice. To get government permission to use a drone (for non-hobby purposes), a private entity has to jump through hoops including getting an airworthiness certificate — meaning the thing is safe to fly — and an experimental certificate, approving the planned use of the unmanned system (uses are currently limited to research and development, marketing surveys, or crew training).
Source: Forbes
The FAA can’t even get Congress to agree on fundung, let alone chase down everyone who might look to use a small UAV to capture some video of a disaster. leave it to the government to find a way and they’ll create a rule that says you have to ask permission before you can use the bathroom.