A Twin Cities company that uses radio-controlled UAS for aerial photographic work has had part of its business shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration because its against FAA regulations.
Charles Eide, the owner of EideCom Media & Events, said the move will cost his company $250,000 in lost revenue annually.
“The FAA has called us and said you can’t do this any more for pay, you can only do it for recreation,” Eide said.
That doesn’t make sense to Eide, who said the equipment is safe and that the enforcement is unfair. Nobody should be allowed to do it if it’s not safe, he said.
EideCom typically flies its camera-mounted UAS between 50 and 100 feet high, and the drones are usually up in the air for 5-7 minutes. The ceiling for unmanned aircraft such as model airplanes and helicopters and UAS is 400 feet. It can be lower near airports.
The demand for this type of photography is exploding as costs come down, Eide said, and this action by the FAA will cost his company $250,000 in revenue this year.
“It’s really a sad deal to see the economy be squished by government,” he said.
That theme must have resonated with blogger Matt Drudge who posted a link to a story on the Drudge Report about Eide’s frustrations with the FAA that appeared on WCCO-TV. Eide said the issue has received a lot of attention in the last 24 hours, and he was fielding calls from reporters all day on Friday.
Eide said the media has made UAS appear to be evil and a tool for invading privacy, but he sees them as tools to sell real estate (especially luxury homes) and to enhance movie making.
There are several other companies in the Twin Cities that offer similar services that could also be grounded, but they “tend to fly under the radar” of the FAA, Eide said.
The agency got wind of EideCom when an FAA official, who is also a residential real estate agent, saw him marketing at an Edina Realty conference.
“About a week later we got a call,” Eide said.