

FAA proposes rules for drone use; Obama issues curbs on surveillance - petethomas
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/faa-releases-proposed-rules-for-domestic-drone-use/2015/02/15/6787bdce-b51b-11e4-a200-c008a01a6692_story.html

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transfire
No, these rules are not "surprisingly reasonable". Businesses have already
been waiting at least a year, now they have to wait two more for the rules to
go into effect? Worse, limiting flight to line-of-sight utterly undermines the
real potential of UAVs -- you know, the whole "U" part.

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golemotron
Yup. The restrictions look exactly like the restrictions for model aircraft.
All they've done is make a license for people who would fly model aircraft
commercially.

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ehvatum
"The proposed FAA rules for small drones would not apply to people who fly
drones for fun or for recreational purposes. Small hobby drones have become
hugely popular in the United States, but under a law passed by Congress in
2012, the FAA is largely prohibited from regulating them as long as they do
not interfere with air traffic."

This is an interesting thing to see mentioned in passing. For anyone else
interested in more details, here is official FAA guidance regarding personal
drone use:
[http://www.faa.gov/uas/publications/model_aircraft_operators...](http://www.faa.gov/uas/publications/model_aircraft_operators/)

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ratsbane
Interesting clause at that link you provided. Do I understand correctly that
there are no weight limits currently if a drone is certified by "a community-
based organization?"

3) the aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise
certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and
operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;

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NickNameNick
The AMA large model program information is available from here

[http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/520-a.pdf](http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/520-a.pdf)

In summary, a model weighing between 55 and 100 lbs needs to comply with FAA,
FCC and AMA rules. It needs to pass an inspection, and there are a fair few
details, like receiver backup batteries and wiring quality that will be
checked.

The model also needs to pass a flying test.

I doubt any organisations other than the AMA, or one of its subgroups or
special interest groups will be recognised by the FAA.

