On December 14, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took another step towards reigning in the wild west that is the drone industry by releasing a new rule:
All drones weighing above 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and under 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) must be registered, if being flown outside.
Drone left is over 0.55 and needs to be registered, while drone right is less than 0.55 and does not. (Drones courtesy of Botlink)
The registration process will open on December 21, 2015. All drones bought before this date must be registered no later than February 19. Registration fee is $5, but the fee is being waived for the first 30 days to encourage more drone owners to register quickly.
“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” said FAA Administrator Huerta. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”
Al Winmill (left) and Shawn Muehler (right) at Botlink
Shawn Muehler has a local stake in the game as COO of Botlink, a startup developing software to assist in flying drones safely. He said he feels the new rule “is a good thing.”
“This will keep people honest,” he said. “People could buy drones before and not have any responsibility. Now, if you crash your drone, this registration will act like a license plate. The FAA will know it’s your drone.”
Muehler started Botlink after witnessing how many near-accidents were happening between drones and other aircraft. He hopes that as the FAA continues to implement new processes for unmanned aircraft, drone hobbyists will have a better sense of how to fly safely.
“There are a lot of kids with drones – and they’re not pilots, but they are aviators, because they are flying aircraft” he said. “I want people to have it [registration] to fly safely.”
The Park Flyer, which at 3lbs will need be registered.
To that end, Muehler said he’d like the registration to be more than just a number. It could mean you receive notifications on updates from the FAA, or monthly newsletters on UAS industry news, he said.
As for right now, all he or anyone knows is that registration will require your name, home address and e-mail address, according to the FAA. Once that’s completed the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.
For Botlink, which owns around 30 drones, Muehler said, they will register one time and receive a number unique to Botlink for each drone.
As for drones being used for business purposes, the FAA said they do not have those processes in place yet but are working to get that set up by 2016.
Photos by Marisa Jackels
