In June, the US Federal Aviation Administration announced that it would soon be putting into place a set of regulations for anyone that wanted to fly drones commercially in the US. Previously, the only way to use a drone in a business was to apply for an exemption, which was a costly, arduous process, and the FAA had only handed out a few thousand.
On August 29th, 2016, the FAA released its new FAA Part 107 Rule, covering the eligibility and testing requirements to begin licensing drone pilots for commercial use. This means any drone usage for hire, including wedding photography, survey work, inspections, or other aerial imagery is legal only after one obtains the FAA Unmanned aircraft license.
Today’s regulations will ensure that anyone who can pass the FAA’s test will be able to start a drone business, and according to Bloomberg, over 3,000 people have already signed up to take the test today alone.
This test isn’t exactly like the average driving license test—it’s pretty difficult and there are no driver’s ed classes for drones yet. The FAA has released an 87-page study guide, any part of which test takers could expected to be quizzed on. It’s not light reading: It covers everything from the classes of US airspace, aviation-related acronyms, how to act as a pilot, how weather affects aircraft, the physics of flying, Morse code, and, of course, how to fly a drone.
The FAA also released a set of sample questions that would-be pilots can use to sharpen their knowledge, but they just highlight how truly difficult this test is.
To date, less than 10% of those who have taken the test received a passing grade, so when you hire Drone Photo Shots of Kent, Ct., you’ll know the skills and knowledge required to keep your property or event safe meet the highest FAA standards.