Is This For Real?

[_007]

Hello, first time poster, long time lurker.

I have a small production company. I am buying a UAS (as the US government seems to call them) and I just can't believe my eyes. As I am doing research I am finding you need a special exemption to use your drone for ANY commercial use. They specifically mention use in weddings or realestate videos as prohibited unless you are the holder of a section 333 exemption.

http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-business-users/

To get that you need to fill out a form...
To fill out the form you need to get your UAS registered...
To get your UAS registered you need to get a special form from an actual FAA office and cant use a printed form. Mine is hours and hours from where I live!
To get all that processed you must submit all forms and wait up to 120 days! So far only 30 have been granted (news just mentioned that, so it seems unlikely anyways).

Any input you guys got here? I know I am whining, but I am just trying to feed my family here and float a dumb toy around a house to complement my normal production for real estate videos. (Ps. really not a dumb toy but calling it that goes better with my rant)

 

[msinger]

To get your UAS registered you need to get a special form from an actual FAA office and cant use a printed form. Mine is hours and hours from where I live!

Ask them to mail it to you. That's how I got mine.

To get all that processed you must submit all forms and wait up to 120 days!

I waited nearly 4.5 months for mine to be approved. They seem to be churning them out a lot faster now though.

So far only 30 have been granted (news just mentioned that, so it seems unlikely anyways).

As of right now, 397 have been approved.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/333_authorizations

Any input you guys got here?

Stop whining and submit the paperwork

Also, if you don't already have an airman certificate, you should start working on that ASAP. You'll need at least a sport or recreational pilot license in order to fly commercially.

 

[_007]

Ask them to mail it to you. That's how I got mine.


I waited nearly 4.5 months for mine to be approved. They seem to be churning them out a lot faster now though.


As of right now, 397 have been approved.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/333_authorizations


Stop whining and submit the paperwork

Also, if you don't already have an airman certificate, you should start working on that ASAP. You'll need at least a sport or recreational pilot license in order to fly commercially.

Okay, thanx man. Glad to here of someone getting this done and that I was wrong about the 30 apps they approved. Here is the link to the FAA part that says they approved 30, but the context was that was just last week alone. http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=82485

 

[_007]

Msinger, also yea I am already looking into a place to get that Sport Pilot Cert. Thank you again.

 

[_007]

....Sorry for the triple post but I just saw this, am I reading this right? It seems to indicate that you get an automatic exemption if you have at least a Sport Pilot Cert?

"The FAA also made two other changes to the Section 333 exemption process last week:

• The agency now allows operations under these exemptions by people who hold a recreational or sport pilot certificate. Previously, Section 333 operators were required to have at least a private pilot certificate. The newly added certificates are easier to obtain, and therefore less costly, than a private pilot certificate."

Site:

http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=82485

Is that right?

 

[msinger]

They are just saying it's easier to obtain now. Mine (and all others approved around the same time) requires a private pilot license.

 

[Meta4]

It seems to indicate that you get an automatic exemption if you have at least a Sport Pilot Cert?
Is that right?

They are saying that previously they required a Section 333 exemption and private pilot's license (or higher), now they have lowered the pilot's license component to a Sport Pilot license.

So they are saying that to satisfy their requirements to shoot a wedding or some house photos at treetop height and sell the photos, you have to have a sport pilot's license and a Section 333 exemption.

But if you only wanted to take the same pictures for your own pleasure, they have no requirements beyond flying safe.
So it's not about aviation safety (the core business of the FAA) it's about restriction of trade. I wonder why no-one has yet made a legal challenge.

 

[msinger]

I wonder why no-one has yet made a legal challenge.

Now, if we could just find someone who has deeper pockets than the FAA and does not mind blowing some cash for fun