Thanks, that's just what I was looking for...
...sort of. ;-) I see a few problems.
(not writing this all out to brow-beat anyone, but to help me and everyone else understand what's going on as I go along)
Also for the masses, the USC is where lawmaking gets a rest stop before getting into the CFR. SO if you want actual regulations, you need to dig into the CFR not the USC.
First, 49 CFR is a Transportation section. I know it well, for reasons that are off-topic here (NHTSA, FMVSS, etc.). § 44103 is under the Air Commerce and Safety heading. Hello... these recreational drones are not transport craft. It definitely applies to aircraft meeting the requirements in section 44102 which is quite broad. Yet Chapter 441 seems to have absolutely no direct relevance to sUAS operation and the fees listed in § 45302 do not mention sUA or sUAS operator registrations of any kind. The only thing that ties to sUA/sUAS is the rather all-encompassing definition of aircraft, which pretty much covers everything from an Antonov AN-225 to a paper airplane.
At that point - definitions - we get to § 336 a.k.a. the SRMA (Special Rule for Model Aircraft). Now don't get too caught up in the reference to Public Law 112-95. Public Law is how amendments are made to the USC/CFR. The PL itself is not the law or regulation. Anyway, PL 112-95 is where model aircraft and hobby/recreational flight was defined. To me that separates model aircraft clearly, especially when considering that hobby sUAS pilots need not have airman's certificates or adhere to rigorous pre-flight routines. And the wording from § 336 now appears verbatim in 14 CFR 101.41, with the definition of model aircraft.
Many of us will recall the SRMA being the center of the legal action that temporarily halted the FAA's requirement to register hobby drones. And those of us who like legal irony might amuse ourselves with the fawning over community based safety guidelines while not actually requiring membership with organizations such as the AMA. But 14 CFR (read: Part 101) has a separate definition for model aircraft. But that doesn't cover registration. Before I move on, I find it interesting that model aircraft is defined two ways, separately, by intent and characteristics of the flight as well as the weight of the craft.
So then there is the FAA notice specifying that 14 CFR 47 and 48 - 48 being for the on-line system - stipulate the sUAS registration processes (but insist that the term aircraft still is governed by § 44101(a), LOL). The same notice states that certifications must be available to LE on demand. But at the risk of being indignant, that notice still isn't a law or regulation.
So I'm gonna skip Part 47. Its talk of N-format numbers makes it clear it has nothing to do with recreational sUAS registration and by the way, it refers back to § 44101-44104, furthering my assertion that 49 CFR has diddly to do with sUAS. Let's go to 48.
14 CFR 48 talks about small unmanned aircraft. Which looks a lot like model aircraft but somehow not with the two-part definition. Then § 48.100(b) is where we find the fees that we're paying to register our recreational drones. Woohoo. And for those of you who are arguing about where to place the registration markings, that's in § 48.205. § 48.105 demands that registration information remains current. § 48.115 defines validity, renewal cycles, etc. But Unlike 49 CFR Chapter 441, nothing in Part 48 says anything about needing to produce a certificate upon demand.
Looks to me like if they really wanted us to carry those certificates, someone screwed up and forgot to include that in the legislative process for Part 48. Keeping the relevant regulation in 49 CFR seems constitutionally vague to me.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer - I only play one on TV.
