There is often a lot of confusion about what it means to be a professional drone pilot. In this post, we explore the 4 critical steps it takes to become a professional drone pilot.
Commercial UAV News: Drones for Aggregates in 2017
In their recent free report "How are Mining & Aggregates Professionals Using Drones in 2017?" Aerotas co-founders Logan Campbell and Daniel Katz lend their perspective from having helped mining operations and the land surveyors that service them to successfully incoporate the benefits of drone operations.
Guest Article in California Surveyor: FAA Drone Laws for Surveyors
On the heels of the implementation of the FAA's new commercial drone laws, called Part 107, the team at California Surveyor Magazine once again asked Aerotas to weigh in on what surveyors need to know.
What is the FAA Drone Test like?
Today, the FAA's landmark commercial drone rules went into effect. That also means that today was the first day to take the new knowledge test required to become an FAA licensed operator. I passed the test today, and am happy to report on what I learned about the test.
What Do New Commercial Drone Laws Mean for Surveyors?
When Part 107 goes into effect in August, it will open huge opportunities for businesses across industries to use drones in daily operations. Given the contents of Part 107 and the state of UAV technology, land surveying stand to benefit more than most industries. In this post we highlight some of the key provisions of Part 107 that will impact land surveyors.
Receiving Waivers Under New Commercial Drone Rules
The FAA recently released its new drone regulations, known as Part 107. Included is a provision that allows the FAA to grant waivers from most of the new restrictions. This waiver process opens up the possibility of dozens of new applications by potentially allowing flying over people, flying long distances, and many other capabilities. Though the potential is significant, there remain too many uncertainties about the waiver process for businesses to rely on it in the near future.
New FAA Commercial Drone Rules Announced
This morning the FAA published the first official set of rules governing commercial drone use: Part 107. When these new rules go into effect in August, businesses and public agencies will be able to use drones in most industrial applications fairly easily. While operators will be required to follow a number of rules, the key requirements decision-makers need to understand are around pilot certification, where to fly, and flying over people.
Drone Day at the Capitol: What We Learned
On June 14, Aerotas cofounders Daniel Katz and Logan Campbell participated in the Drone Information Day at the State Capitol. The goal of the day was to highlight to lawmakers the ways that drones are positively impacting California and their constituents, offering a counter-narrative to the negativity that tends to dominate headlines. The day presented a unique mix of private meetings and public interaction, via a public display and demo area on the lawn of the Capitol building. The meetings offered a unique view into how the drone industry is considering its relationship to regulation.
The FAA releases new commercial UAV rules next month. What should we expect?
While the FAA has missed a number of deadlines for rolling out rules governing commercial UAV use in the United States, it does appear to be on track to finally launch them next month. Multiple high-ranking members of the FAA have stuck to the launch date of “late Spring” for several months now, and June 20th is the last day of Spring. This begs the pressing question: what should we expect of these new rules, called Part 107
The 2016 FAA UAS Symposium: What Happened?
Regulation is a key topic to consider when planning any commercial drone operation. There is a lot of complicated, controversial, and often contradictory information about what is and is not legal for commercial drone use. The FAA is keenly aware of these challenges, leading them to hold a two-day symposium in Daytona Beach this week. Over the course of the event, there were dozens of often heated discussions about almost every aspect of UAV regulation imaginable. Read on for some of our key takeaways from the conference.