This is HUGE!. After holding our breath for many months, hoping for some commons sense rulings from the FAA, many businesses owners, like me, can finally exhale! Unbelievable as it seemed to many of us, in a June 21st Press Release the FAA FINALLY approved new commercial drone operational rules due to take effect in late August 2016.
Following alot of fuss over the infamous ‘333 Exemption Waiver’ requirement (with very restrictive rules, including a rule that required drone operators to carry a private pilots license) the new Part 107 rules are much less restrictive, make a whole lot of common sense and open the door for real estate photography companies to capitalize on the high demand for aerial photography and video services.
In a nutshell, below is a summary of the new Part 107 operational rules. We’ve been following these rules along with other safety and privacy guidelines since launching our aerial drone services four years ago. We’re thankful these rules will now be adopted as the official FAA guidelines. Our five aerial qualified photographers are all anxious to take the new FAA Safety class and become officially certified remote pilots!
- Complete an FAA UAS Safety Class and pass a Remote Pilot Certification test
- Fly below 400 feet
- Fly no faster than 40 knots
- Fly within visual line of sight
- Fly only during daylight hours
- Stay at least 5 statute miles from the geographic center of a tower-controlled airport
So, what does this mean for you? Well, the most important benefit for our clients is peace of mind! We’ll continue delivering the same stunning aerial photos and video as usual, but now you can be confident your Mediamax aerial photographers are FAA Remote Pilot Certified.
If you’re wondering about the aerial process and benefits, check out our great video below featuring one of our most experienced aerial specialists, Dale Honning.