Drone carrying a video camera

1492 wrote:
I attended a discussion of the FAA rules under consideration for commercial drones at this year's NAB 2015 conference. One particularly disturbing rule could put an end to all practical uses of drones in most commercial photography. That which prohibits flying drones over people(public), not directly part of the crew or production. Apparently, even getting a signed waiver will not be sufficient. This would also kill any prospects that Amazon wanted for remote delivery.

According to the president of DJI, it has to do with an FAA airworthiness certificate requirement under consideration, which none of the major commercial drones have, or will apparently expend the resources to obtain. DJI president also claimed that such a requirement would stifle innovations which are rapidly introduced in drone technology, as it could mandate re-certification, a time consuming process.

BTW, a newly introduced quad-copter with more features than DJI that I've seen, is the 3DR Solo. It is a smart copter with built-in flight modes, so doesn't require extensive time to learn to fly, in order to get professional video results. Plus, will auto return if going out of range, or if battery is running low. Plus, the company apparently supports their drones better than most, as they will replace the copter and GoPro should they be damaged through fault of their product, which is recorded in an on-board black box. No such guarantees for pilot errors.

You have identified a very important distinction, the difference between a drone used for commercial purposes and a drone flown as a hobby. The rules aren't the same. I would think most of us would be in the latter category.

There's a couple of other interesting things I've read. A landowner doesn't own the air over his property and it's not illegal to fly over his pasture but keep in mind you would need his permission to retrieve the bird in the event of an unscheduled landing; and, there are peeping tom laws regarding camera usage.