I'm new to the drone scene and am in the research stages of doing some aerial photography and survey work to make some extra cash. This would be mostly real estate, construction and some farmland. However, I would like to stay in compliance with any of the FAA regulations. From what I've ready, I need to file a 333 exemption to do any kind of work for hire. Is this true? Also, has anyone on here successfully filed one of these? I didnt know if it was simple enough to do myself or if if hiring someone to file it for me would be worth it.
The exemption - I think - requires a real pilots license first. This is likely to change in the future (IMHO). The who thing is in flux right now. Many people are using hobby drones for income and for their existing work (roofers for inspections, real estate, etc.) - but they are flying under the radar (so to speak). I can't speak to the wisdom of that - in a sense doing it on a small scale is akin to building a porch for your neighbor without a contractor's license - that is, it's closer to jaywalking than to stealing a car. Or maybe like using your home as AirBNB when local code doesn't allow such things...... You mention being new to the scene - if that's the case you should embark upon your education in terms of both piloting and learning all you can about the technology. That way you will at least have the capabilities and knowledge to do some work. I do a number of projects on a volunteer basis - that's also a good way of getting started because you can make sure your work is good enough to satisfy the public and the orgs.
Thanks for the clarity! The internet doesnt really seem to hold a clear cut explanation of what you can and cant do. I picked up an inexpensive flyer to practice with in the meantime but I've been eyeing one of the Phantom 3's. It seems pretty user friendly for a newbie and sounds like it has a pretty sweet camera for those practice runs.
It's a great machine - the IOS version of the Go App has a built in simulator which controls everything - camera, etc. In general I think it's good to get practice on a toy machine or two before getting and flying a fancier cam quad - but if you are the careful type and read the instructions and other stuff extensively you can succeed with a P3 as a first quad. It's up to you to decide how careful you are! One option is to buy from B&H Photo who will sell you a SquareTrade warranty with it. They are the only ones who are allowed to do this - I suspect it's a test for ST. They cover everything as long as you have the machine (in pieces or not!).
Hi all. I work at CASA in Australia. We just finished this little video to spread the word about drone flying rules for kids who may not know any better. I'd appreciate it if there are other Aussie members on here who want to spread the word: Thanks - Nick
