With the holiday season around the corner, as many as 1 million people might get drones as gifts. That’s going to be a lot of drones vying for their piece of airspace. In a proposal to alleviate any potential disasters, the United States federal government has expressed intentions to have drone owners register their drones, and asked the Federal Aviation Administration to create recommendations on how to bring a registration system, similar as how you would register a car or a private plane.
The FAA revealed its suggestions Nov. 23rd, and alongside a team of lawyers also businesses with interests in the drone market, they’ve decided the US should handle the registration of drones. They’re rather practical. Quartz has summarized the 17-page document for anyone that has a drone or is planning to enter the pastime.
Which Drones Have to Register?
The FAA is advising that drones weighing over 250 grams (0.55lbs) and less than 55lbs should be signed up. That indicates mostly all customer drones on the market will certainly have to be registered, but if you want to avoid registration, you can get yourself a microdrone.
The One Who’s Really Registering is the Pilot
This is the kind of situation where it’s more the aviator than the drone being registered. That indicates someone can have a number of drones but only need to register with the FAA once. After completing the registration, pilots will get a number that they could use for all the drones they fly, and they just have to register before they fly a drone for the first time.
The FAA recommended that the fines for flying an unregistered plane could go up to $25,000, but these numbers probably too high for drone owners. That implies a lesser fine could be imposed for flying an unregistered drone, but the agency didn’t specify what the fine will be.
Only Those Over 13 Can Register
Every person in the United States that wants to fly a drone. The FAA recommended that drones need to also only be zipped individuals over the age of 13. For visitors that wish to come to the US and also fly drones, the FAA recommends they still register, but with an expedited application procedure. The FAA claimed that they also may implement a kind of learning or training procedure during the registration procedure, a kind of “Know Before You Fly” advertising campaign.
The Drone Registration Process
The FAA recommends registration be done quickly and easily online, and free of charge. The drone owner will need to state their name and address into the system, and will have the option to place in an e-mail address, telephone number, as well as the serial number of their drone. The FAA claimed that no details on a drone owner’s citizenship may be required, and the data source of owners need to be kept confidential, suggesting that it not ever be available via the Freedom of Information Act.
Drone owners will be provided a number once their registration is complete, and this number should be clearly shown on the drone itself. According to the Wall Street Journal, one participant of the FAA’s consideration team claimed during the process that drone pilots could put it in indelible ink, bedazzle it onto their drone; it just has to be legible so authorities can see it.
There’s no word on when exactly this registration will come into play, but it’s possible that it starts just after the holiday season, time by which a lot of people of all ages will own their own drones. This would make the process effective and more efficient.
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