Drones are a really popular piece of tech nowadays and in my book are one of the coolest gadgets you
can have. I've been looking at getting a DJI Mavic Mini 2 to review here on the channel and
in the process of researching that drone as well as the rules around where and how you
can fly drones, I've come to the realization there are actually quite a few regulations
around how to fly drones here in the United States at least way more than there were
in 2013 when I last owned a drone. And some of these rules I think might actually
make people reconsider whether or not they get a drone altogether.
So in this video, I'm gonna take you through all of the things that might make you reconsider
purchasing a drone if you live in the United States. So, let's dive in and first up let's
talk about locations where you can fly a drone in the US. If you just want to buy
a drone and fly it wherever you want, well, you actually can't, legally at least because there
are several areas in the United States where you are just flat out prohibited from flying a drone.
You can't fly drones in national parks. A lot of state parks like here in North Carolina also
prohibits flying drones within park property and even some cities will ban drones in certain parks
and have only a few designated areas for flying drones. Another thing you need to be aware of is
controlled airspaces, especially if you live in a densely populated area with a major airport.
Drones are generally prohibited from flying in anything but Class G airspace. However,
you can fly in controlled airspaces but you need to have authorization
to do so. Do keep in mind that there are some controlled airspaces you're
completely prohibited from flying and like areas around Washington DC, military bases,
areas like Camp David etc, and also there are sometimes special events like sporting events
at stadiums which will then prohibit you from flying above or near those locations as well.
The FAA which stands for Federal Aviation Administration,
that's the agency that's in charge of the United States is airspace. The FAA has streamlined the
authorization process for drones to fly in controlled airspaces using the low altitude
authorization and notification capability, also known as LAANC, data exchange system.
Basically, you can use a smartphone app like KittyHawk to request authorization to fly in
a controlled airspace as long as you fly at or below 400 feet above ground level,
which is the maximum altitude for all drones flying anywhere in the United States.
Now within a given controlled airspace there are actually different altitude height limits
for drones depending on where in that controlled airspace you plan to fly.
The FAA has a great map that you can use to check the location of where you'd like to fly and the
maximum height you can legally fly your drone within that controlled airspace. So, for example,
if I want to fly my drone at Crabtree County Park here in Raleigh right near RDU Airport,
you'll see that the altitude limit for flying a drone would be 100 feet.
I'll leave the link to this map in the video description below so you can check out the
areas you'd like to fly a drone to see if you'll be allowed to. Now, I know this has already been
a lot and you're probably thinking like why can't the drone manufacturer I buy the drone from
just tell me where I can and can't fly my drone? Well you're in luck because certain
manufacturers like DJI do this within their apps as well as on their website.
DJI has a geo zone map that you can check out to show you prohibited and controlled airspaces
and by default your DJI drone will not fly in these areas unless you unlock the drone.
Unlocking your DJI drone involves giving DJI your phone number and a few more pieces of
info basically stating that you've already got Lance Authorization to fly in that airspace.
So note, unlocking a DJI drone is not the same thing as getting Lance authorization from the FAA.
You'll still need to do that in a separate app like KittyHawk.
Alright, so that's everything about controlled airspaces and how to get authorization to fly
in certain controlled airspaces. Now, let's talk about a couple of other scenarios you
should be aware of when flying a drone. In general, you're not supposed to fly over
crowds of people or vehicles, so if you're trying to fly somewhere like in a downtown
area you technically should wait for vehicles to cross a road before flying over that road.
Also, you shouldn't fly over disasters like wildfires or other. Emergency
situations because that can interfere with emergency response vehicles like helicopters
Also if you plan to fly your drone at night, it must be equipped with
a collision avoidance light that can be seen at least three statute miles away.
You're also required to fly your drone 500 feet below clouds, which usually shouldn't be an issue,
2,000 feet away from clouds horizontal to your drone and 2,000 feet away from guy
wires which you'll typically see near large communication towers. You also need to make
sure that you fly your drone within line of sight invisibility of three statute miles or greater.
Now let's say you're fine with the restrictions and you want
to move forward with getting a drone to fly it recreationally,
meaning that you're not going to use that drone in any way to further a business or to make
money with it. One other thing you should be aware of is how much your drone weighs.
If it weighs more than 250 grams like a DJI phantom, Skydio 2, or DJI Mavic Air you're
required to register that drone with the FAA which costs $5 and is valid for three years and you
must be at least 13 years or older to register. You can register your drone online or by mail.
And I'll leave a link to where you can register online in the video description below. Now let's
say somebody is willing to pay you to fly your drone over a building to get some footage or
if you want to upload your drone footage directly to YouTube and then
monetize your channel so your drone footage can start making some money.
Well legally in order to do any of those things you'll need a remote pilot certificate from the
FAA under the small UAS rule part 107. To qualify you need to be at least 16
years old be able to read, speak, write, and understand English, be in good mental
and physical condition to safely fly a drone, and pass the initial aeronautical knowledge exam
The certificate is good for two years and certificate holders
must pass a recurrent knowledge test every two years. Now,
the knowledge tests must be completed at an FAA authorized testing center;
these can typically be found near an airport and the cost is anywhere from $60 to $150 US dollars.
The knowledge test doesn't just cover the obvious things you need to know about flying
drones that we've already gone over a bit but dives deeper into general aviation where
you'll be expected to know how to read section charts, METARS weather reports,
know how airports work with wind directions etc Also if you get that certification from the FAA
to fly drones for commercial purposes, you're also expected to have a pre-flight checklist
for your drone before every flight as well as do regular maintenance checks on your drone.
Alright, so those are a lot of things that might keep people from flying drones within
the US. It's just not as simple as buying a Mavic Air on Amazon, charging it up, and then
take off. And when I first learned about all of these restrictions myself, I was a
bit put off in order to review a mini 2 here on YouTube I'd have to get a part 107 certificate.
But the more I thought about it the more I think it makes sense especially
for YouTube. By making people go through a certification process
and actually know how to properly fly a drone in all the rules around
drones in general, it should help weed out some of the idiots out there that are just looking to do
dumb and reckless things with their drones just to try to get as many views as possible on YouTube.
Drones have the ability to cause serious property damage or bodily injury if they
just fall out of the sky, or if they hit an airplane or get sucked into a jet engine
that could turn catastrophic. By having these rules it allows the FAA to go after bad actors
as well as just educate flyers who may not even be aware they're breaking the rules.
Now, I'm still anticipating getting a drone at some point and going through the certification
process to get my drone certificate so I can review the drone here on this YouTube channel.
Now, if you've seen everything in this video and have thought to yourself, oh my gosh, this is just
this is a lot, I don't know if I want to go through all this especially doing the commercial
stuff like I don't blame you at all. I’ve done a lot of research for this video and they're just
way more rules and regulations than I originally thought around drones in the United States but
at the end of the day all the FAA is trying to do is make sure that our skies are as
safe as possible and make sure that the people out there who are flying drones
are the ones who are doing so responsibly and know the rules to keep everybody safe.
Now, if you're interested in learning more about drones or want to take the pilots certification
exam the channel Tony and Chelsea at Northrop did a great part 107 study guide video, which
I'll link below and there are other really great drone channels out there as well like 51 drones.
Let me know in the comments if you still plan on getting a drone. I hope you found this video
helpful and informative and if you did and liked it, make sure you hit that thumbs up
button below and subscribe to the channel to see more tech related videos like this one. Well,
that's gonna do it for me, for 6 Months Later, I'm Josh Tedder, thanks for watching.