Comment Re:FAA is not allowing Drone use in farming today (Score 1) 94
I tend to believe the FAA is blowing smoke, too. The current restriction is on commercial use of UAVs, to which the FAA is in the process of allowing exemptions to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 on the road to adopting final rules by 2016. It's interesting to read applications for exemption by companies eager to offer their services. Most of the exemptions I am aware of have thus far gone to petitioners associated with the film industry and/or companies that desire to sell similar services.
I first became aware of the FAA restrictions several weeks ago when attending a presentation by a university professor of geography for the local Audubon Society chapter who uses his personal UAV for various studies and have been looking more closely into it since. IMO, a farmer using UAVs to survey his/her own property with their own equipment solely for private use would not be engaging in commerce. And so, the restriction wouldn't apply as long as operations are within non-navigational airspace below 400 feet and outside controlled airspace in the vicinity of airports (i.e. Class B airspace). However, if the farmer were contracting with some entity to conduct such surveys in exchange for payment of a fee, the restriction would prohibitively apply to the contractor.
If interested, start here:
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulations & Policies (FAA)
https://www.faa.gov/uas/regula...
