FAA Pressures Coldwell, Other Realtors To Stop Using Drone Footage 199
mpicpp (3454017) writes For months, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been investigating realtors who use drones to film their properties. Now, Forbes has learned that the FAA's investigations have succeeded in intimidating NRT —the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company — into advising their members to not only cease flying drones as part of their work, but to also cease using drone footage. This is a troubling development in an ongoing saga over the FAA's rules which punish the safe commercial use of drones. Currently, the FAA does not prohibit the use of drones for a hobby — flying over your home and taking pictures of it for fun is allowed, but because real estate drones take pictures for a commercial purpose, the FAA prohibits their use.
Re:Not a rule (Score:2, Interesting)
So, the FAA should kindly go fuck itself. It does not tell us what we can do in the immediate vicinity around our homes or property.
If I want to hire a drone to do a fly through of my home, or my realtor offers to do it themselves, I will do it and the feds can shove their rules as far up their ass as they please.
Re:Perfectly appropriate action for the FAA to tak (Score:5, Interesting)
I am usually a pretty big skeptic when it comes to regulation but I gotta agree with you here.
This seems like a federal agency operating well withing the boundaries of what it was established to do. I also think we do need some management of [commercial] drones, do to the sheer numbers and the fact that most operators are flying over other peoples properties, where crashes could cause damage or injury.
People doing purely as a hobby problem I would be more skeptical of the need to regulate them. There numbers are few enough and lets be honest most of the air craft they would be operating will remain small and light; we can probably expect incidents form their use to be infrequent enough and small enough in severity to sort out in our local small claims courts at least until that proves not to be the case.
The real-estate folks though are using the drones commercial and if we let every real-estate agent, grounds keep, delivery boy, paper boy, etc; fly a drone with no management whatsoever that is hell of lot of drones in air! Some of those crafts might start getting bigger and heavier pretty quickly as well.
Re:Perfectly appropriate action for the FAA to tak (Score:5, Interesting)
Nope. It's a completely appropriate action according to the FAA's mandate and charter. It's their exact *job*.
Maybe. But then perhaps its time for Congress to rewrite the mandate and take the commercial/hobby distinction out.
Leave them with the safety and certification roles. But the operation of drones needs to be consistent across all uses. Something isn't more or less safe if money changes hands. We (the USA) are going to be left behind as other jurisdictions allow commercial drone use, subject to rules compliance. Commercial use brings money into the industry, which pays for R&D and the refinement of safety rules. US manufacturers don't have the ability to participate in this, leaving the business to foreign concerns. That is definitely NOT the FAA's charter.
Re:Perfectly appropriate action for the FAA to tak (Score:5, Interesting)
Commercial exceptions are well-established in U.S. law.
But this isn't a case of a commercial exception. Commercial aircraft operators are subject to far more stringent regulations than private/recreational*. And that's fine, particularly for passenger carriers. For the public on the ground, I want the regulations to treat commercial and private safety equally. I'm not going to be happier if some billionaire drops his personal 737 on my house than if it was Southwest Airlines. On the other hand, once a drone operator 'goes comercial', I would expect them to carry liability insurance and have deep pockets to protect. As a result, I'd be more comfortable with a business operated drone than a hobby flyer over my house.
This is just like Uber and Lyft vs New York City. The entrenched cab interests have one way of doing things and they are using their regulatory agency to block new technology. The same appears to be happening for flight serice companies. Piloted aircraft for hire are having the FAA protect their turf.
*The general aviation manufacturing business almost went under in this country until legislation was passed to limit their liability. That runs counter to the idea that there is an atmosphere of business exception in this country.
As an actual professional (Score:2, Interesting)
I've been in the drone commercial, not military, business for quite some time and I find it funny about all the comments and arguments on what is right.
Just today as well Forbes lists that the FAA's RFC shows about 3200 comments, mine included. That's not the millions, nor tens of thousands of DJI Phantom users out there... in the US.
So, let's clarify what the heck is going on, cause sure drones are regulated in other countries, those gov't, businesses, and even users are watching the FAA closely. Why? Cause the FAA does have weight on how drones should be regulated, the US is a big market opportunity, and WTH, I'll say it, everyone really respects the US as pioneers in drone tech, hands down.. So, lets all take a step back folks:
Flying model R/C line of sight as been around for decades, and perfectly fine cause 98% of hobbyists 5yrs ago flew in big fields, AMA sponsored areas or areas negotiated with local/state/fed agencies. And it had to be that way cause 72mhz sucked balls in robustness. Then there was fuel: glow fuel was the only way, not electric... it was hazardous. Considering crashes == hundred to thousands of $$$, the hobby became a niche. Remote areas, LOS flight due to unreliable 72mhz, gas powered dangers, and $$$ meant a limited number of flights. So the FAA concluded: why even care, let the users regulated it. and they did, which is the sole purpose of the AMA.
Case in point, does anyone know folks flying their foamy over the 405 in Los Angeles out their balcony? Nope. Pretty much never. If so, it was done by pros, like Flying Cam Inc.. 10yrs ago.
LiPos and digital wireless (2.4) revolutionized that picture.
Now anyone can goto BestBuy, get a 80% reliable quadcopter, all electric with all the sensors for cheap and literally fly out their balcony over the 405 in Los Angeles.... and it's been done numerous times. What does that say:
More drones in the sky, more accidents, less flying in regulated areas, more people involved--meaning less knowledgeable people involved. How is the FAA going to handle this? Working with their UAS divisions: there is no way today unless you change the tech. FAA's solutions don't scale cause the tech is so basic. They have the same problem with NextGen, and ADS-B barely cuts it on the manned side. Oh did I mention the drones on the market are 80% reliable? That 20% sure counts. Remember what I said above about everyone watching the FAA, cause all those other countries with regulations already in place are either, a. making them more strict, or b. users realized that 20% was REAL and dangerous--see a lot of flights and videos from the EU? AUS/New Zealand? Not really, but instead all those users bring their quads to the US on vacation!
Seriously, the FAA doesn't care if you're flying in a AMA regulated field, out in the hills, the desert, over a large body of water, or some place remote/controlled, like even a large parking lot. BUT they do care if your flying in downtown NYC, over a major highway, a concert/stadium, near manned flight paths, or in a populated area. And that's the problem. the users don't care and the majority of flights in the last year are in the latter case due to the aerial photography and FPV interest. And the vendors made it easy to fulfill those photo/video dreams. The 2012 ruling sort of 'asked' users to be more respectful, but honestly, the users gave the FAA the finger. Thank the pressing need to post cool shots on you tube?... which led to the ultimate finger when Piker won his case, And some of the biggest users I have to admit, are not even citizens of the US and disrepected all US guidelines while hitting every loop hole possible to blame it on the industry. Where's my downtown Tokyo aerials? Anyone fly over the Kremlin? Effiel tower? All I see are AP flights over downtown somewhere (like DC), NYC, Vegas and even DisneyWorld.
And so, within FAA jurisdiction and yes, they do reg all airspace in the US(!) even below class G, the small biz side of drone