As many of you have heard the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration has finalized the first operational rules (PDF) for routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or “drones”). These rules will now open the nation’s airspace to allow for the use of UAS’s.

Commercial users can now legally utilize their SUAS without acquiring a private or commercial pilot certificate, a roadblock many encountered when considering the use of their UAS for their business.

Part 107 takes effect in late August and offers safety regulations for unmanned aircraft drones that are conducting non-hobbyist operations and utilizing drones weighing less than 55 pounds.

These new regulations minimize risks to other aircrafts in the national air space as well as civilians and property on the ground. Remote Pilot’s will be required to keep their SUAS within visual line of sight with operations during daylight. Other aspects that are addressed in these provisions are height and speed restrictions as well as other operational limits.

The information outlined below explains how to become a ‘Remote Pilot’

BECOMING A PILOT

FIRST TIME PILOTS

1. Download and fill in form 8710-1 from the FAA website (please choose ‘Student Pilot‘). This form may or may not be required.
2. Schedule an appointment with a Knowledge Testing Center (KTC), which administer initial and recurrent FAA knowledge exams.
   1. View the list of Knowledge Testing Centers (PDF) to find one near you.
   2. Applicants must bring government-issued photo ID to their test
3. Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test – initial knowledge test areas include:
   1. Applicable regulations relating to small unmanned aircraft system rating privileges, limitations, and flight operation
   2. Airspace classification and operating requirements, and flight restrictions affecting small unmanned aircraft operation
   3. Aviation weather sources and effects of weather on small unmanned aircraft performance
   4. Small unmanned aircraft loading and performance
   5. Emergency procedures
   6. Crew resource management
   7. Radio communication procedures
   8. Determining the performance of small unmanned aircraft
   9. Physiological effects of drugs and alcohol
   10. Aeronautical decision-making and judgment
   11. Airport operations
   12. Maintenance and preflight inspection procedures
4. Complete FAA Form 8710-13 (not available at this time) for a remote pilot certificate (FAA Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application) using the electronic FAA Integrated Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application system (IACRA)*
   1. Register using the FAA IACRA system
   2. Login with username and password
   3. Click on “Start New Application” and 1) Application Type “Pilot”, 2) Certifications “Remote Pilot”, 3) Other Path Information, 4) Start Application
   4. Follow application prompts
   5. When prompted, enter the 17-digit Knowledge Test Exam ID (NOTE: it may take up to 48 hours from the test date for the knowledge test to appear in IACRA)
   6. Sign the application electronically and submit to the Registry for processing.
5. A confirmation email will be sent when an applicant has completed the TSA security background check. This email will provide instructions for printing a copy of the temporary remote pilot certificate from IACRA.
6. A permanent remote pilot certificate will be sent via mail once all other FAA-internal processing is complete.

EXISTING PILOTS

1. Eligibility
   1. Must hold a pilot certificate issued under 14 CFR part 61
   2. Must have completed a flight review within the previous 24 months
2. Complete the online training course “Part 107 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) ALC-451” available on the FAA FAASTeam website – initial training course areas include:
   1. Applicable regulations relating to small unmanned aircraft system rating privileges, limitations, and flight operation
   2. Effects of weather on small unmanned aircraft performance
   3. Small unmanned aircraft loading and performance
   4. Emergency procedures
   5. Crew resource management
   6. Determining the performance of small unmanned aircraft
   7. Maintenance and preflight inspection procedures
3. Complete FAA Form 8710-13 (not available at this time) (FAA Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application for a remote pilot certificate)
   1. Online or by paper (see instructions in previous section)
4. Validate applicant identity
   1. Contact a FSDO, an FAA-designated pilot examiner (DPE), an airman certification representative (ACR), or an FAA-certificated flight instructor (CFI) to make an appointment.
   2. Present the completed FAA Form 8710-13 (not available at this time) along with the online course completion certificate or knowledge test report (as applicable) and proof of a current flight review.
   3. The completed FAA Form 8710-13 (not available at this time) application will be signed by the applicant after the FSDO, DPE, ACR, or CFI examines the applicant’s photo identification and verifies the applicant’s identity.
      1. The identification presented must include a photograph of the applicant, the applicant’s signature, and the applicant’s actual residential address (if different from the mailing address). This information may be presented in more than one form of identification.
      2. Acceptable methods of identification include, but are not limited to U.S. drivers’ licenses, government identification cards, passports, and military identification cards (see AC 61-65 Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors)
   4. The FAA representative will then sign the application.
5. An appropriate FSDO representative, a DPE, or an ACR will issue the applicant a temporary airman certificate (a CFI is not authorized to issue a temporary certificate; they can process applications for applicants who do not want a temporary certificate).
6. A permanent remote pilot certificate will be sent via mail once all other FAA-internal processing is complete.

QUICK LINKS

• Summary of the Small UAS Rule (PDF)
• Advisory Circular – How to Use the Rule (PDF)
• Complete Text of the Small UAS Rule (PDF)

Note: This document, when on public display at the Office of the Federal Register, may contain minor changes based on edits to format for publication.

Operational Limitations

• Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs. (25 kg).
• Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the visual observer.
• At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS for those people to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.
• Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly participating in the operation, not under a covered structure, and not inside a covered stationary vehicle.
• Daylight-only operations, or civil twilight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) with appropriate anti-collision lighting.
• Must yield right of way to other aircraft.
• May use visual observer (VO) but not required.
• First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-and-avoid” requirement but can be used as long as requirement is satisfied in other ways.
• Maximum groundspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).
• Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level (AGL) or, if higher than 400 feet AGL, remain within 400 feet of a structure.
• Minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from control station.
• Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are allowed with the required ATC permission.
• Operations in Class G airspace are allowed without ATC permission.
• No person may act as a remote pilot in command or VO for more than one unmanned aircraft operation at one time.
• No operations from a moving aircraft.
• No operations from a moving vehicle unless the operation is over a sparsely populated area.
• No careless or reckless operations.
• No carriage of hazardous materials.
• Requires preflight inspection by the remote pilot in command.
• A person may not operate a small unmanned aircraft if he or she knows or has reason to know of any physical or mental condition that would interfere with the safe operation of a small UAS.
• Foreign-registered small unmanned aircraft are allowed to operate under part 107 if they satisfy the requirements of part 375.
• External load operations are allowed if the object being carried by the unmanned aircraft is securely attached and does not adversely affect the flight characteristics or controllability of the aircraft.
• Transportation of property for compensation or hire allowed provided that
  • The aircraft, including its attached systems, payload and cargo weigh less than 55 pounds total;
  • The flight is conducted within visual line of sight and not from a moving vehicle or aircraft; and
  • The flight occurs wholly within the bounds of a State and does not involve transport between
  • (1) Hawaii and another place in Hawaii through airspace outside Hawaii; (2) the District of Columbia and another place in the District of Columbia; or
  • (3) a territory or possession of the United States and another place in the same territory or possession.
• Most of the restrictions discussed above are waivable if the applicant demonstrates that his or her operation can safely be conducted under the terms of a certificate of waiver.

Remote Pilot in Command Certification and Responsibilities

• Establishes a remote pilot in command position.
• A person operating a small UAS must either hold a remote pilot airman certificate with a small UAS rating or be under the direct supervision of a person who does hold a remote pilot certificate (remote pilot in command).
• To qualify for a remote pilot certificate, a person must:
  • Demonstrate aeronautical knowledge by either:  Passing an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center; or  Hold a part 61 pilot certificate other than student pilot, complete a flight review within the previous 24 months, and complete a small UAS online training course provided by the FAA.
  • Be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration.
  • Be at least 16 years old.
• Part 61 pilot certificate holders may obtain a temporary remote pilot certificate immediately upon submission of their application for a permanent certificate. Other applicants will obtain a temporary remote pilot certificate upon successful completion of TSA security vetting. The FAA anticipates that it will be able to issue a temporary remote pilot certificate within 10 business days after receiving a completed remote pilot certificate application.
• Until international standards are developed, foreign- certificated UAS pilots will be required to obtain an FAA issued remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating.
  A remote pilot in command must:
• Make available to the FAA, upon request, the small UAS for inspection or testing, and any associated documents/records required to be kept under the rule.
• Report to the FAA within 10 days of any operation that results in at least serious injury, loss of consciousness, or property damage of at least $500.
• Conduct a preflight inspection, to include specific aircraft and control station systems checks, to ensure the small UAS is in a condition for safe operation.
• Ensure that the small unmanned aircraft complies with the existing registration requirements specified in § 91.203(a)(2).
• A remote pilot in command may deviate from the requirements of this rule in response to an in-flight emergency.