Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Registration

Publison

Looks like it official:

https://www.faa.gov/uas/registration/

Makes me think about all the 1/4 scale R/C craft out the that could do a lot more damage to light or heavy plane.

EDIT: They are also included.

And they charge $5 to boot. but:

Register before January 20, 2016 and your $5 registration fee will be refunded!

How many 10's of thousand Christmas presents do they expect to get registered?

Publison

Looks like the cheap ones may not have to be registered.

Q. Do children's toys need to be registered?
A. Not if they weigh below 250 gm/0.55 lb. or less. Most "toys" the FAA has identified at a purchase price of $100 or less have been determined to weigh less than 250g. You can find more information in this Recreational UAS Weights document (PDF).

mindrobots

I just heard on the news either 400,000 or 600,000 "drones" expected to be purchased this holiday season...how many get registered. Who knows?

I wonder what you actually register? Airframes? ESC's? Receiver sets? Groups of 4 motors ?

photomankc

Well, now that $5 is charged and a three letter agency is involved the perfect circle of protection will abide.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

The fines for non-compliance seem pretty stiff -- well, actually, totally out of proportion to the purported infraction.

-Phil

JasonDorie

The licensing is by pilot - you register yourself and put your info on anything you fly. That part seems reasonable - The AMA has been requiring this of their members for a long time, but they wouldn't throw you in jail for 3 years for non-compliance.

The fines do seem utterly out of touch, but they do say "as much as". I'm guessing those are the upper limits you bump into if you do something stupid like try to buzz the president or film a landing passenger jet.

Martin_H

I suspect this will end up like the requirement for CB and GMRS radio users to get licensed. Some people will comply and there will be a large number of scofflaws.

Publison

A little video with Ken the other day:

MikeDYur

A half pound, that's ridiculous, don't think this is going to roll out smoothly.

RITESH KAKKAR

Is this still true in USA the Drone Robot will do the work?

ke4pjw

If it is flown as a hobby and weighs 55 lbs or less, registration is not required.

Owners must register their UAS by paper if it meets the following guidelines:

Your aircraft is used for commercial purposes.
Your aircraft is used for other than hobby and recreation.
Your aircraft is greater than 55 lbs.
You intend to operate your aircraft outside of the United States.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

ke4pjw wrote:

If it is flown as a hobby and weighs 55 lbs or less, registration is not required.

Um, that's 0.55 pounds, isn't it?

-Phil

Publison

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

ke4pjw wrote:

If it is flown as a hobby and weighs 55 lbs or less, registration is not required.

Um, that's 0.55 pounds, isn't it?

-Phil

Yes, less than .55 pounds. no registration required.

Greater than 55 pounds requires a commercial registration I believe.

ke4pjw

I was completely wrong about that. Yes, you guys are correct. Ug, now I have to register my RC plane

I quoted the rules for "paper" registration.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

ke4pjw wrote:

Ug, now I have to register my RC plane

Is an RC plane considered to be a "drone" now? How about a foam RC glider?

-Phil

ke4pjw

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

ke4pjw wrote:

Ug, now I have to register my RC plane

Is an RC plane considered to be a "drone" now? How about a foam RC glider?

-Phil

It's a UAS, so I would say "yes" if it weighs more than .55lbs.

FAA wrote:

Federal law requires that a person may only operate an aircraft when it is registered with the FAA. 49 U.S.C. 44101(a). [1] “Aircraft” is defined as “any contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, or fly in, the air.” [2] 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6). In 2012, Congress confirmed that UAS, including those used for recreation or hobby purposes, are aircraft consistent with the statutory definition set forth in 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6). See Public Law 112-95, sec. 331(8), 336 (defining an unmanned aircraft as “an aircraft that is that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft,” and model aircraft as “an unmanned aircraft that is capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere, flown within visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft, and flown for hobby or recreational purposes”); see also Administrator v. Pirker, NTSB Order No. EA-5730, at 12 (Nov. 17, 2014) (affirming that the statutory definition of aircraft is clear and unambiguous and “includes any air aircraft, manned or unmanned, large or small.”). Because UAS, including model aircraft, are aircraft, they are subject to FAA regulation, including the statutory requirements regarding registration set forth in 49 U.S.C. 44101(a), and further prescribed in regulation at 14 CFR part 47.

Publison

You would think that there would be over a million crafts registered by this time, but I think the AMA is still fighting it.

Last reports, (old), say 45,000.

Martin_H

Pounds are a unit of weight, not mass, so what about drones that's are blimps? Their weight is actually close to zero, but their mass might exceed 0.25 kg. In fact some proportion of their mass is gas that would vent in a collision, so does that count towards the 0.25 kg budget, or not?

Edit: I'm thinking of this great robot:

kwinn

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

ke4pjw wrote:

Ug, now I have to register my RC plane

Is an RC plane considered to be a "drone" now? How about a foam RC glider?

-Phil

I would think the "sustained flight" would eliminate the foam RC glider. Of course that would depend on how "sustained" is defined.

msrobots

and how 'is' is defined...

Mike

kwinn

msrobots wrote: »

and how 'is' is defined...

Mike

Good question. I would hope in a rational manner, but that is a pretty high expectation for the legal and law enforcement professions.

Kyle M.

PSA: Today, January 21, is the last day you can register for free. After today, you will not be refunded the $5 registration fee.

Like the system or not, it's here for the time being.The penalties (however unlikely violators are to be caught) for not registering are quite severe, so I recommend you register now.
If you disagree with the FAA's implementation of this system, I also still recommend you register today, so you at least don't have to pay for it.

W9GFO

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

Is an RC plane considered to be a "drone" now? How about a foam RC glider?

A foam glider like you get at Walmart is not a "system", but an RC one is a "system" so yes, per their requirements, it must be registered - if it weighs over .55 lbs.

W9GFO

ke4pjw wrote: »

If it is flown as a hobby and weighs 55 lbs or less, registration is not required.

Owners must register their UAS by paper if it meets the following guidelines:

Your aircraft is used for commercial purposes.
Your aircraft is used for other than hobby and recreation.
Your aircraft is greater than 55 lbs.
You intend to operate your aircraft outside of the United States.

You misread the rules. They are saying that you must register by paper if you meet any of those criteria, otherwise you must register online. In other words, their online registering system is only for hobby types that are between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs. Commercial users and those that are 55 lb or over must register by filling out an actual paper form and mailing it in.