Real estate professionals hoping to use drones in their business got some big news when the Federal Aviation Administration released a final rule governing the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems. This final rule, effective August 29, 2016, includes some hard-fought wins for the National Association of REALTORS®, and a clearer path for people to put drones to use in their businesses.
The new rule will no longer require a small unmanned aircraft operator to hold a FAA-issued pilot’s license. Instead, the final rule requires a person operating a small uas to either hold a remote pilot certificate with a small uas rating or be under the direct supervision of someone who does. This new remote pilot certificate will be less expensive and less time-consuming to obtain – a major victory for aspiring drone users.. In general, small UAS may only be flown during the daytime, and cannot be flown over non-participants, and the small UAS must be within the visual line of sight of the operator at all times.
To learn more about the rule, and the significant changes for Realtors