Realtor granted FAA exemption to fly Phantom 2
- Thread starter scotth
- Start date
Av8Chuck
Member
Does anyone else see the ludicrousness of this?
Its great that this person got a COA, but the reason it was given is a joke:
“The proposed exemption would allow Trudeau to operate the
PHANTOM 2 Vision+ quad-copter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to conduct aerial
videography and cinematography to enhance academic community awareness for those
individuals and companies unfamiliar with the geographical layout of the metro Tucson area and augment real estate listing videos.”
There’s 16 or more pages of legalese that ends with an approval that in large part says to RTFM.
So a guy with a Phantom can shoot pictures of a house, claim that its “enhancing awareness” and that makes it OK. Why are our tax dollars being spent on this stupidity.
Its great that this person got a COA, but the reason it was given is a joke:
“The proposed exemption would allow Trudeau to operate the
PHANTOM 2 Vision+ quad-copter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to conduct aerial
videography and cinematography to enhance academic community awareness for those
individuals and companies unfamiliar with the geographical layout of the metro Tucson area and augment real estate listing videos.”
There’s 16 or more pages of legalese that ends with an approval that in large part says to RTFM.
So a guy with a Phantom can shoot pictures of a house, claim that its “enhancing awareness” and that makes it OK. Why are our tax dollars being spent on this stupidity.
Hexacrafter
Manufacturer
As I see it, this FAA 333 exemption is clearly aligned with the exemptions previously granted by the FAA. I think we can all agree that flying a sUAS that weighs under 50# as opposed to a full sized aircraft presents safety & financial advantages that can easily be argued as “in the public interest”. Just the advantages of the small size & weight of the sUAS present an easy argument.
Only time will determine if the FAA will be able to create a sUAS Pilot Certification, but for now, the approved 333 Exemptions all require a FAA Pilot Certification (Private or Commercial). While this apparent FAA requirement of a Pilot Certification does not seem to directly relate to safe sUAS operation as flying a full sized aircraft is entirely different that flying a Radio Controlled base sUAS, it is quickly becoming apparent that this is a requirement for 333 Exemption. This alone will be too high a standard for most to achieve including some that have current 333 exemption petitions filed with the FAA. Even though the FAA has issued this FAA exemption, Douglas Trudeau, the petitioner, will not be able to fly as he does not have the required Private Pilot Certification required in the 333 Exemption. If he spends the time & resources to get FAA Private Pilot Certification and meets all of the other requirements, then he would be able to fly.
Finally, No COA has been issued, but only a 333 Exemption. The COA is issued on a flight by flight basis and is a whole other obstacle that must be obtained as a requirement of the 333 exemption.
There are a lot of very powerful individuals, organizations & lobbyists fighting for a piece of the pie, but right now it looks like only those with significant financial resources will be able to fly a sUAS for commercial use legally.
This is only an observation, not my opinion....please don't "kill the messenger".
Only time will determine if the FAA will be able to create a sUAS Pilot Certification, but for now, the approved 333 Exemptions all require a FAA Pilot Certification (Private or Commercial). While this apparent FAA requirement of a Pilot Certification does not seem to directly relate to safe sUAS operation as flying a full sized aircraft is entirely different that flying a Radio Controlled base sUAS, it is quickly becoming apparent that this is a requirement for 333 Exemption. This alone will be too high a standard for most to achieve including some that have current 333 exemption petitions filed with the FAA. Even though the FAA has issued this FAA exemption, Douglas Trudeau, the petitioner, will not be able to fly as he does not have the required Private Pilot Certification required in the 333 Exemption. If he spends the time & resources to get FAA Private Pilot Certification and meets all of the other requirements, then he would be able to fly.
Finally, No COA has been issued, but only a 333 Exemption. The COA is issued on a flight by flight basis and is a whole other obstacle that must be obtained as a requirement of the 333 exemption.
There are a lot of very powerful individuals, organizations & lobbyists fighting for a piece of the pie, but right now it looks like only those with significant financial resources will be able to fly a sUAS for commercial use legally.
This is only an observation, not my opinion....please don't "kill the messenger".
tjwilliamstj
Dp, Cranes, Steadicam
Exemption is person by person, so since maybe there are 10,000 people with phantoms or equiv that would like to fly FAA needs to issue exemptions for each application. Lets all get a copy of the application and flood the 40 person FAA office that deals with this. This is the same problem at the high end. If one company gets an exemption (I believe currently 6 companies have the large octocopter exemption) then the govt once again despice clear legislation prohibiting it, creates another monopoly!!!