Been reading and learning from this site for a while but it is time to post. I filed our 333 petition last night and have a few questions about the PIC. I understand that the PIC, currently, must hold at least a sport pilot cert. I do however find it hard to believe that of all the 333 exemptions/petitions I have read that they are all going to actually go out and get a pilot cert. Joe and Joe Blows Construction or Mary and Mary's Wedding Photography is likely not getting certified.......or are they? What is the true consensus on what folks are doing to comply with the PIC requirement? Does everyone that posts they have a 333 exemption also hold a pilot cert? If so, I am honestly impressed and what did you all do to get a cert i.e.. Balloon, Powered Chute, Aircraft..... Any insight into this PIC issue would be great. On a side note, this whole process is a complete disaster and is almost comical.
333 PIC ?'s
- Thread starter Efrantz
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The whole 333 process has been a dopey patchwork way for the FAA to fit small drones into their way of thinking.
The FAA are dinosaurs and move as slowly as a glacier.
They can only see a small drone the same way they see any other plane and to their way of thinking you would obviously have to have a higher license for commercial flying than for recreational.
However they have no drone license in their system so they tried to fit drones into what was already there.
It's completely ridiculous, even the FAA knows this.= and they are slowly dragging themselves into the late 20th century.
Here's a summary of where they are at: FAA Task Force Unveils Recommendations for UAS Flights Over People | Focus on Regulation
or ... the full document from the FAA: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_pol.../2120-AJ60_NPRM_2-15-2015_joint_signature.pdf
The FAA are dinosaurs and move as slowly as a glacier.
They can only see a small drone the same way they see any other plane and to their way of thinking you would obviously have to have a higher license for commercial flying than for recreational.
However they have no drone license in their system so they tried to fit drones into what was already there.
It's completely ridiculous, even the FAA knows this.= and they are slowly dragging themselves into the late 20th century.
Here's a summary of where they are at: FAA Task Force Unveils Recommendations for UAS Flights Over People | Focus on Regulation
or ... the full document from the FAA: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_pol.../2120-AJ60_NPRM_2-15-2015_joint_signature.pdf
Should I honestly start to pursue my SPL or should I wait until I get my exemption back from FAA and hope that by then they offer a UAS flight training requirement? In talking with a local instructor he stated that for the FAA to require one to potently risk their life to get a pilot cert to fly a UAS from the ground is ridiculous. I am temped to write my congressmen and outline that very point. I have no desire fly myself and have the upmost respect for pilots that have it in them to pursue a certification, but to ask that every joe with a desire to make a living with a UAS to become a pilot is crazy. The same instructor used the analogy that it is like requiring an 18 wheeler license to drive a moped.
My 333 is still pending and I am a licensed pilot. I do wonder how many of those requests I see will actually follow the rules and have a licensed pilot as PIC. In my many years of dealing with the FAA they do move slowly (except when restricting something).
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