There's about to be a lot more people offering aerial real estate footage
- Thread starter mikesmiley
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dirkclod
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Here is my take on the matter...
There are a LOT of people who genuinely "desire" to get their Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate but I'm afraid many of them I have spoken to (well beyond just on this forum) don't really understand how difficult the Part 107 test could potentially be. We know ahead of time many aspects of it (the FAA is very open about what "could" be on the test), how the test will be formatted, and are given a ton of potential study information but until the test is released it really is about 95% speculation.
It's not that the test will be hard in terms of just testing (it won't be trick questions etc) but the subject matter is not something most of us come across in our day to day operations and as such it won't be intuitive. The knowledge and processing are not "natural" and as such must be learned by each of us.
I predict that on those first few days we're going to see people saying "Holy cow... that test was absurd and asked questions about things I've never heard of... and things that have NOTHING to do with drone flying". Or we may not hear from some people for several days because they don't want to admit how difficult the test is. It's not Rocket Science (but it's similar LOL) but it's not something we learned in elementary or high school either.
Of course I could be totally wrong and the actual test will be a walk in the park but if that IS the case it will be the first time the FAA has done that. Their tests are not easy, their answers contain common incorrect possibilities, and many times the questions require you to work from different knowledge banks to arrive at the correct answer.
I foresee several operators who are going to take it and fail or who hear about how hard it is and decide it's not worth the effort and just try to get away w/o the credentials. I would LOVE to see the National Association of Realtors release a memo stating that no aerial images can be submitted to MLS without documentation on file that demonstrates the operator was in "Compliance" with FAA regulations at the time the images were taken. This idea was tossed around last year with the Section 333 Exemption but never went any further because it was announced another "license process" was in the works by the FAA. Maybe this time they will do it.
There are a LOT of people who genuinely "desire" to get their Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate but I'm afraid many of them I have spoken to (well beyond just on this forum) don't really understand how difficult the Part 107 test could potentially be. We know ahead of time many aspects of it (the FAA is very open about what "could" be on the test), how the test will be formatted, and are given a ton of potential study information but until the test is released it really is about 95% speculation.
It's not that the test will be hard in terms of just testing (it won't be trick questions etc) but the subject matter is not something most of us come across in our day to day operations and as such it won't be intuitive. The knowledge and processing are not "natural" and as such must be learned by each of us.
I predict that on those first few days we're going to see people saying "Holy cow... that test was absurd and asked questions about things I've never heard of... and things that have NOTHING to do with drone flying". Or we may not hear from some people for several days because they don't want to admit how difficult the test is. It's not Rocket Science (but it's similar LOL) but it's not something we learned in elementary or high school either.
Of course I could be totally wrong and the actual test will be a walk in the park but if that IS the case it will be the first time the FAA has done that. Their tests are not easy, their answers contain common incorrect possibilities, and many times the questions require you to work from different knowledge banks to arrive at the correct answer.
I foresee several operators who are going to take it and fail or who hear about how hard it is and decide it's not worth the effort and just try to get away w/o the credentials. I would LOVE to see the National Association of Realtors release a memo stating that no aerial images can be submitted to MLS without documentation on file that demonstrates the operator was in "Compliance" with FAA regulations at the time the images were taken. This idea was tossed around last year with the Section 333 Exemption but never went any further because it was announced another "license process" was in the works by the FAA. Maybe this time they will do it.
Something else I've been thinking about. WIth the ability for people to sell and use drone footage legally, will anyone (the FAA) really go looking to see if those people did it legally? When commercial use was not allowed at all they never went after anyone. Now we think they are going to try to weed out the people with and without the proper credentials?
Well, when you try to make a business of it; and file your business tax return along business material expense (drone, memory card, case, gas to/from job sites, etc...). Your creating a paper trail. If it turns out that you don't have FAA designation and your filing as a business be careful when the federal end points connect to one another.
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The business of flying commercial vs hobby will be interesting to watch it evolve, especially with the IRS. As an example, if you don't demonstrate you are making enough effort or enough money, the IRS can declare you are not a business, just a hobby, however you can't sale under the term hobby.
Catch 22 maybe?
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Catch 22 maybe?
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The FAA has a standing "policy" of not going after people unless it is brought to their attention. If it IS brought to their attention (And there is an online portal for exactly this purpose) they will investigate. Their "mantra" is to educate first and then take it further is need be. Here's a link that should help some:
FAA Compliance Philosophy
FAA Compliance Philosophy
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The big issue is the potential cat fight between competitors. The folks that took the time and pain to pass 107 are going to have a real reason to jump on the 'interlopers'. It will be interesting to see what the FAA does here. They do investigate virtually all complaints with manned aircraft because of the safety aspect of it. I find it a little harder to believe that they will go after every professional wannabee that uploads a video to Willow or 'gives' it to a local Realtor.
Much will depend on the volume. A couple of complaints are doable - the FAA has inspectors all over the place. But I'm afraid the FAA has opened a can of worms here.
May you live in interesting times.
Much will depend on the volume. A couple of complaints are doable - the FAA has inspectors all over the place. But I'm afraid the FAA has opened a can of worms here.
May you live in interesting times.
What I find "interesting" (I say that with tongue in cheek) is that Realtors are the first to bark if someone wants to try and sell a home/land w/o being a licensed Realtor. But many of those same people think it's OK to hire someone without the proper license/credentials to do work for them. This is a discussion I've had on local and national levels many times. I wouldn't be surprised if Part 107 doesn't give them a bit more "backbone" on the issue.
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Look what I found
http://droneoperatorsadvisor.com/hiring-drone-operators/
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http://droneoperatorsadvisor.com/hiring-drone-operators/
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And even if you don't include your income on your taxes (not a good idea!), the people who paid you are likely to. After all that is a business expense that they will want to deduct. Anything other than playing by the rules puts you at risk.
Just an FYI, you have about 2-3 years to demonstrate a profitable business until the IRS will call it a hobby (from a tax perspective).
{Source - married to CPA}
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However, if I were to sell video to someone else and they used it, they don't need a commercial license. So reporting them would only start the paper trail. When commercial flying was not allowed it was easy as everyone was in violation of it was used as commercial. Now with so many people having an exception it's not easy to find violators.
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