Drone user agrees with regulations

BY TOM STANKARD

[email protected]

Ironwood — Beginning last Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration required people to register their drones.

Under the FAA’s new rule, people who own a small aircraft more than .55 pound and less than 55 pounds must register it with the FAA Unarmed Aircraft System before they can fly outdoors. According to FAA’s website, the owner must be 13 or older and must be a legal U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident.

Also called unarmed aircraft systems or quadcopters, drones are a variety of flying devices that are controlled by an onboard computer or by a remote control, computer or smart phone.

The FAA thinks drones have the potential to violate people’s privacy, can interfere with larger aircraft and “generally cause mischief.”

Because of this, the FAA is requiring drone users to pay $5 to register their dronex for three years to educate users and hold them accountable, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta told CNN.

To register, people can go online faa.gov and provide their name, their physical and mailing address and an email address.

The FAA will send registered drone users a certificate. If asked by law, users can show a printed or digital version of the certificate.

Before Christmas, the FAA counted more than 45,000 people who had registered drones. On Christmas morning, the number rose considerably.

According to the Consumer Technology Association, about 400,000 drones were expected to be purchased for the holidays.

Kevin Schneller, of Ironwood, said he has registered his drone.

As a photographer, Schneller said he likes to use his drone for business and pleasure. After graduating from college, he came back to Ironwood to “expose the beautiful area that we have” by using his drone.

“It’s a joy to fly and I like seeing the end-product of a perspective you normally don’t get to see,” he said.

Because he uses his drone for his photography business, Schneller said he is also going to register his drone commercially online.

Currently, commercial registration can only be done using an old-fashioned paper system through the FAA.

Personally, Schneller said he understands why the FAA is requiring people to register drones.

“It’s common sense to have rules laid out,” he said.

But he said he doesn’t know how the FAA is going to regulate the new requirements.

“They’re not going to be able to keep up. Technology is going to keep on evolving,” he said.