How legal is having a drone in the USA?

How legal is having a drone in the USA?

One of the recent types of technologies that are making waves across the world is the drone. Even though drones were initially developed majorly for military use since they could be used on missions that require flying to a dangerous environment. With drones or UAVs, it was possible to capture images and drop bombs in dangerous areas without posing a risk to any of their personnel.

In recent times several other uses in the civil environment have been introduced for the drone. Prominent among such uses include for personal use such as catching fun and for commercial uses such as agriculture, taking of aerial photographs and motion pictures. If you need to get a drone, you should read Etoren reviews and reviews of other companies that sell drones on CollectedReviews. The information you get from other users will guide you in buying the right type of drone that will give you the best results from the right stores. From the reviews, you will also get tips about what other people who have drones are doing with their drones and how to use your drones without having problems with the authorities regulating the use of drones. With such information, it will be eaiser to confidently use your drone and also get to know other ways you could benefit from your drone including renting it out for money.

You might want to use your drone within the USA for recreation/hobby/fun or commercial use and you are wondering if it is legal to use a drone in the USA. Using a drone in the USA is legal, implying that even as a foreigner, you could come to the USA with your drone. However, there are guidelines that you must follow if you want to use a drone in the USA. The guidelines are discussed below.

as a foreigner

Guidelines for use of a drone for commercial purposes in the USA

  • The flyer must have the Remote Pilot Certificate provided by the FAA for commercial flying of drones.
  • They would have to register their drone on the website of the FAADroneZone.
  • At takeoff, the drone should not weigh 55 pounds or more.
  • The drone must be flown in the Class G airspace.
  • The drone must be flown at not more than 400 feet.
  • The drone must be maintained with the visual line-of-sight.
  • The flight must be carried out when there is daylight or at civil twilight.
  • The speed of the drone must not go above 100 miles per hour.
  • The flyer must ensure that they give the right of way to aircraft that are manned.
  • The flight of the drone should be in places where there is nobody directly under it throughout the flight.
  • Except for the area, you are flying the drone is sparsely populated, you should not fly the drone from a vehicle that is in motion.
  • If you intend to fly the drone outside the Class G airspace, you could get a waiver known as Part 107 when you submit an application for the waiver to the FAA. It is also possible to get authorization for special airspace which can be granted by the FAA as well. With such waiver or authorization, you could fly on other classes of airspace as specified in the waiver or authorization that you have received.

Flying a drone for fun/hobby/recreation

  • You must stick to flying the drone strictly for recreation or hobby without any type of in-kind work including side jobs.
  • Registration of the drone must be done on the website of the FAADroneZone that is managed by the FAA.
  • Flight of the drone must be restricted to the visual line-of-sight.
  • Guideline for the safety of communities must be followed and the flight must be limited to the nationwide community programming.
  • Except you have gotten a certification to do so, the weight of your drone must be less than 55 lbs.
  • Your drone must not fly close to any other aircraft.
  • You must fly within the Class G airspace except you have applied and gotten approval to fly in other classes of airspace such as B, C, D, or E controlled airspace.
  • Your drone should not fly close to an area where emergency response activities are taking place.

By following all the above rules and regulations, you can use your drone in the USA either as a citizen or a foreigner without running into trouble with the authorities.