On February 23, 2015, the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the regulation of commercial operation of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). UAS advocates breathed a sigh of relief, as the proposed regulations are not as onerous as had been feared, particularly insofar as they require neither airworthiness certification, nor traditional pilot's licenses and medical certificates. They do, among other things, require registration of the UAS and a newly created operator's certificate that focuses on aeronautical knowledge, and restrict operations to daylight, line-of-sight, 100 mph or less and an altitude of 500 feet or less above ground level.
About halfway through the sixty-day public comment period (which ends April 24, 2015), the docket presently contains well in excess of 1,000 comments by commercial and private operators of manned aircraft, UAS operators and enthusiasts, educators, and concerned individuals without any apparent aviation background. The comments largely favor the proposed regulations, with much of the debate focused on the propriety of the daylight, line-of-sight and altitude restrictions. Comments from non-aviation professionals express concerns about enforcement, liability and insurance, and privacy – including a threat to shoot UAS down with a 12-guage shotgun! Absent at this time are comments from certain large aviation stakeholders, such as the Air Line Pilots Association, which has been a prolific commenter on applications for Certificates of Authority to operate UAS, pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization Act. Such groups may be waiting until the end of the comment period to have the last word. 80 FR 9544 (February 23, 2015), Docket ID FAA-2015-0150.
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