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Drones and RC Models Must be Registered by February 16

posted by takyon on Tuesday December 15 2015, @12:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the days-are-numbered dept.

xpda writes:

The FAA has released its final rules for drone registration requirements. Every small unmanned aircraft used for hobby and recreational purposes must be registered (you can begin registering on December 21st). This includes traditional radio controlled models in addition to autonomous and semi-autonomous drones. "Small" means 0.55 to 55 lbs.

takyon: Registration costs $5 per operator, but the fee will be waived for the first 30 days to encourage early registration:

Anyone 13 and older can register themselves as an operator; younger children can operate drones under adult supervision with proper registration.

This is only one of the elements of FAA's drone-related rulemaking. The agency is also tackling a set of comprehensive rules for recreational drone fliers and another one for commercial drone operators, such as Google or Amazon.

For now, the FAA's guidance for fliers of store-bought and homemade drones remains the same: Keep your drones under 55 pounds; fly them within your line of sight and below 400 feet; stay at least 5 miles away from an airport; avoid flying near stadiums or crowded places; and take some drone classes or join a club for extra safety.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @05:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @05:48AM (#276536)
    I think everyone should register as an operator and >=1000 drones during the free registration window, whether or not they actually have a drone that qualifies. Might as well get your numbers for free whether you use them or not.

    If you don't live in the USA and they let you register, do it too. Register for someone else who may need it (maybe wish to visit the USA and fly one)...

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday December 15 2015, @12:30PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday December 15 2015, @12:30PM (#276612) Journal

    This is the information that is required:

    Required information from persons registering small unmanned aircraft intended to be used as other than model aircraft.
    • Applicant name or name of authorized representative.
    • Applicant physical address (and mailing address if different than physical address).
    • Applicant e-mail address or email address of authorized representative.
    • Aircraft manufacturer and model name, and serial number, if available.
    • Other information as required by the Administrator.

    Required information from individuals registering small unmanned aircraft intended to be used exclusively as model aircraft.
    • Applicant name.
    • Applicant physical address (and mailing address if different than physical address).
    • Applicant e-mail address.
    • Other information as required by the Administrator.

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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @01:21PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @01:21PM (#276634)
      Do they require a working mailing address? Or a working email address? Or it doesn't matter? ;)

      I wonder what will be "Other information as required by the Administrator." in practice.

      When registration opens fire up your tor browser and start registering as many as you need.

    • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Tuesday December 15 2015, @04:19PM

      by richtopia (3160) on Tuesday December 15 2015, @04:19PM (#276692) Homepage Journal

      That is actually pretty reasonable; I was worried that SSN would be on the list of requirements.

      However the "Other information as required by the Administrator" is just lovely.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 15 2015, @04:43PM

        by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday December 15 2015, @04:43PM (#276703) Journal

        I'll forgive "Other information required by the Administrator" and assume it is just cover your ass/bases language.

        They have everything they need there to black bag you: name and address. Email address is interesting... email but no phone number? The email could easily become an NSA/DEA selector. I checked the FAQ and the email is used as a "login ID" and to send you an electronic certificate.

        Your registration number must be written on all of your drones somewhere, but it can be "hidden" as long as it is readily accessible, such as in the battery compartment.

        http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/151213_SORN.pdf [faa.gov]

        Additionally, the public may only retrieve model aircraft owners’ name and address in the publicly available Aircraft Registry by the aircraft registration number (i.e., the public may not retrieve data by an owner’s name or address).

        ...barring security problems with the interface.

        Finally, we are adding a routine use clarifying that the FAA may disclose any aircraft registration information to law enforcement entities, when necessary and relevant to a FAA enforcement activity

        DEA/FBI et al. will quickly get the whole list.

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        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @06:09PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 15 2015, @06:09PM (#276732)

          They have everything they need there to black bag you: name and address.

          How do they verify those are real?

          Like I said, lots of people should submit as many registrations as they want. Not all of the registrations have to be real and I recommend you use different Tor sessions for the registrations and the creation of the email accounts. Or use throw away/disposable email addresses- a fair number of sites do it; others could read the verification mail, but that makes it even better.

          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 15 2015, @06:39PM

            by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday December 15 2015, @06:39PM (#276751) Journal

            If you are one of the foreign anons wondering about the registration, they actually have a slightly different process for foreign nationals:

            http://www.faa.gov/uas/registration/faqs/ [faa.gov]

            Q. Why does the certificate I received constitute recognition of registration for US citizens and permanent residents, but only recognition of ownership for foreign nationals? Have I complied with the requirement to register?

            A. All users can submit information to the UAS registry; however, the law only permits the FAA to register aircraft belonging to United States citizens and permanent residents. For all others, the certificate received from the registry comprises a recognition of ownership, rather than a registration. Foreign nationals who have completed the recognition of ownership process and wish to receive a rebate for the $5 registration fee may contact the FAA. Nonetheless, all users are encouraged to submit their information and mark their UAS. This will facilitate the recovery of the UAS, should it be lost or stolen.

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