FlyMaine
lvl.3
Flight distance : 389482 ft
United States
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There's been much debate in this forum and elsewhere about what rules apply to recreational drone operators. As many of you know, in the USA, under the curent statute, there are two sets of rules--one for licensed commercial operators and one for recreational users. In order to qualify as a "recreational user", you must follow "community-based safety guidelines". I've attached a link to the Safety Guidelines published by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) which I believe is the only community-based organization explictily recognized by the FAA. So, if you plan to fly in the USA as a recreational user, you should be familiar with the AMA Guidelines. While the AMA Guidelines do not contain an explicit height limit, they do require that you not fly in a "careless or reckless manner" and one could certainly argue that flying a drone like Spark above the 400' limit applicable to commecial operators is careless or reckless. Additionally, the preamble to the AMA Safely Guidelines explicity provides that "all model flightsmust be conducted in accordance with this safelty code and related guidelines..." One guideline which appears to be frequently violated in videos posted on this site is to "avoid flying directly over unprotected people, moving vehicles, and occupied structures." I hope this doesn't add to the confusion, and I'd be happy to hear from other forum members who are more initimately familiar with the regulatory scheme here in the USA than I am.
https://www.modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/100.pdf
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