I just learned that very recently a federal court has ruled the FAA does not have the authority to require registration of consumer drones
Source Link: http://fortune.com/2017/05/19/dr ... n-appeals-hobbyist/


This to me is bad news!
The FAA regulation was pretty reasonable, it really helped form this and other drone communities to talk about how to be safe while piloting a drone. I feel that without this registration system in place, it will be easier to buy a drone off a shelf and do something stupid with it. Plus there is no incentive for new drone pilots to spend any time whats-so-ever reading about the laws that effect them.


All it takes is one kid with a new drone to fly too high near an airport and screw everything up for all of us.
I mean eventually when all the dust settles in the courts, we will have more regulations and probably even a new registration system. But I seriously feel that it will be harsher than what we had.


Let me know your thoughts


Additional Sources:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/19/dont-need-register-personal-drones-with-faa-anymore/
http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/19/technology/drone-registration-faa/

Here in Australia we don not a need license or rego for Mavic because it is under 2Kg.
The sky hasnt fallen in and no commercial planes have been  thrown from the sky like a rag doll due to "kids" playing dronies.

EDIT: Meaning any drone under 2Kg (4.4 pound) can be flown without due care or knowing the rules.

Bent Kangaroo Posted at 2017-5-19 18:02
Here in Australia we don not a need license or rego for Mavic because it is under 2Kg.
The sky hasnt fallen in and no commercial planes have been  thrown from the sky like a rag doll due to "kids" playing dronies.

Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it cant. I mean you probably haven't heard of this, but a couple years ago a pilot was forced to land a commercial airliner in New York's Hudson river after a group of birds ran into his engine.
With the drone market increasing like crazy, it a lot for one person to ruin the entire community here in the US.
Not to mention that the US has a heavily congested airspace compared to other countries.

It's a good day for freedom loving Americans

RileySmelley Posted at 2017-5-19 18:10
Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it cant. I mean you probably haven't heard of this, but a couple years ago a pilot was forced to land a commercial airliner in New York's Hudson river after a group of birds ran into his engine.
With the drone market increasing like crazy, it a lot for one person to ruin the entire community here in the US.
Not to mention that the US has a heavily congested airspace compared to other countries.

:" Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it cant. "

WHo on the planet didnt get to see the 24 hour coverage of the hudson river stuffup?
They even made a stupid movie about.

"What ifs" dont do much for me.
The airports aleardy have NFZs and should adopt technology that disrupts drone transmission IF they havent already to allay your fears.

Bent Kangaroo Posted at 2017-5-19 18:25
:" Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it cant. "

WHo on the planet didnt get to see the 24 hour coverage of the hudson river stuffup?

All I'm saying is that the drone market is growing at an unprecedented rate!
And in a very short period of time, there will be a great number of kids that are legally not allowed to drive flying drones in an already congested airspace.

To be a Pilot you have to get a pilot's licenses. Which on average costs around 9 grand. On top of that, you have to fly a minimum of 60 days straight just become a commercial pilot.

Why would we not register drones in the hands of kids that aren't allowed to drive?  I mean the FAA wasn't an ass about this in the past. From everyone I heard from, they brought a huge amount of awareness on what it meant to being a safe and courteous drone pilot.

i"m confused about this.  I had to go back to the FAA website to make sure, but I never registered my drone in the first place.  I registered myself as an operator and got a certificate number.  Is (was) there a place to register a specific craft by serial number?  Either I am in error or the report is wrong, or the court ruling doesn't have anything to do with an owner registering themselves but only some future attempt to have a specific drone registry.  What's going here?

seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-5-19 18:47
i"m confused about this.  I had to go back to the FAA website to make sure, but I never registered my drone in the first place.  I registered myself as an operator and got a certificate number.  Is (was) there a place to register a specific craft by serial number?  Either I am in error or the report is wrong, or the court ruling doesn't have anything to do with an owner registering themselves but only some future attempt to have a specific drone registry.  What's going here?

You follow my understanding of the rules.  I am pretty sure just your registration number needs to be on the drone.  You can have 10 drones, all with the same number.  I could be wrong though.

seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-5-19 18:47
i"m confused about this.  I had to go back to the FAA website to make sure, but I never registered my drone in the first place.  I registered myself as an operator and got a certificate number.  Is (was) there a place to register a specific craft by serial number?  Either I am in error or the report is wrong, or the court ruling doesn't have anything to do with an owner registering themselves but only some future attempt to have a specific drone registry.  What's going here?

Apparently, as of today's court ruling, you don't have to register your drone. I  think that the FAA will still allow you to register your drone but you are not legally forced to. I don't know what purpose it service to register something that doesn't need to be.  

RileySmelley Posted at 2017-5-19 18:40
All I'm saying is that the drone market is growing at an unprecedented rate!
And in a very short period of time, there will be a great number of kids that are legally not allowed to drive flying drones in an already congested airspace.

Most drones are toy plastic crap and dont pose a danger such as a child driving a car down the street.
Common sense is still required and does not cease to exist if FAA relaxes laws on registration.

I have t agree with you RileySmelley, registration doesn't seem like a difficult prospect in the US, not sure why they would stop it , I'm sure the FAA will move on and come up with something else.

Registration in my country is a painless exercise it costs €5 for two years you continually get information regarding safety and safety notices of events and notams of what's happening in your area, it also encourages new flyers to avail of suitable courses for flying drones.

To the public it should give some reassurance that the drone communities take themselves seriously, I expect there might be a reaction from the public, who will now join in the hysteria in saying that the drone communities are now a free for all to do what they like, although this might not be the reality it will be the perception.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-5-20 01:40
I have t agree with you RileySmelley, registration doesn't seem like a difficult prospect in the US, not sure why they would stop it , I'm sure the FAA will move on and come up with something else.

Registration in my country is a painless exercise it costs €5 for two years you continually get information regarding safety and safety notices of events and notams of what's happening in your area, it also encourages new flyers to avail of suitable courses for flying drones.

God Bless You Hallmark007 lol

seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-5-19 18:47
i"m confused about this.  I had to go back to the FAA website to make sure, but I never registered my drone in the first place.  I registered myself as an operator and got a certificate number.  Is (was) there a place to register a specific craft by serial number?  Either I am in error or the report is wrong, or the court ruling doesn't have anything to do with an owner registering themselves but only some future attempt to have a specific drone registry.  What's going here?

Is (was) there a place to register a specific craft by serial number?

Not unless it weighs more than 55 pounds. The certificate number you received is for the drone's owner, and that number had to be on each of your drones (over 0.55 pounds) that fly. People -- and sometimes even the FAA -- refer to the drones as being "registered", but in reality only the owner is registered and their drones labeled accordingly. But of course, the whole point of this thread is that even that owner registration is now in a state of limbo.