Over superbowl weekend,聽along with the usual media hype, there’s been something extra this year聽– the #NoDroneZone campaign from the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority). Everyone including the likes of , , 听补苍诲 聽are reporting the message loud and clear – this weekend, don’t even think about flying your drone聽within 10 miles聽around the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Safety first folks, and to be honest, it’s a good move, in a way, it’s just being handled clumsily. There has been a spate of high profile cases of drone misuse recently, including someone crashing their (seriously, what were they thinking?) and it means that the authorities are聽undertaking ever-so-slightly patronising campaigns like #NoDroneZone. The laws surrounding use of drones or Small Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (SUAVs) as they are also known聽are hazy at best. What’s legal in one country is not legal in another and the rules and regulations covering the use of drones is constantly trying to keep up with the rapid changes in the industry itself.
Yes, there have been idiotic instances of drones being flown near airports etc but people are only doing this because the rules have not been made clear enough and easy to understand. In the USA in particular, the delay in definitive laws covering the commercial use of drones has lead to mass confusion – popular drones from manufacturers such as DJI are legal to buy and fly for recreation聽but not commercially – we’re told this is due to safety concerns but if we’re allowed to fly drones with cameras attached to them for fun, how does it make it any more dangerous if we want to make some money from the footage or photos?
Make no mistake – drones, even small quadcopters like the DJI Phantom can be dangerous. Anything that can fly that fast and has a set of spinning blades on it should be used with care, so lets get the rules in place properly so people know where they stand. Cars are dangerous, but does that mean there should be a blanket ban on their use around big events or in built up areas? Of course not. You get trained to drive properly, you get a licence and then you drive according to the law. Drone use should be no different.
As things stand, if you want to fly a drone for commercial use in the USA it’s virtually impossible to get licenced to do so unless you’re a fully fledged aircraft pilot. There have been some exceptions聽but they are very rare. Many people who fly drones for commercial photography use in the USA are doing so unlicensed.
Thankfully, some national authorities are seeing sense. In the UK, the skies are governed by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and their are widely seen as a good model to follow. After taking part in a training course with some tests you can be licensed to fly certain sized SUAVs for commerical use聽. It’s not massively simple to understand and it can be quite costly, but at least the framework is there.
We often get asked, “do you accept photos and videos from drones?” – yes we do, but the photos have to match up to our submission guidelines聽so if you’re shooting with a Phantom Vision or a GoPro then the quality won’t be enough for us. If you’re using a more professional unit with a DSLR attached then that’s more suitable. For video, as usual, we will look at each collection on its own merits. Details on how to apply to become a video contributor are here. In both cases though, before you use a drone for commercial stock use please make sure you’re fully licensed and legally permitted聽to do so.
*UPDATE – 16/02/2015*
The FAA have released some information on the new upcoming rules for drone use in the USA. Who knows, maybe they saw this blog and had a quick re-think….?! Anyway, the full story can be .
*UPDATE – 23/03/2016*
Check out my latest blog post on Drone laws, rules and regulations