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Drones

45,000 drones already logged with US registration database

By Nick Lavars
December 24, 2015
45,000 drones already logged with US registration database
The FAA maintains that mandatory registration will encourage pilots to learn how to fly the drones safely
The FAA maintains that mandatory registration will encourage pilots to learn how to fly the drones safely
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The FAA maintains that mandatory registration will encourage pilots to learn how to fly the drones safely
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The FAA maintains that mandatory registration will encourage pilots to learn how to fly the drones safely

Those looking to register their drones with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will have to wait until Christmas. Since launching its mandatory registry on Monday, some 45,000 drones have already been logged with the FAA's online database, which is now undergoing temporary maintenance to deal with an anticipated Christmas Day rush.

The drone database was officially announced earlier this month and requires owners of unmanned aircraft weighing between 0.55 and 55 lb (250 g and 25 kg) to register the vehicles with the FAA. The civil penalties for failing to do so go as high as US$27,500, while criminal penalties can result in fines of up to $250,000 and three years in prison.

The new measure drew the ire of some in the drone industry, in particular Dave Mathewson, executive director of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), who was a member of the taskforce that made recommendations on how to best implement such a registration process.

"AMA is disappointed with the new rule for UAS registration ... Unfortunately, the new rule is counter to Congress's intent in the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and makes the registration process an unnecessary burden for our more than 185,000 members who have been operating safely for decades," he said in response to the rule.

For its part, the FAA maintains that mandatory registration will encourage pilots to learn how to fly the drones safely, while also providing a mechanism to hold them to account if they don't. Registration costs $5, though the agency is waiving this fee up until January 20, 2016.

Source: FAA

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6 comments
Nick Lavars
Nick Lavars
Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.

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JimRD
You do not register each drone (uas) but rather each owner registers one time and receives a unique registration number that they will use for all their drones whether they have one or a hundred. That seems to be a common misconception most authors who write about this subject seem to have.
AliciaRussell
. OK people, Big Brother now has a copy of your credit card and your email, etc.. Should ANYTHING happen of a drone nature in your neighborhood, guess who will be under the accusatory microscope of an incompetent regime. Yup, YOU!! . This is the equivalent of registering to be a "person of interest" should anything of a sexual crime happen, just because you possess and register your penis. You have the equipment, thus you must be planning on using it. . ......... as all of the lemmings head for the cliff. .
fred_dot_u
AliciaRussell, one aspect of such a visit by the FAA is to consider, as with all law enforcement interaction, to answer no questions. The FAA is not limited to Miranda warnings and can use in an enforcement action anything that is said.
I envision a visit to a drone owner:
FAA: Were you flying a drone in this area on (date) at (time)? DO: Did you see a drone flying in this area on (date) at (time)? FAA: Yes, we did. DO: Did you trace the registration number to me? FAA: No, we could not see the registration number. DO: This interview is concluded. There aren't the drones you're looking for. Move along.
Bob Flint
Use the "Force" swarms of 250gram drones flying at sub light speed are undetectable, remain low to avoid surface radar...
SamuelMarchant
Did you know ? The reputation of Britain and Australia as "Kill Joys" by heavy immense restriction that does not so much as care for its' own economy stifling has no exception in what this article has stated of the CAA Civil Aviation Authority directive to be 5.5 Km from any Airport. (last i heard it was 3Km until this article) http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3562602/sky-is-the-limit-in-new-industry/?cs=2452 Recently i bought a toy quadcopter "to test the capability for any commercial uses the better models may have and various primary production ideas i have also" and thought no better place to try it than a relatives property i go to once every six months or so out in Central NSW. Wagga Wagga has an airpoirt near the town and the property i flew the drone is 3Km from the airport approximately of i am aware of many aircraft all my life as i lived at it as a child. However, the 5.5 Km limit bans 1/2 the city of Wagga's suburbs from flying drones, the other half has the main regional Hospital. So that wraps that up !!! I found some startling problems with drones that are made more as a toy than a powered UAV for whatever purpose. The drone was a typical quadcopter V686 4channel with FVP. It is rated as 50 meter maximum for the radio control. The UAV can only fly eight minutes usually, but only the first 3 minutes is powerful enough to fight wind. There is a subtle problem with 50m for the remote, when "lifted 50 meters into the air and not overhead", the remote no longer reaches and it cause crash by control loss and drifts away in wind. If anyone wanted to take photos at a lower height they would use a ladder or put an ordinary camera on a pole. The idea of explorative or examinitive flight from a single location of a controller is not possible at such a small radius, too it is in fact quite easy to have the drone removed from radio control range at low altitude. Nobody wants or would bother to run after the UAV to keep control under 100 meters aside to 50 meters. The UAV is very powerless and cannot fight light wind or strong breeze, so removal of radio control contact is quite common and costly if it is less than 100 meters assured(requires being 150 meters to be sure it can be controlled to touchdown for emergency).. More than this there is the issue of understanding the 60% 80% 100% buttons on the control for transmitter power. It requires 100 meters away to have good eyesight trigonometric judgement of the legal altitude ceiling too. In Australia both up-drafts and down-draft winds occur that will also take away a short control range drone. Until the distance is "probably 150 meters control" assured, it's too unpredictable of loss of control. http://www.rpastraining.com.au/casr-101-uav-drone-legal-or-illegal Nobody in the world wants to come to Australia for either fishing or shooting or camping or any tourism because of many staunch restrictions, it's a wonder it A. has any Olympic teams , and B. because they do manage to have Olympic teams, it's a wonder those are not black banned alike embargo.
If you're a rocky it'll mean "Merry Christmans" watching children's joy at a drone as a present turn to tears because they can never get to anywhere to use it !!! NB The Australian government and authorities are reaching the limit too !!!! 10,000AUD dolars to be licesed to fly a drone commercially to make money from them too! No one ever is to blame.... (no-one can find a suitable answer for how these toys get turned into scourge worse than marijuana or guns unless the ply through mounds of A4 legal documents) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2V3SNrkpp0 http://www.lyricsfreak.com/h/howard+jones/no+one+is+to+blame_20066199.html
This link also helps... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mini-Pocket-Compact-Monocular-Telescope-10x25-Camping-Hunting-Sports-Hiking-OK-/261686994762?hash=item3cedc2a74a:g:k68AAOSwkNZUf7p3 STANDARD METHOD FOR LOSS OF CONTROL OF DRONE = If anything causes the disturbance it's not comprehending some principles about the machine itself! This first point is why a drone remote control should be "rated for 150 meters" at very least no matter the application!
1. Light wind that moves twigs constantly is the start of instability of the smaller outdoor drones (not professional drones, and not about nano drones). The Beaufort scale shows this as a "gentle breeze" ! http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5200/cam6oqe/product_images/uploaded_images/beaufort-wind-scale.gif?t=1398725710 most of us alike trigonometry will only be able to judge what is occurring at a primitive level. Wind is a leading cause of loss of control and of the toy UAV leaving the radio control range!
The other problem is much more subtle. 2(a). The battery power(supplied Lithium drone battery) for the first 5 minutes of the 8-10 minute average flight time is able to fight wind, but after that time the engines are less powerful, too when the engines have been draining the batteries at top revs battery chemistry can run out of electrons to supply by chemical reaction, NOT merely the fact there is no electricity inside the battery(cannot react to release electrons for supply fast enough)!
2(b). The battery power of the radio control transmitter has to supply a "super high frequency" SHF in the GHz range, anyone who uses UHF CB radios knows the higher the frequency the greater the amperage of the power supply required. Usually the control has either a 4 or a 6 "AA 1.5v battery" system, These CANNOT be ordinary 1.5 volt AA, THEY MUST be "rechargeable 2000 mAh(2 Ah) or 3000mAh(3Ah) 1.5v(1.8v) ni-cad. http://www.ebay.com/itm/8PCS-AA-3000mAh-1-2-V-Ni-MH-Rechargeable-Battery-Cell-With-AA-AAA-USB-Charger-/221594865600?hash=item3398154fc0:g:Y~wAAOSwstxVETrt Rechargeable is the wisest choice as the only other is Lithium throw away AA batteries and they are worth a fortune and will only do for two flights safely!!! 2000mAh will do for three flights safely, they don't cost much on ebay, neither do battery chargers. A few hours of charging for each battery will do nicely at those mAh size.
So now you know how much of a massive mistake ordinary batteries are you know why the machine did not respond at the end of the first flight, they finish before the end of the flight and the top line lithium throw away are useless and too expensive also!! Too judgement of distance loses control range because 50 meters along the ground and 40 meters up is near to 60 meters away and loss of control. So it is how a drone at 50 meters (with a 50 meter maximum radio control transmit) away becomes a drone blown away at 50 to 100 meters and how 50 meters to 150 meters is where a drone might ever be safely directed and put down if the radio control transmitter range were to be a 150 meter range for safe as possible use outdoor One more point, 40% power button is for indoor , 100% power button is for flying over the trees , *always press the 100% power button before take-off outside!.*

Why Australia is in poverty though one of the wealthiest countries in the world. http://jostechaustralia.com.au/g/1259407/drones-rules-for-business.html http://www.rpastraining.com.au/casr-101-uav-drone-legal-or-illegal http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3562602/sky-is-the-limit-in-new-industry/?cs=2452 10,000AUD dolars to be licesed to fly a drone commercially to make money from them too!
No one ever is to blame.... That point is about the mounds of A4's it takes to construct any reasonable argument that stifling and robbery is occurring in any form because Australia and Britains people have no bill rights.
So it's about definitely gaining the tax from film production and media and keeping it in one controlled source both economically and in national security against freedom of speech and expression. (note Australian national news sites rarely have article comments, it's only regional news sites or immensely intricate jargon articles in mainstream national media sites comments are available e.g. The Drum at abc.net.au - you'll see what i mean). But if you thought it was simply only high taxation and heavy restriction to achieve two fundamentals of government power, security and security, take a look at the laws surrounding freedom of the press (there is no such thing in Australia and Britain), the laws surrounding the use of cameras in general during public incidents decrees"only journalists" are allowed to photograph and film car accidents problems occurring in a public place. An incident arose around 10 years back that was certainly appalling, where a crash occurred on a highway and a car ran off the road bursting into flames. People jumped out of their cars and were holding camera phones out at it everywhere around but nobody helped retrieve the victims. When the government changes laws that are effectively about to tread on peoples allowed actions in public it follows with the propaganda point of this particular accident mentioned. It covers every "incident" in which is described as " warranting an authority to be brought to the scene to assist". But if you were in a street where shots were being fired or a brawl had broken out you would probably attempt to film some of it if it was not involved directly with you. Recently when a police officer in the economics branch of the police was shot by a Muslim youth in a public street in Australia, Parramatta , the news company "fairfax Ltd." used mobile phone footage from a member of the public, that the law bans from 10 years previous. It bans that filming by non journalists to protect the privacy and personal aspects of the incident for the victims. But in this case of filming into a public place of an incident it has committed its two faced method of accepting the action. In some essence the law is designed to protect the dignity of those involved in more serious or more private problems from head hunter like filmers but it steps on everything until exorbitant levels of restriction and massive cost and massive interference occur on the general public. Again too, these national news sites do have pages for uploading photographic or written articles from the public but have no guarantee of being paid for and effectively the price is set more by the acquirer partly because of those laws but ultimately because to venture to the action of publishing some material may be simply delivering upon themselves the unwanted side of the two faced legal system!
GaryEllem
The US and Australian commercial drone licencing systems are now coming into alignment with Australia looking to require pilots in the <2kg class to register with CASA (Australia's version of the FAA) and have their Aviation Reference Number (ARN) displayed on their drone. Those wanting to fly commercially with drones >2kg will require Remote Pilot Aircraft System (RPAS) certification. Check out this discussion with CASA at the recent TGE2016 Drone Zone http://www.aviassist.com.au/commercial-drones-blog/do-I-need-a-licence-to-fly-a-drone-tge-drone-zone-with-casa-and-aviassist