ChuckJr
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2021
- Messages
- 1,508
Registering with the FAA is no big deal, small fee and you get a registration number. Then you take a quick, very easy test. Print out your registration and test confirmation card and you're good to go for recreational flying. If you monetize your vids, you fall under much more restrictive Part 107 for commercial operators. That's a much more detailed test and gets closer to private pilot level knowledge.
Even under the recreational guidelines you need to know the type of airspace you are operating in and follow altitude limits, but as long as you don't try to get up close vids of airliners on approach or something equally stupid you'd be OK. You're supposed to have a spotter if you are flying outside of line of sight to make sure there are no aircraft in the area.
I fly RC planes and helicopters, but as long as I'm at my local flying field (so I already know the airspace limitations there) and stay below 400ft, I'm OK with just my FAA card and test results card. I also fly the little racing quads, mainly line of sight since I get nauseous flying with the goggles on. They are a hoot and much harder to fly than planes, helis are the hardest IMHO. I was gifted a first gen DJI Phantom, but it doesn't have real time vid capabilities, just carries a GoPro camera.
The guidelines on the FAA website are not especially intuitive, and my circumstances of being a recreational pilot that flies at a recognized flying site sort of limits my quest for further levels of understanding this whole mess, but I think common sense will go a long way for recreational flying. It's idiots without any common sense that brought the FAA into this. I've never been asked to show my FAA card or test card FWIW.
Even under the recreational guidelines you need to know the type of airspace you are operating in and follow altitude limits, but as long as you don't try to get up close vids of airliners on approach or something equally stupid you'd be OK. You're supposed to have a spotter if you are flying outside of line of sight to make sure there are no aircraft in the area.
I fly RC planes and helicopters, but as long as I'm at my local flying field (so I already know the airspace limitations there) and stay below 400ft, I'm OK with just my FAA card and test results card. I also fly the little racing quads, mainly line of sight since I get nauseous flying with the goggles on. They are a hoot and much harder to fly than planes, helis are the hardest IMHO. I was gifted a first gen DJI Phantom, but it doesn't have real time vid capabilities, just carries a GoPro camera.
The guidelines on the FAA website are not especially intuitive, and my circumstances of being a recreational pilot that flies at a recognized flying site sort of limits my quest for further levels of understanding this whole mess, but I think common sense will go a long way for recreational flying. It's idiots without any common sense that brought the FAA into this. I've never been asked to show my FAA card or test card FWIW.
