UPDATE: FAA has shut down websites that linked to commercial drone rule and test summaries. But here is a link to the FAA's summary and a link to the screenshot of the FAA's commercial drone test for current manned aircraft pilots.
The commercial drone world has been waiting for many months - years even - for the FAA to issue regulations applicable to commercial drone operations. The rules are supposed to be officially issued tomorrow. But a leaked copy of a summary of the new Part 107 drone rules has been obtained by the noted drone lawyer, Peter Sachs, and published on his dronelawjournal.com website. According to Mr. Sachs, the summary was obtained on a publicly accessible government website.
The significant changes from the notice of proposed rulemaking that was issued in February 2015 are noted by Mr. Sachs as follows:
- The minimum age for a Remote Pilot in Command is now 16-years-old;
- The maximum altitude has been changed to 400 feet AGL;
- There is a read, speak, write and understand English requirement; and
- Current Part 61 manned aircraft certificate holders will only have to take and pass an online test.
The new Part 107 - according to the leaked summary - will eliminate many of the most cumbersome and expensive requirements currently imposed on commercial drone operators including the requirement for a so-called 333 exemption, a manned aircraft pilot's license, a visual observer, the requirement to hold a certificate of authorization and the requirement to issue a notice to airmen before each flight.
Details on the FAA's aeronautical test requirements can be found here and here. For non-current manned aircraft pilots, the test will be available at hundreds of approved FAA test sites. Here is a link to those test sites.
