No, you are mistaken and you can mix and match your drones commercially or recreationally. Even if you are flying a 50 pound DRONE, it can be registered Recreationally. It all depends on how you plan to use it. If you never planned to use the
Mini 2 commercially, only for fun flights and such, it could have remained unregistered since it is under 250-grams…
I am assuming that you also have a Recreational Account and your FAA number is similar to "FAA##XXX#XX" (where # are numbers and X are letters) and that FAA Number is associated with you and that same number is required to be on every drone you have registered Recreationally. I have 5-toy drones that I keep around for friends and family to fly and not one of them can legally be used in a commercial operation.
I originally registered my
Mini 2 under this number and even though I have now registered my
Mini 2 under my Part 107 license, and it was issued its own unique registration number, the old Rec registration remains valid until it expires…
When you log onto the FAADroneZone and if you are like me, you have the option to go to the Recreational Flyer page or the Part 107 (see the Graphics Below…). These are two separate accounts, the Recreational Flyer Account and the Part 107 Account.
The Web page just defaults to the last one you were logged onto…
So, Bottom line is you and only you decide how you want to register your drones. Just remember, to use a drone in a Commercial Operation, it must be registered under the Part 107 side!
However, even if you have a drone registered just for recreational flying, you can still use it to take photos and videos and sell them because you are 107 Licensed. It just gets "dicey" if you go out with the Rec Drone and you intend to take photos to sell, then that is a Commercial Operation… If you just took the drone out to the beach to photograph the family and a ship catches fire and you photograph it and video tape it, you are completely free to sell those because the original intent was to take fun family photos…
If you have questions and you really want the Bottom Line from the "Horse's Mouth"
Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Support Center
Email is:
[email protected]
Phone number is: (844) 359-6982 or 844 FLY MY UA
I have written and even called them several times and they are always helpful and friendly.
This Screen shot is from my Part 107 Account…
View attachment 161409
This Screen Shot is from my Recreational Flyer Account…
View attachment 161410I got the information from Greg at the Pilot Institute but looking back at our conversation you are correct. Greg had mentioned to me that if I was to have to use it as say an “emergency backup” for a commercial project then it would have to be registered as commercial. That being said I decided to register all as commercial. Better safe than sorry. It sounds like rules will actually start being enforced soon. Thank you for your input, I enjoy expanding my knowledge on drone life.
Enjoy Oman
