Current 107 Pilot with Regulation Questions Prior to Filming Bike Race

[PITTMAV69]

Hello All.
I passed the part 107 exam in November 2020. I'm located just north of Pittsburgh, PA. As such I haven't had too many opportunities; with the winter weather; to fly much since last fall.
I've been asked to film a rather large bicycle race in southwestern PA this weekend (5/22).
Most of the filming would have the UA positioned above and off to the side of the course; except when filming the start and finish of the race when I will most likely have to have the UA positioned over a large crowd in order to get close up shots.
I am aware of the new regulations for part 107 UAV Pilots regarding flights over people; night flying (I won't have to do this for the race); and Remote I.D.
I have the following questions:
1. Can I go to faasafety.gov and use my account to access just the training for the new regs (I am already a licensed and current 107 Pilot); or will I have to complete the entire recurrent test even though I'm already current; and am I even eligible for the new training at this point?
2. I own/fly a DJI Mavic Air 2. Is this UA already Remote I.D. Compliant or will I need to purchase a module?
3. I will have a spotter with me on site and I have Professional business radios for comms. With the exception of possibly needing to obtain waivers for flight in the local airspace ( I am checking this out today); does anyone know of any other bases I would need to cover before the flight?
I hope I've covered everything. If not please feel free to let me know what I may be missing. Thank you in advance.
PITTMAV69

 

[sar104]

Hello All.
I passed the part 107 exam in November 2020. I'm located just north of Pittsburgh, PA. As such I haven't had too many opportunities; with the winter weather; to fly much since last fall.
I've been asked to film a rather large bicycle race in southwestern PA this weekend (5/22).
Most of the filming would have the UA positioned above and off to the side of the course; except when filming the start and finish of the race when I will most likely have to have the UA positioned over a large crowd in order to get close up shots.
I am aware of the new regulations for part 107 UAV Pilots regarding flights over people; night flying (I won't have to do this for the race); and Remote I.D.
I have the following questions:
1. Can I go to faasafety.gov and use my account to access just the training for the new regs (I am already a licensed and current 107 Pilot); or will I have to complete the entire recurrent test even though I'm already current; and am I even eligible for the new training at this point?

You are eligible, but you will have to complete the recurrent training and test to take advantage of night flying. Even then, you cannot fly the Mavic Air 2 directly over people, and certainly not a crowd, and you will not get authorization to do so. That would be at least a Category 2 operation, and there is no FAA-accepted declaration of compliance for any aircraft yet.

2. I own/fly a DJI Mavic Air 2. Is this UA already Remote I.D. Compliant or will I need to purchase a module?

RID is not yet implemented. Not relevant.

3. I will have a spotter with me on site and I have Professional business radios for comms. With the exception of possibly needing to obtain waivers for flight in the local airspace ( I am checking this out today); does anyone know of any other bases I would need to cover before the flight?

Airspace, VLOS and not flying over people - that should cover it.

 

[PITTMAV69]

You are eligible, but you will have to complete the recurrent training and test to take advantage of night flying. Even then, you cannot fly the Mavic Air 2 directly over people, and certainly not a crowd, and you will not get authorization to do so. That would be at least a Category 2 operation, and there is no FAA-accepted declaration of compliance for any aircraft yet.

RID is not yet implemented. Not relevant.

Airspace, VLOS and not flying over people - that should cover it.

Thank you for your quick response. I can make the necessary changes with the client so as not to violate the No Fly Over People regulation. However; I am curious as to why the FAA would create a new regulation that allows flights over people only to forbid you from doing it. Could you explain? Forgive me but I am a fairly new pilot. I just got my license last fall and as I stated in my OP; I haven't had many chances to fly over the winter here in the north east. In addition I have yet to see an official writing of the regulation so I'm not sure of the wording. I am going back through the instuctional videos from Pilots Institute where I did my training for the 107 exam. Greg has updated many of the sections so that they are current for the changes in 2021. I need to watch the ones that describe the different categories as well.

 

[sar104]

Thank you for your quick response. I can make the necessary changes with the client so as not to violate the No Fly Over People regulation. However; I am curious as to why the FAA would create a new regulation that allows flights over people only to forbid you from doing it. Could you explain? Forgive me but I am a fairly new pilot. I just got my license last fall and as I stated in my OP; I haven't had many chances to fly over the winter here in the north east. In addition I have yet to see an official writing of the regulation so I'm not sure of the wording. I am going back through the instuctional videos from Pilots Institute where I did my training for the 107 exam. Greg has updated many of the sections so that they are current for the changes in 2021. I need to watch the ones that describe the different categories as well.

If you take a look at the new version of 14 CFR Part 107.39 you will see that operation is now forbidden unless it satisfies Subpart D. Subpart D creates four categories of operation over people, ordered by risk/severity of potential injury. However, all but Category 1 require the FAA to accept manufacturer declarations of compliance, and none of these have yet been put in place. Once they are then it will become possible.

 

[PITTMAV69]

If you take a look at the new version of 14 CFR Part 107.39 you will see that operation is now forbidden unless it satisfies Subpart D. Subpart D creates four categories of operation over people, ordered by risk/severity of potential injury. However, all but Category 1 require the FAA to accept manufacturer declarations of compliance, and none of these have yet been put in place. Once they are then it will become possible.

Thank you. It makes sense now. I've been watching the videos on the sections you referred to and yes; we must wait for compliance requirements to be posted from the FAA and then follow the necessary steps to be approved. It gets a little frustrating when these agencies add new regs well in advance of adding the method of compliance. Kind of like putting the cart before the horse IMHO. Fly safe good sir.

 

[lookout]

Thank you. It makes sense now. I've been watching the videos on the sections you referred to and yes; we must wait for compliance requirements to be posted from the FAA and then follow the necessary steps to be approved. It gets a little frustrating when these agencies add new regs well in advance of adding the method of compliance. Kind of like putting the cart before the horse IMHO. Fly safe good sir.

But you were supposed to be doing it yesterday.