Last edited by a moderator:
New 107 pilot here... quick question
- Thread starter Gnarls
- Start date
I fly 95% of my time under recreational. IF your 107 and doing anything not for gain or intention of gain, then you are in fact flying recreational. That being said if your on a job site and do practice runs, that would still be kinda iffy for 107 rules, but most likely not if your not filming to release to client or Youtube.
Obviously not...anything you do for gain is now 107...as I said if you do it for gain..it's 107. IF you intention is not for gain (nor ever will be) it's recreational.
Actually if you are providing a service, even w/o tangible gain or charging money, it will be a 107 flight.
Yeah not going down that rabbit hole, those threads are a mile long now with arguments to either side.
This is a little bit of a gray area because it includes intent at the time of flight. I'm not sure if it is clearer or not if you have a Part 107 cert. But I would assume that You could fly recreationally with a Part 107 and create a saleable commercial piece after the fact.
As @Repaid1 said, 95% of my flying is recreational with no intent at the time of flight. But I would suppose if I got footage, flying recreationally, I can't see why I couldn't convert it to commercial? I think I have a case in point for an illustration.
Last month I just got out on Chicago's downtown lakefront at night to see what it looked like lit up at night and to get a feel for the area, to practice flying, to see how far I could see my drone with strobe with unobstruted view. I had zero commercial intent in mind at the time. It was just a nice practice flight in the middle of COVID when I was tired of being inside.
When I got home, I looked at the footage, and while testing the new Davinci Resolve 17 software and my new speed editor some things sort of came together. The second part of the project was purely practice with the editing software, still with no intent beyond what I could do with the footage I had. I threw the first draft of it up on the showcase section. It was ok and not bad that I could cobble a few random bits together to look halfway decent. And as I looked at it, I thought to myself " I think I have the footage to make this much better". Simultaneously, my significant other said she found some music that better suited the mood and the timing was perfect. So I did a complete reedit. I thought that *maybe* once I decide on putting up a website I might use it as promotional content, but still without any hard commercial intent both at the time of flight and the time of the first and even beginning of the second edit. But with my Part 107 cert there is no reason I couldn't be free to do that, with or without prior intent. But let's imagine that I didn't have a Part 107. I believe I'd still be within regulations because when I was flying my intent was only practice with no intent beyond to see what the city looked like and what I could do in flight. Without the Part 107 I couldn't use the footage for anything that could be remotely seen as commercial. Some folks would say that merely putting flight video on YouTube and posting it here for for the forum to see in the showcase would be crossing the line (which I think is a bit over the top, if you ask me).
It so happens that after seeing the finished video I was asked by a friend if I could modify the ending text so she could use it for a New Year's greeting card for her business. Of course I agreed. Could I have provided it for such purposes without the 107? No.
As @Repaid1 said, 95% of my flying is recreational with no intent at the time of flight. But I would suppose if I got footage, flying recreationally, I can't see why I couldn't convert it to commercial? I think I have a case in point for an illustration.
Last month I just got out on Chicago's downtown lakefront at night to see what it looked like lit up at night and to get a feel for the area, to practice flying, to see how far I could see my drone with strobe with unobstruted view. I had zero commercial intent in mind at the time. It was just a nice practice flight in the middle of COVID when I was tired of being inside.
When I got home, I looked at the footage, and while testing the new Davinci Resolve 17 software and my new speed editor some things sort of came together. The second part of the project was purely practice with the editing software, still with no intent beyond what I could do with the footage I had. I threw the first draft of it up on the showcase section. It was ok and not bad that I could cobble a few random bits together to look halfway decent. And as I looked at it, I thought to myself " I think I have the footage to make this much better". Simultaneously, my significant other said she found some music that better suited the mood and the timing was perfect. So I did a complete reedit. I thought that *maybe* once I decide on putting up a website I might use it as promotional content, but still without any hard commercial intent both at the time of flight and the time of the first and even beginning of the second edit. But with my Part 107 cert there is no reason I couldn't be free to do that, with or without prior intent. But let's imagine that I didn't have a Part 107. I believe I'd still be within regulations because when I was flying my intent was only practice with no intent beyond to see what the city looked like and what I could do in flight. Without the Part 107 I couldn't use the footage for anything that could be remotely seen as commercial. Some folks would say that merely putting flight video on YouTube and posting it here for for the forum to see in the showcase would be crossing the line (which I think is a bit over the top, if you ask me).
It so happens that after seeing the finished video I was asked by a friend if I could modify the ending text so she could use it for a New Year's greeting card for her business. Of course I agreed. Could I have provided it for such purposes without the 107? No.
Last edited:
That is what I mean. I used to fly RC gliders 40 years ago but a drone is a different skill set (at least for me!). So I practice in a park without restrictions. But let's say that a year from now I have a brilliant idea and want to show how a novice can go from A to Z in 60 days... can I repurpose those practice flights? Honestly, it's probably a silly question because if I have 30 flights, how would anyone know what was under 107 or not in the long run.
Kind of attached to this... I live in SoCal and there are a billion airports out here. B4UFly says I can't fly in a nearby park. But Kittyhawk and AirMap says I can fly on the edge of the Class D airspace up to 300 feet. Would they grant be may sooner/better/easier if I said 107 versus Recreational?
Kind of attached to this... I live in SoCal and there are a billion airports out here. B4UFly says I can't fly in a nearby park. But Kittyhawk and AirMap says I can fly on the edge of the Class D airspace up to 300 feet. Would they grant be may sooner/better/easier if I said 107 versus Recreational?
The basics have been explained. As you can see it can become long and convoluted. Recommend your friend contact FAA with whatever questions she/he has.
This confuses me a bit.
So you took footage as a hobbyist. A friend asked you to use it in a promo, but because you are 107 that flight is okay to use in a promo (even though you didn't intend it to be or flew under 107)?
( Mod Removed Language) it! Why is it that every hobby I have bumps up against government bureaucracy?! Rocketry, guns, drones!
Last edited by a moderator:
If you flew with the intent of flying for recreation, having 107cor not is not relevant. Also later finding a non recreational use for your photos/videos doesn't matter.
But if you have your 107, and your recreational flight was legal under 107 rules anyway, then you're covered if you're challenged.
An example is flying at night in G space. Though FAA wouldn't want you to, CBO (AMA) has no rules against it so flying in that case is legal under recreational exemption, but is not legal under 107 without a waiver.
Probably most flights allowed and flown under recreational rules would be allowed under 107 though, assuming you had a 107 certification.
But if you have your 107, and your recreational flight was legal under 107 rules anyway, then you're covered if you're challenged.
An example is flying at night in G space. Though FAA wouldn't want you to, CBO (AMA) has no rules against it so flying in that case is legal under recreational exemption, but is not legal under 107 without a waiver.
Probably most flights allowed and flown under recreational rules would be allowed under 107 though, assuming you had a 107 certification.
Thought you were asking for a friend...?
Yes. I took footage RECREATIONALLY. I did it for my own enjoyment and pleasure without commercial intent at the time of flight. I'm sure I'll be corrected if I get this wrong... But having a Part 107 Cert provides that I *can* fly with commercial intent, but can fly recreationally as well.
The other thing that is a little gray is that with the Part 107 I am allowed to fly 400' above a structure that I am within 400' of (in appropriate air space). A non-107 pilot can fly a maximum altitude of 400' AGL- period. Again, I think intent comes into play, because if I wanted to fly above the Sears Tower 1500' AGL, logic would have it that I would need commercial intent, which could be thinking about footage for my professional website.
Then there are nuances of insurance coverage for recreational flight and commercial flight.
I hope I've answered your question. What situation are you trying to figure out?
Similar threads
DJI Drone Deals
New Threads
-
-
First Drone Purchase: Current Tariffs Turmoil what would you do?- Started by 1gratedulflyingdawg
- Replies: 10
-
-
-
Is the new pro controller as awesome as it looks?- Started by Kyle76
- Replies: 1
Forum statistics
