Part 107 benefits

[Deleted member 94307]

It’s nice not to have to call class g airports anymore , but I’ve been disappointed since earning my cert. Most recreational flyers don’t call airports anyway. They either don’t know, don’t care, or are afraid to. I keep meeting people who are making money taking pics for weddings or realtors and making money with no cert. I haven’t seen anyone putting their numbers on the outside of their drone. It’s been law since February.. WHOS CHecking? No one. But the politicians keep adding “laws”

And this brings me back to my biggest frustration.... not being allowed to fly in any state park and in NJ county parks.....even if they are empty .

WHY NOT GIVE PART 107 pilots some kind of benefit for being responsible and earning the cert? Why not let just part 107 fly in state parks as long as we aren’t flying over people?

I understand not annoying people who are at a park to enjoy the peace , but do we really effect the wildlife? I tend to think no.. I fly over the bay often and have yet to injure a seagull or osprey..

 

[brett8883]

It’s nice not to have to call class g airports anymore , but I’ve been disappointed since earning my cert. Most recreational flyers don’t call airports anyway. They either don’t know, don’t care, or are afraid to. I keep meeting people who are making money taking pics for weddings or realtors and making money with no cert. I haven’t seen anyone putting their numbers on the outside of their drone. It’s been law since February.. WHOS CHecking? No one. But the politicians keep adding “laws”

And this brings me back to my biggest frustration.... not being allowed to fly in any state park and in NJ county parks.....even if they are empty .

WHY NOT GIVE PART 107 pilots some kind of benefit for being responsible and earning the cert? Why not let just part 107 fly in state parks as long as we aren’t flying over people?

I understand not annoying people who are at a park to enjoy the peace , but do we really effect the wildlife? I tend to think no.. I fly over the bay often and have yet to injure a seagull or osprey..

107 pilots can use LAANC, don’t have to notify airports in Class G airspace, can legally use their drone for other things besides recreation and apply for/potentially be awarded waivers.

Besides that there are actually more restrictions not less and has always been that way.

The State Park thing is a State level issue. Call your State Representative.

 

[Deleted member 94307]

Not so sure about state parks. The FAA tells you you can’t fly from or over them. They are all marked on AirMap the app FAA instructs is to use for LAANC.

Waivers are hard to get, take forever and I’m not finding much use for them. For taking pictures of houses and property all that is needed is authorization to fly in sometimes controlled airspace. Again, most people just do it without even realizing it’s illegal or they just don’t care.

No one checks... what’s the point of being certified . The government should focus on how to enforce the laws that already exist. Giving part 107 pilots some perks would make more people become part 107

 

[sar104]

Not so sure about state parks. The FAA tells you you can’t fly from or over them. They are all marked on AirMap the app FAA instructs is to use for LAANC.

Waivers are hard to get, take forever and I’m not finding much use for them. For taking pictures of houses and property all that is needed is authorization to fly in sometimes controlled airspace. Again, most people just do it without even realizing it’s illegal or they just don’t care.

No one checks... what’s the point of being certified . The government should focus on how to enforce the laws that already exist. Giving part 107 pilots some perks would make more people become part 107

The FAA doesn't place any restrictions on or over State Parks. That's purely local regulation that may or may not conflict with federal law. If it's restrictions on takeoff and landing from state parks, then that's within the jurisdiction of the state. If it attempts to regulate flight over State Parks then it's outside local jurisdiction - they can't legally do that.

 

[Deleted member 94307]

even if your right it’s still ridiculous.. why will people get part 107 cert if no one is checking ?

 

[JoeDimwit]

even if your right it’s still ridiculous.. why will people get part 107 cert if no one is checking ?

So that if someone does check, there are no legal issues. I don’t want my drone confiscated, nor do I want a fine that could be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[davidzimagery]

I guess that's true with many things. Licensed and insured trades people competing with the fly by night with none of that comes to mind. All fine, until something bad happens. I choose to be safe and legal. I just renewed my sUAS certification today. I don't do much commercially, but when I do, I don't have to be concerned about getting busted. I got my recreational pilots license 28 years ago. Even though I don't fly a plane other than to do a biannual review any more, I can at least put that to use again in this way.

 

[razoraerial]

To me it’s not about checking or not getting checked it’s doing the right thing so i can sleep at night.

 

[Deleted member 94307]

I earned my part 107 . I’m just frustrated by the restrictions on drones and government not enforcing the rules. People with no certification making money while doing stupid irresponsible things that give a bad name to UAVs

 

[sar104]

I earned my part 107 . I’m just frustrated by the restrictions on drones and government not enforcing the rules. People with no certification making money while doing stupid irresponsible things that give a bad name to UAVs

You can go ahead and report all these pilots you see flying illegally, or you could have joined their ranks yourself and never certified under Part 107. Would either of those courses of action have made you feel better?

 

[AMann]

I earned my part 107 . I’m just frustrated by the restrictions on drones and government not enforcing the rules. People with no certification making money while doing stupid irresponsible things that give a bad name to UAVs

You can go ahead and report all these pilots you see flying illegally, or you could have joined their ranks yourself and never certified under Part 107. Would either of those courses of action have made you feel better?

I’ve reported and sent N Numbers of people doing landing and takeoff practice in designated wilderness areas, and it was curtailed after the FAA got involved - that made me feel much better. I’d report obviously blatant stuff like that again, but there is only so much one can do about the stupid little stuff - just let them make their own mistakes. I feel much better I’m not flying stupid anymore after studying for and passing the 107 test, and so should anyone!

 

[razoraerial]

do you have a drivers license? If so why ? If not why ? Same basic rules apply.

 

[Paulf10]

do you have a drivers license? If so why ? If not why ? Same basic rules apply.

I agree ! Perhaps even more appropriately do you have CDL license or a regular drivers license? If your not driving driving a semi tractor trailer you don’t need a CDL. If you spent the time and money to get a CDL drivers license go get a job with it and stop complaining that you can’t park in handicap spaces with your special license.

 

[Ranger]

i Guess I’m done here... I don’t understand why you are okay with earning a certification that means so little because people don’t follow the law and the government keeps talking about more restrictions without figuring out how to enforce what’s already on the books. My wife doesn’t understand why I spent money on part 107 when our neighbors making $300 a wedding With no cert. got to admit I feel a bit foolish... I hope something is done soon that enforces the rules and gives some benefit to having earned cert.

The world of drones is still new. The capabilities in the current aircraft are amazing to me, developed quite recently. To its credit, the FAA is attempting to regulate in a reasonable way, with a generous waiver program to allow for possibly being over-restrictive. I think more enforcement will come, but right now the rules are still being worked out. Enforcement after a sudden explosion in the number of sUAS is a great challenge for the FAA. Government funding for enforcement isn't a speedy thing. When was the last time you saw a marked FAA vehicle? The scofflaws will have their day, but I'll be joining with the pilots who care enough to learn and adhere to regulations that exist to avoid collisions.

I share your interest in state parks, but that issue was discussed in another thread.

 

[RedSoxFan42]

A couple of years ago I lived on a lake and purchased a pontoon boat. It was my first boat and spent the money to take a Coast Guard course on boating safety. Made me feel much better. But, it became obvious that many boaters on the lake either didn't know the rules, or didn't care. I am contemplating also getting my 107 just to make me feel better about flying my drone safely and within the law. Helps me sleep at night With that said, maybe someone (if not already) could post the advantages of getting the 107 besides being able to fly commercially since many pilots do it without the 107.

 

[sar104]

A couple of years ago I lived on a lake and purchased a pontoon boat. It was my first boat and spent the money to take a Coast Guard course on boating safety. Made me feel much better. But, it became obvious that many boaters on the lake either didn't know the rules, or didn't care. I am contemplating also getting my 107 just to make me feel better about flying my drone safely and within the law. Helps me sleep at night With that said, maybe someone (if not already) could post the advantages of getting the 107 besides being able to fly commercially since many pilots do it without the 107.

If knowledge and safety is your primary concern you can study all the training materials without spending $150 on the initial test and the same on the recurrent test every two years. The current main benefit of Part 107, other than being able to fly other than recreationally (which doesn't just mean commercially for payment), is that you don't need to contact all airports within 5 miles.

I'm not going to comment on the other option of simply ignoring the law.

 

[Libertyflights]

If you would like to help enforce part 107, the FAA local FSDO is looking for drone pilots to join the FAAST Team and be drone representatives known as DronePro's

 

[Ranger]

A couple of years ago I lived on a lake and purchased a pontoon boat. It was my first boat and spent the money to take a Coast Guard course on boating safety. Made me feel much better. But, it became obvious that many boaters on the lake either didn't know the rules, or didn't care. I am contemplating also getting my 107 just to make me feel better about flying my drone safely and within the law. Helps me sleep at night With that said, maybe someone (if not already) could post the advantages of getting the 107 besides being able to fly commercially since many pilots do it without the 107.

I found the process of getting the certification quite interesting, and can't imagine going without (from a knowledge standpoint). The test wasn't difficult. You will certainly be safer and closer to compliance after studying and passing. Understanding airspace is one advantage I can cite. Sure, you can do that without 107, but why not study deeply aspects of this potentially dangerous activity. After getting my first drone it seemed there was little area open to flying. During the test prep I learned that most of the problems I saw in finding places to fly weren't really problems, the controlled airspace was not at the surface. There are other examples of having increased knowledge being an advantage. Also, being a part of aviation (rather than just some guy flying a toy) requires some study. This attitude was something I first encountered in Tony Northrup's helpful study video. In between well-presented material for test prep he reminds us that what the FAA is today is the result of the long (100 yrs+) history of aviation. Knowledgeable drone pilots can be part of that, ignorant ones not so much.

 

[AMann]

If you would like to help enforce part 107, the FAA local FSDO is looking for drone pilots to join the FAAST Team and be drone representatives known as DronePro's

The FAAST Team volunteer program doesn’t have anything to do with enforcement, they are involved directly with public information by setting up local drone safety seminars and meetings, running booths for drone safety on behalf of FAA, etc. it’s actually a great idea to get the word out. And they certainly don’t dress like this

 

[dmurphynj]

I just wanted to counter the “no county parks” thing. Some counties - even in NJ - are more advanced than other.

One of my favorite sports is the Garret Mountain reservation in Passaic. They have a nice, large field designated as a “Drone Zone” - not only safe to fly there, but encouraged. Beautiful views of NYC from there, too. Very thoughtful of Passaic County!