Should you be required to show proof of TRUST certification when buying a Drone in the U.S.?

[Mharz]

First, thanks to the OP for asking the question. I'm a Part 107 commercial operator for the past 5 years and I had no idea what a TRUST certificate was. HAHA!

Next, thanks to everyone that said "no" in the thread. I don't think you need a driver's license to buy a cart. I don't think you need a motorcycle license to buy a bike. Not sure if you need a pilot's license to buy a plane. (Correct me if I'm wrong here please) I see a trend here.

Less laws and more educated responsible people make for better lives.

FIN.

 

[Macinfo]

This thread has been inactive for a few weeks now, I found it because I just got an email recently from the FAA supposedly. it has what I would consider an odd email address header, "9-NATL-UAS-Help (FAA)" or [email protected], with the title of "TRUST Us, you want to read this". It may be valid, just seemed odd

Without quoting the whole email, it says something about summer flying season is here. almost over IMHO. They want to remind you about the recreational UAS safety test. It says "federal law requires" all recreational flyers to pass "an aeronautical knowledge and safety test, and provide proof of test passage to the FAA or law enforcement if asked." and then goes into thanks if you already taken it and then links to a list of approved test administrators if you have not..

I am assuming that every drone buyer over 250 grams jumped online after their drone purchase to register their drone with the FAA (probably not). I don't recall seeing anything in in big red letters or bright paper in a new drone box that tells buyers that it needs to be registered with the FAA in the US before flying. Let alone take a "Trust" test...

So perhaps there is already a law that makes this test mandatory, with no apparent teeth., and a total lack of means to inform the drone buyer to do it.

These discussions always seem to point out all the bad things that happen when drone pilots do silly things, and seem to forget, that no matter what the hobby or activity, things can go wrong, people might get hurt,

And it also seems to come up that there are millions of pilots, which there may very well be.. on a huge planet. However despite that, and perhaps its just me, in the 3 years I've been flying I think I can count on 2 hands the number of times I've encountered other pilots as I travel. Maybe I am just in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot.

So I think while the media loves to highlight random drone issues, they are relatively rare and because of the media there is a negative connotation for pilots to contend with.. Sure there can be serious problems if a drone pilot is flying in the wrong place, that can of course happen when cars are going the wrong way on a highway , or a real aircraft is in the wrong place or crashes, the list of comparisons can go on..

The government is always doing serious over-reach, this IMHO is one of them. Sure, drone pilots need some training and there should be something in the box to take them to a site to make them aware, or the flight software should perhaps list things to know and be aware of before you fly. They can ignore it, but at least there is a chance many will review it.

 

[Vic Moss]

This thread has been inactive for a few weeks now, I found it because I just got an email recently from the FAA supposedly. it has what I would consider an odd email address header, "9-NATL-UAS-Help (FAA)" or [email protected], with the title of "TRUST Us, you want to read this". It may be valid, just seemed odd

Totally legit.

Without quoting the whole email, it says something about summer flying season is here. almost over IMHO. They want to remind you about the recreational UAS safety test. It says "federal law requires" all recreational flyers to pass "an aeronautical knowledge and safety test, and provide proof of test passage to the FAA or law enforcement if asked." and then goes into thanks if you already taken it and then links to a list of approved test administrators if you have not..

I am assuming that every drone buyer over 250 grams jumped online after their drone purchase to register their drone with the FAA (probably not). I don't recall seeing anything in in big red letters or bright paper in a new drone box that tells buyers that it needs to be registered with the FAA in the US before flying. Let alone take a "Trust" test...

So perhaps there is already a law that makes this test mandatory, with no apparent teeth., and a total lack of means to inform the drone buyer to do it.

Yep, the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, (Public Law 115-254).

It's now called "49 SC § 44809. Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft." Section (7) states: "The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request."

So this is a law. The TRUST is about a year old now.

These discussions always seem to point out all the bad things that happen when drone pilots do silly things, and seem to forget, that no matter what the hobby or activity, things can go wrong, people might get hurt,

And it also seems to come up that there are millions of pilots, which there may very well be.. on a huge planet. However despite that, and perhaps its just me, in the 3 years I've been flying I think I can count on 2 hands the number of times I've encountered other pilots as I travel. Maybe I am just in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot.

So I think while the media loves to highlight random drone issues, they are relatively rare and because of the media there is a negative connotation for pilots to contend with.. Sure there can be serious problems if a drone pilot is flying in the wrong place, that can of course happen when cars are going the wrong way on a highway , or a real aircraft is in the wrong place or crashes, the list of comparisons can go on..

The government is always doing serious over-reach, this IMHO is one of them. Sure, drone pilots need some training and there should be something in the box to take them to a site to make them aware, or the flight software should perhaps list things to know and be aware of before you fly. They can ignore it, but at least there is a chance many will review it.

The FAA is struggling to get the word out about things like this. There is no easy answer. Manufacturers likely won't put something in or on the box because that same box can go to different countries. And retailers would never bother either.

It's incumbent upon those who own drones to understand and keep up with changing laws. Forums like this are only one way to do that.

 

[wardtom084]

They have it already out of control. People buying drones off the shelf with out any registration or education. Flying in airspace where they should not be. A lot of catch up work to do if they decide to do it.

 

[Macinfo]

Totally legit.

Yep, the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, (Public Law 115-254).

It's now called "49 SC § 44809. Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft." Section (7) states: "The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request."

So this is a law. The TRUST is about a year old now.

The FAA is struggling to get the word out about things like this. There is no easy answer. Manufacturers likely won't put something in or on the box because that same box can go to different countries. And retailers would never bother either.

It's incumbent upon those who own drones to understand and keep up with changing laws. Forums like this are only one way to do that.

The FAA needs a better ID for their emails other than 9-NATL-UAS-Help (FAA), not sure what, but IMHO, this is not it...

I've been aware of the Trust for a while, just not paid much attention to it, my bad.. However, I think most people here know most, if not all of the rules, and adhere to them for the most part.

While DJI may not want to put something in every box about the FAA requirements, it would not be that hard for them to do it. I am not sure where CE and FCC come in as far as where a box goes other then FCC comes to the US, they could stick something in every FCC box..

But as you noted, the FAA has a communications problem, slews of people that just got a Mini 3 maybe required to take this test, but because they don't have to register a 249 gram drone, they'll never get anything from the FAA asking them to do it either, and while you can say its up to the pilot to know, many are probably not here and never heard anything about this test and since there is little if any enforcement, its almost meaningless..

 

[frcaloy]

Took the TRUST test even if I don't live in the USA anyway. Takes 30 minutes and you get a certificate.

 

[dronerdave]

and while you can say its up to the pilot to know, many are probably not here and never heard anything about this test

It's incumbent upon those who own drones to understand and keep up with changing laws.

Very similar to checking local fish and game rules before hitting the water. I can fish a river one year and the next year the rules can change. It's up to me to check the Rules/Regs before I start to fish. They can also be difficult to comprehend but you're still required to follow the F&G rules or suffer the consequences. While having to show proof of the TRUST to purchase a drone seems like a good idea, the question is how effective would it be in controlling out of compliant flights.

 

[Robert Prior]

While having to show proof of the TRUST to purchase a drone seems like a good idea, the question is how effective would it be in controlling out of compliant flights.

It would at least ensure a minimum level of knowledge for drone purchasers, and remove "I didn't know" as an excuse.

When I was working I had to undergo yearly compliance training and testing. Several hours of a boring video listening to someone read her powerpoint slides in a slow monotone, with a short multiple-choice test on some trivial points afterwards. In terms of the necessary skills it did little, but what it did do was establish legally that we acknowledged our responsibilities and the legal requirements to do our job.

 

[Macinfo]

Very similar to checking local fish and game rules before hitting the water. I can fish a river one year and the next year the rules can change. It's up to me to check the Rules/Regs before I start to fish. They can also be difficult to comprehend but you're still required to follow the F&G rules or suffer the consequences. While having to show proof of the TRUST to purchase a drone seems like a good idea, the question is how effective would it be in controlling out of compliant flights.

Generally, I think those that fish due to friends, family, and a much wider base of people that do fish, makes them well aware of the requirement to have a license and look at any rules that they should abide by, ie, number of fish per day, weight requirements if any, etc..

However, this is IMHO is NOT the case for drone pilots, if you went somewhere that had a large crowd and started asking people if they flew a drone, most would go "what?" or if they knew what one was, the answer would probably be "no" more often than not.. Not to mention as I noted earlier, in 3 years of flying, I can count on a one or two hands how many other drone pilots I've come across flying a drone.... Thus the communication problem that the FAA or Drone makers have..

The documentation in the box provided at least by DJI is microscopic and its of course easier to perhaps download the PDF versions if the user takes the time to find them. I think its sort of noticeable here, that many users do not read the documentation or only read enough to setup their drone and not the finer points of how the software works in some cases, and that is of course made worse by constant software updates that change the look of the software, and how it it works in some cases and the docs never get updated and does not mention the test anywhere in the box.

So the average new drone user that never reads the docs. or very little of them, which has "zero" mention of taking a "Trust" test, bought a "Mini" model that does not require them to register it, never interacts with the FAA to learn about taking the test. Maybe they watch a few videos to learn how to fly better, but they unless something pops up in that search for "mini tutorial" or related, for the Trust test, they are still clueless.

The other thing is, while the FAA says its a "federal law", they aren't doing boo as far as I can tell other than perhaps to tell those that actually register a drone that the test is required. And as I noted, there is probably little or no enforcement, other than to email you as a recreational registrant or maybe a Part 107 user that we noted that you have not taken "Trust" yet, if thats what they are doing with the email I received, that email almost looks more like spam, which is why I posted about it in the first place..

 

[Macinfo]

It would at least ensure a minimum level of knowledge for drone purchasers, and remove "I didn't know" as an excuse.

When I was working I had to undergo yearly compliance training and testing. Several hours of a boring video listening to someone read her powerpoint slides in a slow monotone, with a short multiple-choice test on some trivial points afterwards. In terms of the necessary skills it did little, but what it did do was establish legally that we acknowledged our responsibilities and the legal requirements to do our job.

my work place too has regular training, mostly useless, but I know why they do it, they are audited for compliance on this routinely.

However, in this case, its super easy for many a drone user to say what test? Because there is really isn't a good way for them to know or find out unless they trip over it, or it was headlined here perhaps routinely, specially if the own a drone that doesn't require any registration with the FAA. And I am sure there is probably some percentage of owners that have a Mavic Model that does require registration and never bothered..

 

[dronerdave]

It would at least ensure a minimum level of knowledge for drone purchasers, and remove "I didn't know" as an excuse.

I totally agree that people will use excuses and expect I didn't know to be used even if/when RID is required for the older heavier birds which need a module to comply with the rules.