DRONE REGISTRATION WILL BE A PIECE OF CAKE, FAA CLAIMS

Drone registration will be a piece of cake, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently claimed in a blog post.

This reassurance comes following an announcement issued last month by the federal government, when it was revealed that unmanned aerial vehicles would have to be registered by their owners, with the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Numerous drone registration companies have sprung up ever since this news was released, but FAA officials warn people that they shouldn’t be quick to pay third parties for handling paperwork related to this process.

Some companies which promise to offer such services in exchange for $25 simply want to make a quick buck, by taking advantage of their clients’ naivety. This is actually a scam, comparable to the ones which offer individuals real estate on the moon or access to non-existent rental properties.

According to the FAA, there is absolutely no need to pay another company a fee to make sure that a privately-owned UAV is properly included in the national drone registry.

Apparently, all the documents can easily be obtained and filled in by owners, without legal assistance or any other type of support from the outside.

Probably, the forms will simply ask those who have drones in their possession to simply provide their personal details (name, address, telephone number etc.), a well as the serial number corresponding to their remotely piloted aerial vehicles.

Also, while it might seem frustrating and time-consuming to go through the whole red-tape entailed by this process, in fact registration won’t take that long, and it certainly won’t be worth being handed over to third parties.

For now, drone owners must simply wait until the FAA releases more information about the steps that must be taken in order to complete the registration.

These instructions, which also specify the minimum weight that UAVs must have in order to be placed on record with their manufacturer, are currently being revised by a task force made up of companies such as DJI, GoPro, 3D Robotics, Amazon, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Google.

They all have a stake in the drone industry, which is why they were asked to formulate recommendations regarding the manner in which UAV systems should be identified and registered.

This is especially important, given that drones have risen in popularity in the last years, with the FAA predicting that approximately 1 million such gadgets would be purchased during the Christmas shopping season.

As a result of their growing number, coupled with their well-documented unpredictability, a solution must be found to seamlessly introduce them into the national airspace system. This would also allow them to be tracked by the

FBI and by police officers when they break FAA regulations.

By November 20 committee members will submit their proposals to Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, as well as to Michael Huerta, FAA Administrator.

This way, the government will be able to regulate consumer drones effectively, in order to ensure that no threat is posed to public safety.

Only afterwards will individuals be able to decide if they really do require assistance with carrying out these instructions, or if they can save that money for other more pressing matters.

In the meantime, drone owners should focus their attention on learning how to operate their UAVs more carefully, without breaching legislation and putting others at risk.

Numerous incidents have been reported in recent months: a man was arrested in May after trying to fly such a device past the White House fence, and several drones have been involved in near misses with commercial aircraft in California.