Commercial Drone Industry Best Practices

                                                 

The following list contains recommended guidelines for Part 107 Commercial Drone Operations that are intended to promote a positive image for this rapidly evolving industry.

Safety

• Although not a regulatory requirement, notify nearby airports and heliports of your operations. This promotes a spirit of cooperation with the manned aircraft community and helps avert misunderstanding and minimizes overreactions.
• Wear high visibility reflective vests. When working near streets use traffic cones and signs in order to avert causing traffic accidents. 
• Don't fly close to vehicle traffic in a manner that would cause a distraction and possible accident.
• Maintain a safe distance from Cell Towers, Electric Transmission Towers, Radio Transmission Towers and other high intensity RF transmitters.
• Always evaluate surrounding obstacles before flight relative to an unexpected return-to-home (RTH) event.
• Don't fly waypoint missions if there is a high probability that persons or vehicles will enter the flight zone during the flight.

Privacy

• If you can, tell other people you’ll be taking pictures or video of them before you do so.
• If you think someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy, don’t violate that privacy by taking pictures, video, or otherwise gathering sensitive data, unless you’ve got a very good reason.
• Don’t fly over other people’s private property without permission if you can easily avoid doing so.
• Don’t gather personal data for no reason, and don’t keep it for longer than you think you have to.
• If you keep sensitive data about other people, secure it against loss or theft.
• If someone asks you to delete personal data about him or her that you’ve gathered, do so, unless you’ve got a good reason not to.
• If anyone raises privacy, security, or safety concerns with you, try and listen to what they have to say, as long as they’re polite and reasonable about it.
• Don’t harass people with your drone.

General

• Don’t offer services without required credentials in your state such as mapping (surveyor's license), thermal imaging (ASNT certification) and building inspection (inspector's license).
• Avoid flying close to wildlife. Don't fly in wildlife protections zones or near nesting birds.

As a pioneer is commercial drone operations, Perfect Perspectives Aerial Imaging is committed to advancing the industry in a positive manner.

http://perfectperspectivesaerial.com/

Drone Policy - When, Where and Why

 On Dec. 21st, 2016 the FAA announced that more than 600,000 drone users have been added to a public registry. The FAA expects the combined total sales of both recreational and commercial drones (small unmanned aircraft systems) to steadily increase from 2.5 million in 2016 to 7 million in 2020.

This is great news for market leaders like DJI and others who manufacture, sell or support small drones but their low cost, small size and ease of use can also bring along a host of related potential problems for some entities if not properly wrangled in. This is even more important when you consider that many people flying drones today have very little experience operating them safely.

This recent drone ubiquity has forced many of our clients to implement specific policies directed towards keeping drones under control when operating from property they own or manage. The reasons for this stem mainly from the need to assure that drones and their operators follow all applicable laws in order to protect both safety and privacy. Such policies typically come from risk managers and safety officers employed at larger, culturally significant public and private properties. A few examples include public parks, colleges and universities, museums and historical landmarks, among others.

In general, these policies require drone operators to comply with all existing State, Federal and City laws for drone use. They also require advance permission (permit) that details specifics about the intended use of drones. And lastly, they include provisions that prohibit using a drone in a manner that would invade a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is important when drafting such policies that they do not conflict with existing FAA regulations, as these have preemption. These policies must also be regularly revised as FAA rules change frequently at this stage of the game.

Unfortunately drones open up an entirely new arena that often isn't addressed properly through existing policies. Failure to have instituted a drone policy can implicate a property owner in the event of an accident or privacy violation in subsequent legal proceedings if it can be shown in court that the entity was aware of the issue and took no action.

A well crafted drone policy is almost always preferred to an outright ban on drone use as it allows for countless beneficial drone uses by qualified personnel for marketing, inspection, mapping and countless other useful purposes.

The Naked Truth Behind The FAA "Part 107" License

With the recent arrival of the FAA's new Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft regulations late last month, it has become quite common to see drone operators proudly announcing that they are one of the first to pass the knowledge exam and will soon be open for business. (The applicant must pass a TSA background check before actually being granted the license). But what does this really mean to the average individual or business person?

To be honest it's very similar to someone saying they passed the knowledge test for a chauffeur's license, but not an actual driving test. Yes that's correct. There is NO practical exam associated with Part 107. When I obtained my Private Pilots License, I had to pass a knowledge test, an oral exam and a check ride with an FAA examiner. On top of all that, my instructor had to sign off my log book to indicate I was actually qualified and ready to even go on that check ride.

So what passing the 107 knowledge test really means is some test questions were memorized and a passing score on the 107 exam was obtained - and nothing more. This is in no way intended to downplay the importance of compliance with the new FAA commercial drone regulations. This step is vitally important to educate potential commercial drone operators on the safety aspects of flying drones in the national airspace. Many of these new drone pilots have been violating FAA safety policies they never knew existed until studying for this exam.

Even more important for the FAA is by passing the exam, commercial drone operators will no longer be able to plead ignorance when they are caught being careless or reckless. This also greatly simplifies FAA enforcement efforts when it comes to levying fines and revoking operators licenses, as they can now actually cite specific regulations violated.

So going back to our example of the aspiring limo driver who just passed the chauffeur's exam, what you would NOT know about this person is -

- How much actual driving experience they had?
- How many accidents they have had?
- Do they possess good decision making skills?
- Do they have drug or alcohol dependence?
- What kind of maintenance history does their limo have?
- Is their limo the best one for the job?
- Do they have any references or insurance?
- Have they ever driven for anyone important?

Obviously all of these same questions and many more should be asked before hiring anyone to perform drone services for you or your company. Check out the operators previous work and website. How many flight hours do they have? What kind of insurance do they carry? Only the most experienced operators are able to obtain policy limits of $5M to $10M or more. Do they have a Worker's Comp policy?

The most experienced professionals in the drone service industry started down the path to excellence many, many years ago - long before the potential of using drones commercially was even on the FAA's radar screens. These professionals obtained full size pilot's licenses and developed very comprehensive operating manuals for things like closed-set motion picture/television filming and inspections of industrial facilities.

As I have mentioned previously, a large portion of the work that our company gets is the direct result of another less experienced company not performing as expected and/or having an accident. Because drones have become easier and easier to operate, many people think that little actual flying skill is required to use them for work. It then comes as a rude awakening when they discover that flying indoors, around electrical equipment, power lines, inside boilers and near buildings can require the pilot to quickly and unexpectedly assume full manual control to avoid an accident. But this is the kind of information you need, before you actually need it - otherwise commonly known as "experience".