The FAA Small Unmanned Aircraft Registration web portal is now live. Despite all the noise, and contrary to statements and press releases from the FAA, it is NOT a registration of your drone. Rather, this is more like a driver’s license. The FAA’s press release this morning states:
In preparation for registering online, each owner must provide his or her name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of registration, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft. Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation will only have to register once and may use the same identification number for all of their model UAS. The registration is valid for three years.
Screen captures of the steps are here, here, and here. Is is about as burdensome as buying something online. Again, the link to the FAA page is here.
And, what you get at the end is a tiny “certificate” which, when folded, is smaller than a credit card, with print that you need a magnifying glass to read. You are told that there is only one number (you get that immediately) to be used on all of your sUAS.
What is really happening is not registration of your sUAS, but registration of a pilot, and is clearly a way to bind the pilot to knowledge of safety guidelines. For example, Guideline #5 is “I will not fly over stadiums and sporting events.” If the stadium security guards catch you piloting a drone over a ball game, then you can’t claim lack of knowledge of the Rule. Those people who are trying to worry about this are just silly. If a hacker gets into the FAA database what have they learned? That I might have drone. But if they hack into the California DMV they will also find that I have a driver’s license which suggests that I have a car. Or, if they drive by my house they might think that I have a big screen TV.
Let’s be clear about this. The Guidelines are not onerous, and frankly, I don’t want someone piloting a drone who won’t agree to abide by these simple rules. The public is close to frantic over drones, and we are looking like wing nuts by opposing registration. I think the FAA should have been clear about what it is doing, however.
What if you want to use your drone for commercial activity? This online registration is not for you, BUT I recommend that you register because you probably will want to use drones for recreation or training, and you can be “legal” now for those purposes.
Wait! I stil want to know how to register for commercial activity. This will probably get easier on March 31, 2016 when the next FAA web portal goes live for commercial use of an sUAS. Meanwhile, vist the next installment of DOG, coming soon.