Earlier this week the US Government announced that it would make it mandatory for all unmanned aircraft to have registration. The US Transportation authority is working on creating a task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for all unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The task force will consist of 25-30 representatives from the UAS and manned aviation sectors as well as the government and other stakeholders. This group will then decide exactly which kinds of aircraft should be exempt from registration, for example toys and small UAS. The committee, which is to develop the recommendations by 20th November, will also recommend a way to make the registration process easy. According to the agency, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the U.S. aviation system.” MediaNama’s take: Registration by itself is not a bad idea. If the registration process is delegated online and easy to take, it will be easy for users to go register a drone or two. The committee will have to decide if enthusiasts owning 10-15 drones will need to register each drone separately or can maybe apply for a ‘drone license’. Similarly, the committee will have to decide on the case of DIY drones. These can range from barely capable to pretty powerful, so maybe registration can be based on power requirements or range capabilities. FAA guidelines: Note that in February the FAA issued a number of guidelines for the commercial use of…
