FAA claims video from drones on YouTube is a commercial venture

jtrain609

jtrain609

Antisocial Monster
Thinking of posting that sweet drone footage online? You might want to be careful about it. The Federal Aviation Administration is telling at least one hobbyist, Jayson Hanes, that his aerial robotic videos run afoul of regulation because they're on YouTube. Hanes is allegedly flying "commercially" (and thus faces more stringent rules) due to his choice of site, strongly implying that YouTube's ads are at fault. If so, it's a sketchy argument. Hanes hasn't made any money from his clips, and there's no obligation to collect revenue on Google's video service.
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http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/16/faa-warns-drone-pilot-on-youtube/

What inspector in the Tampa FSDO got a bug up their butt about this one?

EDIT: I guess I should read the links inside my links. This one states which inspector it is who sent the letter.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-faa-says-you-cant-post-drone-videos-on-youtube
 
I worked with a guy down in FL that made a lot of money from his YouTube videos!

That having been stated, this is idiocy at it's finest.....
 
The trouble is our old view of commercial flying is that you need the commercial cert to fly passengers or cargo for hire.

UAV flying is the same whether at PPL or CPL level - so as long as they pay taxes, they should be fine, not really an FAA issue at all.
 
Although I am very much in favor of the FAA regulating and enforcing rules on drone operations within the NAS, rulings like this have the potential to affect PPL holders who take video from airplanes as well, and I don't like it. It's not as if this guy is selling real estate, and it doesn't seem to be an official promotion of the "Everglades Challenge 2015." He even seems to be in compliance with the model aircraft rules, which is more than I can say for most drone videos I have watched.

Edit:The launch point of that race is inside that lateral confines of the TPA Class B, but under neath a 1200ft shelf
 
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I can't see how posting video from a small UAS on Youtube could be considered a commercial operation, providing you did not make money from it. How many videos are posted on Youtube from cameras attached to manned aircraft? If you take a friend up and he video tapes the flight then posts it on Youtube was that a commercial operation, assuming he recieved no payment for the video and paid no more than the pro rata share for the flight time, I would say no. In the motherboard article Hanes states that he has recieved money from the Google ads on Youtube. He states it was less than a dollar but in the eyes of the FAA any amount of money made would make it a commercial operation.
 
They're not technically wrong... I think we need an overhaul of the commercial regulations in general though, so maybe I'm the witch in church.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Exactly. The fewer of these things out there, the better.
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Couldn't disagree more. Why do you feel that way? If they are regulated properly, they pose little to no threat to aviation.

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It is unfortunately consistent with an earlier Chief Counsel interpretation regarding the need for an aerial photographer who flies himself to have a commercial pilot certificate.
 
Vector said:
There is no such thing as "regulated properly" when it comes to government. The are many examples of this. Regulations in the end screws one person over the other.
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Okay, so we should just dispense with regulation. Call the FAA, and tell them they are out of a job. ;)
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
Couldn't disagree more. Why do you feel that way? If they are regulated properly, they pose little to no threat to aviation.

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The horse has already left the barn. It's too late to effectively regulate them. Do you think the guy at Sharper Image is asking customers "Is there any air traffic in the vicinity of where you intend to operate this?"

Just yesterday I watched a guy operate one of these up and down the beach. While not an airplane/ airspace issue - it did unfold as another issue. The beach is a public place where there is no expectation of privacy. However, then the operator flew it over about 1,000' towards private residences and in their yards, over the fence and began to view their pool using a remotely operated camera. A private residence, a place where the resident has an expectation of privacy.

The handful of approved operators did quite a bit of leg work and have a structure in place, they are not amateurs. They have ops specs, training programs, maintenance programs, abnormal and emergency operations....
 
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PhilosopherPilot said:
Okay, so we should just dispense with regulation. Call the FAA, and tell them they are out of a job. ;)
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I will never favor rushing to giving the FAA authority to regulate anything. Haven't you seen how dysfunctional the whole thing is. What else do you need to see that they have way too much on their plate than they can handle? Left to me, the States should regulate aviation in concert with the FAA. The FAA is going to come up with some absurd policy in response to the drone business and everyone would wish they hadn't touch the thing to begin with.
 
CFI A&P said:
The horse has already left the barn. It's too late to effectively regulate them. Do you think the guy at Sharper Image is asking customers "Is there any air traffic in the vicinity of where you intend to operate this?"
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The horse had left the barn when people were launching weather balloons with a camera to 80,000 feet totally unregulated. Local news had a feel good story a couple of years ago about a guy in Tustin CA doing it. Pilots would call Tustin the final approach course to John Wayne.

Just a matter of time before an unregulated drone spills airline blood. When that happens all kinds of FAA regulations will kick in. For those old enough to remember the PSA midair in San Diego and how TCA's (class B for rookies) were popping up like weeds afterwards.

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Vector said:
I will never favor rushing to giving the FAA authority to regulate anything. Haven't you seen how dysfunctional the whole thing is. What else do you need to see that they have way too much on their plate than they can handle? Left to me, the States should regulate aviation in concert with the FAA. The FAA is going to come up with some absurd policy in response to the drone business and everyone would wish they hadn't touch the thing to begin with.
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The FAA is so dysfunctional evidenced by the fact that planes are falling out of the sky every day?
 
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