Waivers Part 107 Operating Limitations for Remote Pilots

Waivers Part 107 Operating Limitations for Remote Pilots

Waiver Policy and Requirements: In aviation, there is almost an exception to every rule.

If you get digging much into to the FAA AIM manual, you'll see that there's a lot of different exceptions, and there's also something we call the waivers.

So there are certain rules set forth of what you can and can't do with your small, unmanned aircraft, but there are times when you can get a waiver.

We start off here with the Administrator, meaning the FAA. The Administrator may issue a Certificate of Waiver authorizing a deviation from any regulation specified in 107.205 if the Administrator finds that a proposed small UAS operation can safely be conducted under the terms of that Certificate of Waiver.

A request for a Certificate of Waiver must contain a complete description of the proposed flight operation and justification that establishes that the operation can safely be conducted under the terms of a Certificate of Waiver.

The Administrator, or FAA, may prescribe additional limitations that the Administrator considers necessary. A person who receives a Certificate of Waiver issued under this section may deviate from the regulations of this part to the extent specified in the Certificate of Waiver and must comply with any conditions or limitations that are specified in the Certificate of Waiver.

Waivers Part 107 Operating Limitations for Remote Pilots

Some of the things that you might be able to get a waiver for: Section 107.25, operation from a moving vehicle or aircraft; Section 107.29, daylight operation; Section 107.31, visual line of site aircraft operation. However, no waiver of this provision will be issued to allow the carriage of property of another by aircraft for compensation or higher.

Section 107.33, visual observer; Section 107.35, operation of multiple small, unmanned aircraft systems; Section 107.37(a), yielding the right of way; Section 107.39, operation over people; Section 107.41, operation in certain airspace; Section 107.51, operating limitations for small, unmanned aircraft.

You need to be familiar with these things in the event you want to go out and do one of these jobs in one of these circumstances, and you need a waiver. So number one, you need to understand these and know these for your written test to get your remote pilot.

But, then you get out there in the real world -- and here's what I'm really pushing -- is understanding what you can and can't do and then contacting the FAA and getting a waiver if you need to.

We're seeing so many things that are going on. Just this weekend, Gary told me he was somewhere and there was somebody up flying a drone at night, filming a bunch of people, and he goes, "I'm pretty sure that guy probably did not have a waiver for that."

We just saw something on Facebook about a small drone that just flew into a military helicopter, a National Guard helicopter flying over New York City. If you're the drone operator that does something like this, they're going to seek you and find you, and you're going to pay the consequences later.

Waivers Part 107 Operating Limitations for Remote Pilots

So everything that we're training you here, don't think of it as just, "I've got to know this to get my license." You have to know these things to keep yourself out of trouble because I guarantee you, as time goes by, there's going to be more and more violations as drones become more popular.

We know that the whole industry is blowing up. Be a little bit better than everybody else and to keep yourself out of trouble. Make sure you understand the regs, and follow the regs, and if you have a question, contact the FAA.

The faa.gov website: You can go there to find the FSDO in your area, the Flight Standards District Office, and you can go to the bottom of the page for your area or your FSDO that's near you. They'll have a "Contact the FAA," and they'll have an email list for inspectors at that particular office. You can email them with any of your questions.

Waivers Part 107 Operating Limitations for Remote Pilots