Commercial Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growing

By PETER CORBETT, The Arizona Republic | January 27, 2014

  • August 8, 2014 at 4:06 pm
    Joe Carriere says:
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    The FAA or the Federal Government’s ban or restrictions are essentially a myth. Certainly the government and the FAA are working on some manner of licensing or control, as they should. In the meantime, there are many regulations circulating that scare realtors. They’re simply not true. I’ve heard everything from “they’re illegal,” “Operating a drone for profit is against the law,” to “I as a realtor will be sued if I use a drone service to take residential images of my listings.” Helicopters have been used to take elevated photos for years.

    The statute that is in place now is very simple and legitimate drone owners that do low altitude residential photography are acutely aware of the regulation. They’re very simple: don’t fly in controlled aviational airspace.

    In face, most drones, to cover their butts, have air control space programed into the drones themselves – a map pops up and a drone they simple won’t go there. As a private pilot with a glider certification, a drone in FAA controlled air space, wouldn’t be a good thing.

    At this time, it boils down to this: As long as a photographer has the permission of either the realtor or the homeowner, all is well.

    Below is the statute as is stands today. Certainly as the business grows it’ll change. But don’t let the rumors scare you. They seem to get a little crazier every day:

    Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) is deciding how it is going to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) due to their increased use in commercial business as well as by hobbyists. At present, the guidelines require the UAV must be flown within the line of sight of the operator, less than 400 feet above the ground, during daylight conditions. Additionally, UAV’s cannot be operated near airports.

    The State of Texas has introduced House Bill 912, relating to images captured by unmanned vehicles and aircraft.

    Sec. 423.002. OFFENSE: ILLEGAL USE OF UNMANNED VEHICLE OR AIRCRAFT TO CAPTURE IMAGE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person uses or authorizes the use of an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to capture an image without the express consent of the person who owns or lawfully occupies the real property captured in the image.

    DallasAirPhotos is in FULL compliance with the Federal and State guidelines as they are currently written (or pending). By obtaining the consent of the property owner (or its representative, realtor, agent or broker) we comply with Sec.423.002.

    Our real estate images are captured well under the 400’ ceiling imposed by the FAA and we never lose sight of our expensive equipment.

  • January 12, 2015 at 11:44 pm
    Photography says:
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    I’m looking into selling drones online, but waiting to see what happens.

    I imagine this can’t go wild with everyone flying around.



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