New FAA Regulations for Drones: What You Need to Know

By Eric Morris | Published: May 20, 2019

As an aeronautics school, we have certainly taken note of the fact that drones are soaring in popularity. They can be used to take incredible aerial videos, to race other drones, and to fly just for fun on a nice day. Though these small aircraft seem negligible compared to the commercial planes soaring through the clouds, they are causing big problems in the aviation field. While these devices continue to grow in use, the FAA drone regulations continue to grow in numbers in order to control them.

Drones flying through field

New FAA Drone Rules and Regulations

As an aircraft dispatcher school, we are concerned with all things aviation, including the new FAA drone regulations that are being rolled out. Flying drones may seem like a free for all, but with the FAA drone rules, this is not the case. If you are a drone flyer, these are the new FAA drone regulations from a notice released on May 17th that you need to be aware of.

  1. Drone owners are now obligated to display their registration number issued by the FAA on the outside of the device rather than in the battery compartment which was previously required. This purpose of this new rule is to make identification of drones easier.
  2. Another change involves flying within 5 miles of an airport. Previously, drone owners could notify air traffic control for authorization to do so, but now special authorization is required that cannot be done over the phone.
  3. There are other restrictions on where drones can be flown as well. The new regulations restrict flying near sensitive areas like high-security military bases as well as flying near certain infrastructure because of safety concerns.
  4. Recreational drone users must now fly their drone within their line of sight so as to easily move out of way if necessary, for any manned aircraft.
  5. Perhaps the most drastic new rule mentions a mandatory aeronautical safety and knowledge test that drone users must pass. Currently there is no test developed yet and a date for when this regulation will be put in place has not been announced.

The FAA says that these rules are designed to improve drone flying safety and to mitigate any issues that have arisen since these small aircraft became common for recreational use.

If you are interested in drones and the aviation industry, you may want to consider taking aircraft dispatcher courses at an established dispatcher school like ours and getting your FAA dispatch license. At Sheffield School of Aeronautics, we can help you turn your love of aviation into a successful career.

 

Sources
  1. Federal Register – Exception for Limited Recreational Operations of Unmanned Aircraft
This entry was posted in News & Regulations and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

  • Contact Us

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Testimonials

    “This school came highly recommended by multiple past students and EVEN OTHERS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS. Reputation is fantastic from multiple companies that I have worked for.” A. – September 2020
    “After receiving my certificate, I joined a class of 4 experienced dispatchers for Part 121 initial training. Without experience, my preparation at Sheffield enabled me to become active at the same time after the initial training.” PR PR
    “Going to Sheffield prepared me for the real world challenges of Aircraft Dispatching. I certainly believe that the method Sheffield used is one not only for success in a real world career, but also one that prepares students to correctly dispatch aircraft.” T.Z. Sidebar TZ
    “I am a month into my new job at a airline coming out of reorganization, and am helping the training department by referencing the excellent and up to date course book provided to all Sheffield grads.” RW RW
    “Sheffield School of Aeronautics is a highly recognized and respected organization throughout the airline industry. They only produce the highest quality of graduate…” P.W. Sidebar PW
    “I entered my profession, with more knowledge and information than dispatchers who have been practicing their craft for more than ten years. Not only has Sheffield provided a top notch education, but they have also instilled in me the confidence to succeed.” A.Z. Sidebar AZ – Student Testimonial
    “now that I’ve been in an indoctrination class with students from other schools, I know I made the right choice with Sheffield.”   Kindest regards,  A.R.  All schools are created equal?! yeah…sure ;)
    “Your school has offered me an incredible advantage in the Dispatcher job market.” D.K. D. Kircher
    “As a graduate of Sheffield School of Aeronautics I am a firm believer that I received the most thorough and well thought out aircraft dispatcher training available. I owe my position in the industry to Sheffield School of Aeronautics.” BF Sidebar BF
    “I wanted to tell you I got the job offer from Expressjet, and start next month! I think a couple others from class were hired as well. It just shows the Sheffield reputation when I see graduates from other schools complaining that they can’t get an interview – I wasn’t even back home to Minneapolis […] Dan Gustafson
    “Being that half my new hire class dropped out over the course of training, I can confidently say that Sheffield helped to prepare me for the real world.” GT – abridged testimonial – school selection matters
    “I am so glad they are like this because it made me a better dispatcher and I really appreciate their high standards. I would highly recommend Sheffield to anyone who is willing to study hard and is serious about obtaining a Dispatcher Certificate.” MC MC
    “While touring my company’s dispatch department before I had my license our OCC manager pointed out that 7 of the 10 dispatchers on shift had come from Sheffield. The overall consensus was that Sheffield grads were able to hit the ground running as they were better prepared.” K.O. Sidebar K.O.
    “These men represented the highest caliber of professionalism and integrity. The education I received from these gentleman has afforded me to be gainfully employed while having the opportunity to use the education received, all over this country, and more than a few others.” WG sidebar wg
    “As a graduate of the aircraft dispatcher program at the Sheffield School of Aeronautics…My training was intense and thorough and furnished me with the requisite skills for performing my current job as a Flight Dispatch Supervisor.” N.S. Sidebar NS
  • See More Testimonials »

  • Online Catalog

    Sheffield Flight Dispatch Training Catalog

  • View Our Online Catalog »

  • Connect