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Federal Aviation Administration

Buying a drone? Government registration may be coming

Matthew Patane
The Des Moines Register

Drones, those remote-controlled aircraft flitting across America's skyline, are projected as one of this year's hottest gifts — with more than 400,000 expected to be sold this holiday season.

Now the federal government is deciding whether it needs to know who owns those drones.

The Hunziker company drone glides in the air Monday, June 1, 2015, above one of their properties in Ames in this file image.

Owners would face a barrier before being able to fly the devices legally should the government adopt recommendations from an industry task force.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently released a task force report suggesting the federal agency require registration of drones, including those used by hobbyists, if they weigh anywhere from half a pound to up to 55 pounds.

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Some drone advocates in Iowa say registration is a good step. But they warn that simply requiring owners to register won't curtail the risks of drones flying in U.S. airspace.

"Pushing the education and safety is going to have bigger impact than forcing people to register," said Tony Hansen of the Des Moines Drone User Group.

The increasing popularity of drones, which sell for less than $100 to several thousand dollars, has led to a rising number of misadventures. Pilots have reported drones in their airspace around airports, and complaints have been made of drones crashing into crowded areas such as stadiums or hovering over people's private property.

The FAA has set up a system to authorize the flight of some commercially used drones. As of Nov. 25, the FAA had given 2,420 commercial authorizations.

In Iowa, about 26 individuals or companies have received authorization for uses including photography, detailed land surveying, safety inspections, agriculture and crop surveying.

For now, though, recreational flyers haven't faced restrictions.

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Instead, the FAA has issued basic guidelines, including keeping the aircraft under 400 feet, staying at least 5 miles from airports and not flying over large crowds.

Registration would allow the FAA to track who owns a drone in case of an accident. It would also provide addresses to ease dispensing educational material to users, officials said.

“You can always have somebody who will knowingly violate the law, but this gives us the opportunity to educate people with information they need to know before they fly … so they can operate it safely," said Earl Lawrence, director of the FAA’s UAS Integration Office, during a conference call with reporters.

The task force did not recommend point-of-sale registration, meaning drone buyers would not have to register an aircraft when and where they buy one. Instead, owners would go online to register before they fly for the first time.

The FAA must still consider the task force's recommendations before issuing a rule.

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As proposed, the registration process would essentially be voluntary, making enforcement difficult, said Richard Wlezien, chair of Iowa State University's Aerospace Engineering department.

"This is a step in the right direction, but … if you want do something bad, you just don’t register," Wlezien said.

Wlezien contrasted the situation to the way the United States tracks car ownership.

"Think of what the situation would be with automobiles if all automobiles were voluntarily federally registered," he said. "It would be chaos, and so there’s been a system put in place over many years where the states handle automobile registration."

Still, Wlezien said he is an advocate for drone use, and registration would offer a method to track some of them in case of an accident.

Steven Zeets, a land surveyor from Marion, also lobbied for more education about drone safety. Zeets and his business partners have started a company, Terraplane, to use unmanned aerial devices for data collection.

While technology has made buying drones easier, Zeets said, it has also made it easier for people to start flying without proper knowledge.

"It never used to be an issue, because somebody, if they wanted to fly one of these, it wasn’t easy until they joined a local flying club," Zeets said.

Now, almost anyone can buy one online and start flying once it is delivered.

"They don’t know the rules, they don’t know when and where to fly," Zeets said.

About the recommendations

Here is a brief look at what an FAA-convened task force recommended regarding the registration of recreational drones. The FAA must still consider them.

Question: What drones qualify for registration?

Answer: Any drone that weighs more than 250 grams, or about half a pound, up to 55 pounds.

Q: When would I register?

A: Before you fly. Drone owners would have to register online before flying their aircraft. There is no point-of-sale registration.

Q: Does each drone require a different registration?

A: No. The task force recommended registration be owner-based, meaning owners would have one registration number for all of their drones.

Q: What information would I have to register?

A: Your name and street address (not mailing address).

Q: Would there be a fee?

A: No. If a fee is required, the task force recommended a tenth of a cent.

Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Follow Matthew Patane on Twitter: @mattpatane

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