FAA Drone Rules Take Effect

Although commercial drone delivery still isn’t here yet, it could be getting closer.

That’s because new rules by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing commercial drones 55 pounds and less went into effect on Sunday (Aug. 28).

The rules include licensing requirements for pilots, among others.

The new rules make it easier for drone operators to fly drones because they no longer need to obtain a costly and time-intensive pilot’s license in order to operate the drone. Instead, operators now need to pass an aeronautical exam before they are allowed to fly.

The first commercial drone pilot licensing exam was scheduled for Monday (Aug. 29) at 8 a.m., and more than 3,300 signed up to take the test, according to CNNMoney.

Although the new regulations were rushed into effect a little more than two months after first being announced, there is still a lot of uncertainty in the world of commercial drone flights, including how drones could be used to deliver packages if the drone cannot be outside of the pilot’s line of sight (as the current guidelines state).

Companies like Amazon have been chomping at the bit to implement some form of drone delivery service for the past several years, but the FAA still has yet to fully flesh out federal guidelines for commercial drone delivery, making the concept more of a cool idea than a possibility at the moment.

Amazon has apparently been experimenting with drone delivery in other markets, like the UK.