Everything You Need to Know About The New Part 107 Rules

1. Remote ID

Purpose – Mitigate risks associated with the expansion of drone operations.

Brief Summary

• Remote ID will provide the location of (1) the drone in flight and (2) the control station (you).
• It is referred to in simple terms as a “digital license plate.”
• This information is crucial to help national security agencies and local law enforcements officers to keep the national airspace safe.
• The increased awareness will allow for peace of mind and it will safely allow for more complex drone operations.

What That Means For You

• This applies to all drones that require FAA registration. You can comply in 1 of 3 ways:
       1. Operate a drone with standard remote ID built in which will broadcast your identification and location information.
       2. Operation a drone with a remote ID broadcast module. This will basically retrofit older drones not built with new standard remote ID.
       3. Fly without remote ID WITHIN a FAA recognized Identification Area, which is basically a specific area where you are not required to have remote ID, but must stay within the premise.

• Certain groups can apply to the FAA to create their own FAA recognized identification area, like a school or community based group, 18 months after the rule is effective. 
• Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to start producing drones with standard remote ID built in.
• Operators will have an additional year to start using drones with remote ID.

2. Flight Over People/Flight At Night

Purpose – Supports technological and operational innovation in the drone industry.

Brief Summary

• Applies to Part 107 operations!
• The abilities given depend on the level of risk a drone may pose to people below.
• You can fly over people if you fit in one of these 4 categories:
       1. Your drone is under .55 lbs and has no exposed rotating parts that can lacerate a human.
       2. Your drone must not cause injury to a human that is equivalent to greater than the severity of injury caused by a transfer of 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy upon impact from a rigid object, and has no exposed rotating parts that can lacerate a human, and has no safety defects.
       3. Your drone must not cause injury to a human that is equivalent to greater than the severity of injury caused by a transfer of 25 foot-pounds of kinetic energy upon impact from a rigid object, and has no exposed rotating parts that can lacerate a human, and has no safety defects.
       4. Your drone has an airworthiness certificate issued under Part 21 of FAA regulations. 
• You can fly at night if you meet both requirements:
       1. You have taken the updated initial exam or the updated online recurrent training.
       2. Your drone must have anti-collision lights that are visible from 3 statute miles and has a sufficient flash rate to avoid a collision.
• There are additional requirements if you want to fly your drone:
       1. over a group of people, or
       2. over a moving vehicle.

What That Means For You

• You can now fly over people, and at night without obtaining an individual waiver for each flight.
• You do not have to take a recurrent exam every 24 months, instead you will have access to free online training to keep your certificate current.
• You must have your P107 certificate on you at all times while operating, and ready to present it upon a request from the FAA, NTSB, TSA, or any Federal, state, or local law enforcement officer.

Both rules will become effective on March 1, 2021.

For more information, please refer to the following resources:

FAA Press Release

Remote ID (Executive Summary)

Remote ID (Full Rules)

Flight Over People/Flight At Night (Executive Summary)

Flight Over People/Flight At Night (Full Rules)