“Technically, I can’t charge for any of the flying. I charge for editing.”
So says Luke Pierzina of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Aerial Raiders, a company that uses quadcopters to shoot photographs and video for real estate companies and other clients.
A 1981 FAA advisory regulating model aircraft is the basis for standards for small drone flights, advising pilots to stay below 400 feet and notify any airports less than 3 miles away of their presence, The Republic’s Peter Corbett reports.
An FAA spokesman told the newspaper that until the FAA drafts regulations governing commercial use of drones, operators can’t sell video they shoot with them, or use them to promote a business. The FAA would send a drone operator a cease-and-desist letter if it became aware of any such commercial use, he said.
Raphael Pirker, an aerial photographer who was assessed a $10,000 fine by the FAA, has taken the agency to court challenging its jurisdiction. Source: azcentral.com.
