KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2024 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FAA Approves New Rules For Drones

drone
(Photo Andrew Turner - CC BY 2.0)
The FAA released data on drones registered by zip code on May 18, 2016.

The FAA Tuesday released new rules for drone use. Before this, drones had been lumped in with manned aircraft.

These new rules will govern who can fly the devices, what those pilots need to know, and what restrictions they’ll face, among other things.

One of the biggest changes is the cost of entry to the drone marketplace has gone "way down," said Matt Waite, a journalism Professor who founded the Drone Journalism Lab in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Flying a drone commercially once required a manned aircraft pilot license that cost upwards of $10,000. Now would-be operators need to take a $150 knowledge test.

"You're going to find them all over the place now," Waite said. Drones could prove useful to everyone from farmers to roofers.

Not included in the new regulations, however, is any mention of privacy. Waite said these rules are generally made by state government.

Tags
Mark Brodie is a co-host of The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine. Since starting at KJZZ in 2002, Brodie has been a host, reporter and producer, including several years covering the Arizona Legislature, based at the Capitol.