Drone Regulations

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Can PrecisionHawk Tame Drone Traffic in the Sky?

By Colin Snow | September 10, 2016

PrecisionHawk’s LATAS delivers an innovative air traffic control system for drones, but it’s one of several that depends on the not-so-imminent success of all aircraft using ADS-B. THE FACTS: This past week (August 29, 2016), the FAA granted PrecisionHawk a waiver from Part 107.31’s visual line of sight (VLOS) limitations, which gives them the ability … Read more

Will the U.S.’s New Drone Pilot Certification Accelerate Commercial Growth?

By Colin Snow | August 29, 2016

FAA testing and certification for small UAS remote pilot certificates begins in earnest this month, but does that mean the commercial drone industry will see rapid growth? THE FACTS: Beginning August 29, 2016, the new small UAS Rule for commercial drone operations in the U.S. takes effect.  One very important change is that operators will … Read more

Market Impact of the FAA Small Drone Rule

By Colin Snow | June 24, 2016

Barriers to entry are lower, but high margin operations are still restricted. THE FACTS: By now you probably know that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally released Part 107, the Small UAS Rule (June 21, 2016), which covers operational use of commercial drones in U.S. airspace. This comes after several years of missed deadlines. You can … Read more

Six Trends Driving the Commercial Drone Market in 2016 and Beyond

By Colin Snow | January 29, 2016

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” – attributed to Yogi Berra I was recently asked in an interview to discuss four or five trends that I see as major drivers in the commercial drone industry today and what manufacturers and service providers might focus on in the future. That sounds simple enough … Read more

5 Tips on Finding a Good Drone Attorney

By Colin Snow | August 11, 2015

By Jonathan Rupprecht, Esq. for Drone Analyst In response to the rapidly growing drone industry, there are now many attorneys and law firms that are seeing an opportunity to make money and are offering drone legal services as a part of their regular practice areas.  Although many of these attorneys and/or firms may have experience … Read more

New Commercial Drones Report: Current State of the U.S. Industry

By Colin Snow | July 6, 2015

UPDATE: September, 2016. This report has been updated to include the latest market trend and FAA Part 107 rules I just released a new research report.  It details the state of the commercial drone industry in the U.S. as of the end of September 2015.  It looks at recent innovations, business applications, key ecosystem companies, and market forecasts. It … Read more

FAA Proposed Drone Rules: Market Opportunity Winners and Losers

By Colin Snow | February 16, 2015

On February 15, 2015, the commercial drone industry breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed new rules for small unmanned aircraft systems seemed, at first blush, somewhat practical.  The FAA regulations will eventually allow commercial operations of drones that weigh under 55 pounds in U.S. airspace, without requiring operators to acquire … Read more

Commercial Drone Markets: 2014 Year in Review

By Colin Snow | December 30, 2014

Judging by the headlines, 2014 turned out to be the year for drones. I referenced in Tweets a total of 503 articles with the word ‘drones’ in the headline last year.  A Google search brings up about 61.4 million results referring to ‘drones.’  Granted, that search includes references to military and hobby drones, but it … Read more

Will Future FAA Rules Kill The Small Drones Market?

By Colin Snow | May 3, 2014

I just released the findings of my two-month survey studying the impact of FAA rules on small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in the U.S. You can read the press release here. Among the many insights I got from the research, these two are the most significant: Unfavorable rules will disintegrate an already fragile market for … Read more

The Yellow Brick Road of FAA Drone Regulations

By Colin Snow | February 6, 2014

This post provides a few helpful links to get you started on the journey of understanding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for UAS.  Come back later and look for updates. There are three basic categories of UAS operations as defined by the FAA – LINK Public. This includes public entities such as federal and local governments, … Read more