Something of interest that ItsBlunty posted iwhich I don't think many people probably realised is that after 23 September 2023 broadcast Remote ID cannot be legally used for commercial purposes. Only standard Remote ID is allowed for commercial UAV's which means that anyone flying FPV for commercial reasons such as real estate of for a media production are going to be relegated to flying something like the DJI Avata. No more home built or off-the-shelf FPV quads will be allowed for commercial use inside of the USA. I assume this includes any pilot flying under a Part 107 who will also be constrained by the same rules.

ItsBlunty knows what he's talking about because he's one of the core team members of the FPV Freedom Coallition (FPVFC).

Source (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/groups/rotorrio...8750209749

ItsBlunty Wrote:In case it's not clear (I think a lot of people haven't heard yet), You cannot fly commercially after Sept 2023 when RID kicks in unless you buy a Standard Remote ID drone that comes with Remote ID included.

Module based RID is not legal for commercial, the FAA has reiterated this to us multiple times in meetings. You cannot take a custom drone and slap a module onto it to use it for commercial purposes unless you're the manufacturer, registered as such with the FAA, and are producing RID compliant drones fully packaged together, thus making it a Standard Remote ID drone.

How long will it take one of the FPV companies to produce an FPV drone in the 5" category that comes with a standard Remote ID module. Even if it was overpriced, I bet pro pilots would buy them, just so they can continue working.

Or maybe when the US sees all the industry money going North or South of the border they will rethink it.

A standard Remote ID module has to be built into the quad and tamper-proof, so that would mean completely proprietary flight control hardware and software, which is effectively just another DJI quad, but no-one else producing those type of quads will be able to compete with DJI technology so they would be on a hiding to nothing. The commercial FPV sector is way too small to make it worthwhile for other companies to even bothering trying.

Even sub-250g quads can't be flown commercially under Part 107 without a Remote ID device, so this could be the nail in the coffin for commercial FPV in the USA. Well done the FAA 

Has anyone actually seen any of the big name FPV pilots that aren't constantly ignoring regulations? I have yet to, and I don't blame them as the rules are so cumbersome that they'd never get any flying done. I know I get a bit riled up about all this, but it seems like FPV is one of the few things that actually puts a smile on my face, and the FAA is hard at work killing it.

I'm going to be interested to know what the hell all the US based FPV YouTubers are going to do because based on ItsBlunty's statement in the first post, after September this year it seems that no-one is going to be able to fly FPV quads if they want to monetise the content because that will be classed as a commercial use. I guess flouting the regulations as a commercial pilot probably has greater consequences (if you get caught) than Joe Public who is just ignoring the rules while flying at the local park. JB is obviously applying for his property to be a FRIA which if successful would then exempt him from needing a Remote ID device and in turn means he could continue to fly without one and thus still monetise his content, but what about all the other US FPV YouTube celebrities? A lot of them go out to public places to fly their quads and those aren't going to be FRIA's.

It seems that this whole Remote ID fiasco is fast spiralling out of control into a much stricter set of rules and requirements than were originally proposed just as Bruce predicted it would in many of his videos. Once the FAA get their foot in the door they just seem to keep trying to further squeeze the life out of people who are getting in the way of their longer term roadmap.

While I don't think I'd chase commercial flying over my day job I can think of a few instances where I'd use it for the goof. So I was going to get the license eventually. This just makes me not want to hand over a single dollar to any level of government.

Most professional licenses are a joke anyway. Either the person does or doesn't do proper work and most inspections on professional work are just as much of a joke too.

There has been much discussion about what the FAA considers to be the "furtherance of a business" 
AKA Part 107 activity AKA commercial activity.. In short, if any entity {even down to a single person} 
gets any benefit {even beyond money, a property owner checking his gutter, YouTube posts, charitable 
work, ANY benefit of any type} then the FAA considers that to be a Part 107 activity AKA commercial 
activity. While this may sound like a stretch, an over reach, or just not right, it is real nonetheless. 

Now the part that is a bit confusing involves the FRIAs. If the flight is considered a commercial 
activity by the FAA inside a FRIA, is that exempt    So far, I haven't seen any real clarification 
in that regard. Think I will go back and re-read the regulations yet another time to see precisely
how the language appears to read. If it is vague, then it might be left to interpretation or even
clarification. One might get a pass, but then there will be some clarification. 

A FRIA may end up being like the sub-250, category 1, drone situation. A flight inside a FRIA might 
be exempt unless it is a Part 107 activity, then it might not be. Maybe the FRIAs will be limited to flights
that are solely and purely for the recreational benefit of the pilot. These are all good questions and
will likely get clarified as we move forward. 

Yeah, it looks like DJI and a others will end up being the only type of quads that can be flown for any
and all Part 107 or any other commercial activity.

Yep, the hobby is being driven out of sight since posting videos or any other Part 107 activity will no 
longer be "legal" with a DIY, home built, drone; regardless of size. Will some folks go rogue and do
it anyway? Well, sure, but they will have to be careful what they do with the video. If they just fly for
fun and are very stealthy, then they will likely get away with it. Of course, those that rely on some
type of exposure might be in a tight spot. Now, the question isn't "will they catch everyone", but 
rather "will I be the one". 

The hobby is rapidly becoming one of pure personal pleasure. Keep it small, keep it quite, stay away
from people, and don't share any flight videos. Ok, maybe with family, but certainly not on public
media services. 

After September 2023, things might start to get interesting. 

(08-Feb-2023, 02:10 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: I'm going to be interested to know what the hell all the US based FPV YouTubers are going to do because based on ItsBlunty's statement in the first post, after September this year it seems that no-one is going to be able to fly FPV quads if they want to monetise the content because that will be classed as a commercial use. I guess flouting the regulations as a commercial pilot probably has greater consequences (if you get caught) than Joe Public who is just ignoring the rules while flying at the local park. JB is obviously applying for his property to be a FRIA which if successful would then exempt him from needing a Remote ID device and in turn means he could continue to fly without one and thus still monetise his content, but what about all the other US FPV YouTube celebrities? A lot of them go out to public places to fly their quads and those aren't going to be FRIA's.

It seems that this whole Remote ID fiasco is fast spiralling out of control into a much stricter set of rules and requirements than were originally proposed just as Bruce predicted it would in many of his videos. Once the FAA get their foot in the door they just seem to keep trying to further squeeze the life out of people who are getting in the way of their longer term roadmap.

The (possibly) obvious way is to buy a wreck of a house in Canada, register a bank account over there too, then put the Youtube channel details to the house and the monetisation to your Canadian bank account.  I don't know if that would stop the FAA coming after you, but if the monetisation is for the channel of a non US based person and none of the earned money is hitting the US banking system, would that bypass the rules?

There will be ways to exploit the system.  There are always ways.

iFly4rotors Wrote:There has been much discussion about what the FAA considers to be the "furtherance of a business"
AKA Part 107 activity AKA commercial activity.. In short, if any entity {even down to a single person}
gets any benefit {even beyond money, a property owner checking his gutter, YouTube posts, charitable
work, ANY benefit of any type} then the FAA considers that to be a Part 107 activity AKA commercial
activity. While this may sound like a stretch, an over reach, or just not right, it is real nonetheless.

Now the part that is a bit confusing involves the FRIAs. If the flight is considered a commercial
activity by the FAA inside a FRIA, is that exempt So far, I haven't seen any real clarification
in that regard. Think I will go back and re-read the regulations yet another time to see precisely
how the language appears to read. If it is vague, then it might be left to interpretation or even
clarification. One might get a pass, but then there will be some clarification.

A FRIA may end up being like the sub-250, category 1, drone situation. A flight inside a FRIA might
be exempt unless it is a Part 107 activity, then it might not be. Maybe the FRIAs will be limited to flights
that are solely and purely for the recreational benefit of the pilot. These are all good questions and
will likely get clarified as we move forward.

Yeah, it looks like DJI and a others will end up being the only type of quads that can be flown for any
and all Part 107 or any other commercial activity.

Yep, the hobby is being driven out of sight since posting videos or any other Part 107 activity will no
longer be "legal" with a DIY, home built, drone; regardless of size. Will some folks go rogue and do
it anyway? Well, sure, but they will have to be careful what they do with the video. If they just fly for
fun and are very stealthy, then they will likely get away with it. Of course, those that rely on some
type of exposure might be in a tight spot. Now, the question isn't "will they catch everyone", but
rather "will I be the one".

The hobby is rapidly becoming one of pure personal pleasure. Keep it small, keep it quite, stay away
from people, and don't share any flight videos. Ok, maybe with family, but certainly not on public
media services.

After September 2023, things might start to get interesting.

In some ways it makes it easier for the pure hobbyists, since whatever you do will be illegal, so why try and avoid say diving the side of a federal building. If you get caught you end up in court, but the sheer act of flying would result in the same end result. So as long as you have a zero fks given attitude, you are free to fly where you want and the onus is on you to avoid getting caught while doing it. But nothing is off limits since a crime will be committed no matter where you fly.

I wonder if videos will be posted with FOAF prefixes like the good old days when MJ was illegal and people would post pictures that said a FOAF gave me this to post, or a video would appear with FOAF somewhere in the title.

… besides. Fpv, I have other hobbies.. I enjoy brewing beer and distill spirits. Having learning disabilities, u you tube has been a god send for me!! The audio and video helps wit my retention of information.
Several years back when I wanted to learn about brewing and such I hit YouTube. Great detailed specific information, that was critical I greased and understood. Plus watching things as being explained helped.
Well, at one point the videos these instructional videos were removed from YouTube. The creators of the videos were given notice of possible litigation or fines.
Me being me, I had duplicated these videos, so I could refer to them without Wi-Fi connections.
When the videos along with their websites became “turned off”.. a lot of us reverted back to forums (reading) and I was not happy.. but I had my “library of videos”.. and surprisingly I was NOT ALONE!
During this time, videos were still shared but as files not as easy as YouTube or Vimeo, my space or Facebook..
The videos and websites DID return after litigation, I. Can’t remember exactly why how or the decision came about…but they returned.
I believe a lot of it may have stemmed from reality television shows… not everything on tv is real..
Being a former Forensic Investigator, I have seen this first hand in the courtroom during a homicide trial. I was on the stand being cross examined, the defense asked me about DNA, collection, testing ext.. and identification of a possible suspect… and I answered. “No, that is not how it works”.. he replied .. (this is NO SH*T!) “Sure it does.. don’t you watch television”. I literally could not believe he said that!! .. I simply relied, “I don’t believe everything I see on tv .. neither should you”.
We call this ths “CSI effect”.. and it is real.. people do believe a lot of what is on television. They forget it’s entertainment ..
The burden of proof will be on the prosecution (when video was filmed, who filmed it.. where it was filmed ect.).
It’s having to defend yourself that is the bitch! Time and money is something a lot of us don’t have. And to be honest I have seen it go the opposite direction.. I have seen a judge (traffic court) tell someone fighting a speeding ticket ..”judge-have you ever gone fishing?” Speeder-“yes”.. judge-“did u catch all the fish?” Speeder-“no”. Judge-“well son this time YOU go caught”
I believe we can easily be in the speeders situation ..especially dealing with the feds.
I can easily see guys like JB and other YouTube fpv content creators being in the same boat as creators of the distilling / brewing content.. they did return but from what I read, it was not a easy or cheap battle..
I can’t recall if it was only US based content, there were other creators I watched from New Zealand and such.
Maybe if JBs editor post video from Europe.. who knows… but it’s going to be a hard fight.. and there will be casualties…
I’m gonna date myself here…
We may see fpv creators become the “unknown pilot” filming with a paper bag over their head (unknown comic-the gong show)

I’m curious how guys like Nick Burns will be effected? Everything he flies / reviews is small and he mostly flies inside his house or on his property …

With all the very interesting commentary, let us consider the bigger picture.

What will the FPV drone hobby become  


Consider: It is more about what it takes to be legal than how one can evade 
the law. It is about how the hobby in general changes, the perspective of 
potential builder/pilots, and how much of a hassle it will be just to have fun.
What will it take to be legal, what is the risk vs reward to violate the regs?
How will perspective new pilots view all of this 

Hmmmm    Very Interesting, indeed 

(13-Feb-2023, 02:52 PM)Rob Axel Wrote: I’m curious how guys like Nick Burns will be effected? Everything he flies / reviews is small and he mostly flies inside his house or on his property …

To my knowledge, the FAA can't say diddly about what we fly in our homes. They still want to say our own backyards are their domain though.

Heck, maybe people will just start putting nets over their properties and try to claim they're inside a tent.

Hi Suros,

Actually, the FAA Does have authority in our own backyards. The rationale for it is that 
a drone might "fly away" and then it will NOT be in our backyard. People with large
properties like ranches and farms do NOT like this, but it is what it is. Even thought there
has been questions and complaints about this, I have seen nothing that has changed 
this reach of authority of the airspace. The FAA still has regulatory authority for ALL 
USA airspace even 1 inch off the ground in our own backyards. 

Yeah, maybe you can try a net, but that will never be feasible for me or many others.

That said, if you are on your own property, you will likely not be approached by the
authorities as long as no one calls them. 

The flights of folks like Nick Burns are considered to be Part 107 activity since they are
in the "furtherance of a business"; his business whether or not there is a financial
aspect is basically irrelevant. The flights are still considered Part 107 by the FAA. 

Guys, these things have already been determined. The only way to fight this is with
a court battle and actually winning. Good Luck with that. 

Until then, things remain the same. 

The FAA has full regulatory authority over ALL USA airspace. It just is what it is.

Oh, I know the legality of it all. Doesn't make it less stupid that they have such far reaching control. It's much like the southern law that states that it's illegal to walk down the street with an ice cream cone in your back pocket. Legality is largely just a bunch of rules cooked up by powerful idiots. Sometimes they get em right, but they just as often get em wrong.

(13-Feb-2023, 02:52 PM)Rob Axel Wrote: I’m curious how guys like Nick Burns will be effected? Everything he flies / reviews is small and he mostly flies inside his house or on his property …

As some others have already said, as long as he only flies inside his house there shouldn't be a problem, but under the new rules from September this year he won't legally be allowed to fly any of his quads (even whoops) outside either with or without a Remote ID device fitted to them unless he tries to get his house designated as a FRIA, but I can't see that happening when he has a fairly smallish back yard with neighbours in close proximity on all sides. JB has a chance of that because of the type, size and location of his property.

I'm wondering what the likes of Ciotti are going to do because as I understand it, since the pandemic he's built a career on flying self-built FPV quads for commercial purposes. If what Blunty says is true then it's going to be the end of all that unless he is happy to resort to using something like the DJI Avata instead for all of his shoots. And there are loads more people in exactly the same situation who forged themselves a career out of flying FPV for clients.

Maybe people will just get on with what they've always been doing and take a chance by testing the system to see if anyone at the FAA actually bothers to enforce it or do anything about people who disregard the rules. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.