Recent content by TheoMatthias

I agree with the shortcomings of inferring the number of Part 107 pilots from Part 107 registrations; a number of Part 107 pilots have >1 sUAS. However, my estimate was made based on the 107 registrations to pilots (80,000/60,000) data from September 2017 where there was a 4:3 ratio of...

Not sure, but you’ve got a terrific last name!

Interesting. Pricey, but interesting! In reading the synopsis, I was unclear whether the thrust of the research was about drone manufacturing or about market opportunities for which drone use would be applicable.

Two Suggestions: 1. Look inward to prepare; 2. Challenge your thinking. I'm still transitioning to this field, but am retired so I am not on a income-driven critical path. Having spent 26-years in the IT industry (at perhaps 5 different companies), I transitioned from that to 14-years of...

Both the Class D airport towers in my location support military (ANG) operations and prefer “sUAS” or “UAS”. However, I don’t think there is any “right” term; each facility may have a preference. Best advice it to get to know the tower managers and their preferred terminology.

Yup. That’s why trying to find the number of pilots from registration numbers is so difficult! What would it take to change the front end of the FAA’s registration database tool to accept a wildcard (“*”) for the name field???

It means you can drink and derive.

A few days ago, I posted the following information about the number of Part 107 pilots: An update to drone registrations was given to us at CES this month by Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation. Her statistics are based on the two types of drone registrations: Part 101 versus Part 107...

Hey there, jwaitkus! I'm located in Western MA, which is really a great area for drone flying. There are a number of MA folks who are active pilots; you can find them on the PhantomPilots and MavicPilots. Welcome and let me know if you'll ever be heading "westa Wustah"!

Jason Schappert's Part 61 video training is excellent as well, if anyone fancies a PPL! BTW, at the end of last October, his company had openings for a Part 107 Representative:

As of September 6, 2017, FAA's Michael Huerta reported the number of Part 107 pilots to be 60,000. Avionics article HERE. LAANC can't get here soon enough! However, there will be only 49 Beta airports in 2018 and none of them in my area. :mad:

IIRC, I only had one METAR and one TAF question. Trickiest question I had was one about the sUAS weight limitations for Part 101 vs. Part 107. Part 107 weight is LESS THAN 55 lbs whereas Part 101 is 55 lbs OR LESS. Fortunately, my studying and the Remote 101 course served me well.

Ken's incident was brought to the FAA by a member of the public with a history of animus toward drones or, at least, Ken flying his drone. However, there have been some YouTube channel providers who have been targeted by the FAA because of the the footage they have posted. That means there is...

Excellent point, Jeff! Had a quick discussion with the city Building Inspector last fall and found out that there are qualifications (licensure) that a person needs to meet in order to have their "inspections" accepted by the city and, evidently, the state.

If cost is a consideration, I can suggest the Mavic Pro (< ~$1000). However, I think the camera on the P4P produces better images. I believe mapping can be done by both the Mavic Pro and the P4P, but, IMHO, you will want still air for best results.