What Do You Do? - Non 107 pilot flying for business

[Phaedrus]

So, I live in a small community. There's a fellow here who is a prolific aerial videographer. Does commercials for local businesses, flies special events, etc. Has a nice portfolio on YouTube. Thing is, he is not a certified 107 pilot. He has a real lock on the area. It does not seem to matter to his many clients that he is not FAA Part 107. I also know he does not carry insurance. And again, his clients seem not to care. He also appears to be a little loose with some things like flying over traffic, people, BLOS FOV, etc. So how do most of you handle/cope with a situation like this? Suck it up buttercup? Ignore it? Something else?

 

[R.Perry]

Well that is an easy one to fix, go out and take some videos (from the ground) of his flying, and especially over people. Take that video to your local airport and ask for the local FAA person. Also send a copy to the FAA with this person name and address. Hopefully that will take care of the problem. Prior to doing that I would send him a certified letter explaining it is illegal to fly for hire without a license, that way when big brother comes to visit him he can't do the "I didn't know that" line.

 

[Grumpy]

Well that is an easy one to fix, go out and take some videos (from the ground) of his flying, and especially over people. Take that video to your local airport and ask for the local FAA person. Also send a copy to the FAA with this person name and address. Hopefully that will take care of the problem. Prior to doing that I would send him a certified letter explaining it is illegal to fly for hire without a license, that way when big brother comes to visit him he can't do the "I didn't know that" line.

Exactly, pull another weed from the flower bed.

 

[BigAl07]

I'd have no problem contacting the local FSDO and giving them his information. Be sure to include contact information and examples of his antics. Let them handle the rest.

 

[MapMaker53]

Also provide the names of the businesses that are using him for their business. That way the FAA can also put them on notice.

 

[dronecyclops]

So, I live in a small community. There's a fellow here who is a prolific aerial videographer. Does commercials for local businesses, flies special events, etc. Has a nice portfolio on YouTube. Thing is, he is not a certified 107 pilot. He has a real lock on the area. It does not seem to matter to his many clients that he is not FAA Part 107. I also know he does not carry insurance. And again, his clients seem not to care. He also appears to be a little loose with some things like flying over traffic, people, BLOS FOV, etc. So how do most of you handle/cope with a situation like this? Suck it up buttercup? Ignore it? Something else?

Report him this kind of pilot hurts us all

 

[Twenty Eight November]

I agree. I know usually I say live and let live but in this instance it is not fair at all for someone to go through everything you need to do to get your commercial license and to pay for insurance so that you are legal just to have someone not following the rules to steal the market.

 

[aerialimagery]

How do you know he doesn't have insurance? Is insurance required by law?

Part 107 isn't a very big barrier. What if he ends up getting it? Will you that give you more business?

 

[Twenty Eight November]

How do you know he doesn't have insurance? Is insurance required by law?

Part 107 isn't a very big barrier. What if he ends up getting it? Will you that give you more business?

The point is right now as of this moment in time he isn't flying legally because he doesn't have his 107 certification. No getting your 107 isn't a huge barrier if you are willing to study and pay to take the exam, but that is just the point this person has not done that and is out there doing something that is illegal under the current laws. If he ends up getting it great, but it isn't retroactive so legally everything he did prior to getting his 107 is still illegal and he could still be prosecuted if the FAA chose to do so.

The point of the whole thing is here is someone, no matter how good they are or how big of a business they are doing, is going about it totally illegally and it isn't fair to those of us out here who do obey the rules and get all the permits, licenses, insurance, and everything else that goes along with running a legal business.

So let's say for instance this guy was running a limousine service, acting as owner and driver, and he didn't have a commercial drivers license and didn't carry the correct level of insurance for the business in which he was engaged. So is that perfectly fine? Would it be ok if he did it for a while and built up a huge business (with no accidents or complaints) and then once he decided he wanted to get his commercial drivers license he went out and did it and business went on as usual?

Let's think about this same scenario as well concerning insurance, what if one of your family hired this guy with no CDL and no Insurance and then they got in a wreck and someone was injured or heaven forbid killed, would it be ok that he didn't have everything needed? Let's look at it now from the UAV business side of things. NO, there isn't anything that "requires" you to buy insurance, but why would anyone hire someone that doesn't have insurance. What if he was flying over the car dealership to do a commercial for them and crashes into a car or the building or hits a customer? Who is going to pay out the claims? Or what if he was doing a realty job on a million dollar home and flew into the huge glass window in the front and in the process the drone or shards of glass knocked over a candle on the table underneath, it started a fire and burnt the house to the ground before the fire department could come. I know that is a really crazy extreme, but anything and everything is almost possible when it comes to accidents. So what do you do? This guy has no insurance and no license so would it make it right if he went back after the fact and got it?

Just do the right thing. I have been flying for 2 years without a license, but in all that time I haven't done anything commercially. I have had people ask me to do some things. I have had people want to buy some photos. I have had people ask me why I didn't try to monetize my YouTube channels. Each and every time I said no or didn't do anything that would put me in that commercial category, because it wasn't legal for me to do that and I didn't want any repercussions to come back on me if I did. But it is game on now!

 

[Russ Still]

If he isn't a Remote Pilot, he's probably breaking a lot of other Federal regulations simply because he's unaware that they exist. As Al said, if you have proof of his operations, contact your local FSDO and state your case.

 

[aerialimagery]

If he's breaking regulations because he doesn't have his 107 and is ignorant, how is it that the hobbyists are not?

Also, how would he know for sure that this videographer has no insurance?

Once again, this does not seem to be a case where someone is worried about laws and safety, but jealousy of someone else doing something that they can't do, and resentment of them "stealing" business they think they are entitled to. (And his ALLEGED lack of a license is not giving him any advantage).

 

[Russ Still]

If he's breaking regulations because he doesn't have his 107 and is ignorant, how is it that the hobbyists are not?

A hobbyist who is flying in a non-recreational environment IS breaking Federal regulations.

 

[aerialimagery]

A hobbyist who is flying in a non-recreational environment IS breaking Federal regulations.

You said someone who is flying without his 107 is probably ignorant and probably breaking regulations. Doesn't it then follow by your logic that all hobbyists are also probably breaking regulations since they have not passed any test?

 

[BigAl07]

If he's breaking regulations because he doesn't have his 107 and is ignorant, how is it that the hobbyists are not?

Also, how would he know for sure that this videographer has no insurance?

Once again, this does not seem to be a case where someone is worried about laws and safety, but jealousy of someone else doing something that they can't do, and resentment of them "stealing" business they think they are entitled to. (And his ALLEGED lack of a license is not giving him any advantage).

It's a case of we all need to be playing by the same rules/laws period.

Do you report an intoxicated driver? How do you KNOW he/she is intoxicated other than they are acting like it?

Russ pretty much NAILED it with his one simple and SPOT ON comment below:

A hobbyist who is flying in a non-recreational environment IS breaking Federal regulations.

 

[Twenty Eight November]

If he's breaking regulations because he doesn't have his 107 and is ignorant, how is it that the hobbyists are not?

Also, how would he know for sure that this videographer has no insurance?

Once again, this does not seem to be a case where someone is worried about laws and safety, but jealousy of someone else doing something that they can't do, and resentment of them "stealing" business they think they are entitled to. (And his ALLEGED lack of a license is not giving him any advantage).

Do you not understand at all that to engage commercially in a business where you are flying a Drone in the United States, you must have your part 107 or a 333 exemption? I mean clearly you don't seem to know the rules yourself, or you didn't read the question clearly. A hobbyist can not make money legally flying a drone in any way.

Currently the rules for flying as a hobbyist do differ than those required of a 107 pilot, until the FAA phases in new rules under the 2018 Reauthorization Act. But NO WHERE in the rules currently in place or in the Reauthorization act can a hobbyist make money flying a drone legally without a 107. IF someone doesn't know something by definition they are ignorant of the rules. So yes if you are a hobbyist doing something you shouldn't be doing, not following the rules, because you don't know the rules, then you are ignorant of the rules.

 

[aerialimagery]

" This guy has no insurance and no license so would it make it right if he went back after the fact and got it?

Just do the right thing. I have been flying for 2 years without a license, but in all that time I haven't done anything commercially. I have had people ask me to do some things. I have had people want to buy some photos. I have had people ask me why I didn't try to monetize my YouTube channels. Each and every time I said no or didn't do anything that would put me in that commercial category, because it wasn't legal for me to do that and I didn't want any repercussions to come back on me if I did. But it is game on now! "

How do you know he has no insurance.

Do you have insurance? Your drone could fly away and crash into the same house you mentioned.

 

[aerialimagery]

It's a case of we all need to be playing by the same rules/laws period.

Do you report an intoxicated driver? How do you KNOW he/she is intoxicated other than they are acting like it?

Russ pretty much NAILED it with his one simple and SPOT ON comment below:

So how does it look when someone is acting like they have no insurance? Also, why is this an issue in the context of regulations since it's not an FAA requirement (as far as I know).

 

[Russ Still]

You said someone who is flying without his 107 is probably ignorant and probably breaking regulations. Doesn't it then follow by your logic that all hobbyists are also probably breaking regulations since they have not passed any test?

Not at all, as long as they are flying recreationally they are not breaking any regulations stipulated under Part 107.

 

[aerialimagery]

Not at all, as long as they are flying recreationally they are not breaking any regulations stipulated under Part 107.

I see your point. I thought you were concerned about safety. For example, I thought your point might be that the commercial pilot without his part 107 might be ignorant about air spaces and might fly his drone in places where it might not be safe, and my response was since a hobbyist also didn't pass a 107 test, why wouldn't he be equally ignorant and unsafe?

 

[aerialimagery]

Do you not understand at all that to engage commercially in a business where you are flying a Drone in the United States, you must have your part 107 or a 333 exemption? I mean clearly you don't seem to know the rules yourself, or you didn't read the question clearly. A hobbyist can not make money legally flying a drone in any way.

Currently the rules for flying as a hobbyist do differ than those required of a 107 pilot, until the FAA phases in new rules under the 2018 Reauthorization Act. But NO WHERE in the rules currently in place or in the Reauthorization act can a hobbyist make money flying a drone legally without a 107. IF someone doesn't know something by definition they are ignorant of the rules. So yes if you are a hobbyist doing something you shouldn't be doing, not following the rules, because you don't know the rules, then you are ignorant of the rules.

Yes I understand that. I have a part 107 certification. Also, I read the question and understand it.

My point is that the guy who flies his drone without a 107 and makes a few dollars is no concern to me. I don't care. I won't report him. If he's doing better than I am it's because he's a better photographer or businessman, not because he has some advantage because he doesn't have a part 107 certification. He's not doing anything differently than the guy flying for fun. I don't care if you sell some of your images that you already have. It makes no sense to me that you can do the same flying in the same places and have the same imagery as I do, but can't sell the images because you don't have a piece of paper from the FAA. The OP seems more concerned about the fact that someone has something he doesn't have than with what is right. Those who are anxious to nail the "perpetrator" seem to be too anxious to get someone in trouble.

Also, I see your point about insurance. Isn't it possibly that someone without a part 107 like you could fly their drone into a mansion and cause a fire, etc. as per your hypothetical, and do you carry insurance to cover that?