Drones for moviemaking face likely FAA approval

[unhappycamper]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/09/25/3397713/drones-for-moviemaking-face-likely.html?sp=/99/261/



This image provided by Aerial MOB, LLC, shows their eight rotor Sky Jib Helicopter in San Diego, Calif., in August 2013. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce Thursday, Sept. 26, that it is granting permits to seven movie and television production companies to fly drones, including those from Aerial MOB, LLC, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, said attorneys and a company official familiar with the decision. The seven companies have been working with the Motion Picture Association of America for two years to win approval from the FAA.

Drones for moviemaking face likely FAA approval
By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press
September 25, 2014 Updated 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce Thursday that it is granting permits to seven movie and television production companies to fly drones, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, said attorneys and a company official familiar with the decision.

However, the permits are expected to come with limitations, including that the unmanned aircraft be used only on closed sets and that they be operated by a three-person team, including a trained drone operator.

Until now, the only permit for commercial drone operations the FAA has granted has been to the Conoco Phillips oil company, which has flown two kinds of unmanned aircraft in unpopulated areas of Alaska and over the Arctic Ocean with significant limitations on their use.

The FAA is under intense pressure from Congress and a plethora of industries that want to use the technology or sell it to others to relax its ban on commercial drone use. Companies want to use drones to monitor pipelines, inspect the undersides of oil platforms and bridges, and spray crops. Amazon and Google want to use them to deliver packages. Wedding videographers, real estate agents, journalists and other many others are clamoring to use them as well.