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FAA Part 107 - Operations Over People January 2022 USA

BigAl07

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Let's get this out there in one neat and tidy package for future reference. This is only relevant for Part 107 Operations under the FAA in the United States of America!!

This is from April 2021 so the actual dates might have changed a few days here or there but they are very close. At this point it's irrelevant!!

Ops over People (OOP):

There are 4 categories of OOP.

Ops over People, Category 1:

The PIC must use an aircraft that:

•Weighs less than 250g (.55 lbs.), and
•Contains no “exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin upon impact with a human being”.
•There are no manufacturer requirements for Declaration of Compliance. It will be incumbent upon the PIC to make sure the UAS qualifies.
•No sustained flights over open air assemblies w/o RID (concerts, construction sites, etc.).
•Goes into effect on 4/21/21.
•No flights over open-air assemblies w/o RID.


Ops over People, Category 2:

The PIC must use an aircraft that:

•Possesses a Declaration of Compliance.
•Does not transfer more than 11 ft/lbs of KE.
•Has no rotating parts that lacerate skin.
•Does not contain any safety defects.
•No sustained flights over open air assemblies w/o RID (concerts, construction sites, etc.).
•Labeled as such.
•Maintained records & instructions.
•Implementation date is dependent on when manufacturers can get their Declaration of Compliance approved.
•They can start submitting them 9-12 months after 4/16/21.

Ops over People, Category 3:

The PIC must use an aircraft that:

•Possesses a Declaration of Compliance.
•Does not transfer more than 25 ft/lbs of KE.
•Has no rotating parts that lacerate skin.
•Does not contain any safety defects.
•Labeled as such.
•Maintained records & instructions.
•The PIC may not fly above open air assemblies.
•May only operate over people if:
•On a closed-site with notice given, or
•If person is directly part of the operation, or
•Under shelter or stationary vehicle.
•There is no RID requirement for this category.
•Implementation date is dependent on when manufacturers can get their Declaration of Compliance approved.
•They can start submitting them 9-12 months after 4/16/21.

Ops over People, Category 4:

The PIC must use an aircraft that:

•Possesses a Part 21 Airworthiness Certificate.
•Operated within the Flight Manual.
•Be RID compliant.
•Have very detailed records.
•Have all records accessible by the FAA and/or NTSB.
•Implementation date is dependent on when manufacturers can get their Airworthiness Certificate approved.
•They can start submitting them 6-12 months after 4/16/21.

Ops Over Moving Vehicles:

The PIC must use an aircraft that:

•Qualifies for OOP operations
•Categories 1-3 must:
•Remain in a closed-set with notification, or
•Not maintain sustained flights over vehicles (basically they must be transitory).
•Category 4 must be operated in accordance with their Flight Manual.
•All operations over moving vehicles are tied to the timeline of the category of OOP they fall under.
 
So basically the skydio 2+ needs a category 4?


Cat 4 is going to be a hurdle to get and really designed for larger more complex aircraft.

§ 21.175 Airworthiness certificates: classification.


(a) Standard airworthiness certificates are airworthiness certificates issued for aircraft type certificated in the normal, utility, acrobatic, commuter, or transport category, and for manned free balloons, and for aircraft designated by the FAA as special classes of aircraft.
(b) Special airworthiness certificates are primary, restricted, limited, light-sport, and provisional airworthiness certificates, special flight permits, and experimental certificates.
 
I was wondering how i was going to do this with the Skdio 2 (which i just got).
I have a business now, and have had a 107 for 3 years.
No drones on the market that are at least semi affordable fit any of the criteria. the smallest DJI, with a special purchased very light battery., Just makes it under weight, so if it has prop guards, youre good. thats it.
Whether 107 or recreational there is no flying over people.
Thats going to be a little tough with an autonomous drone that does its own thing, when it needs to.

Im just on the lookout for anyone in the vicinity, and bring it back close if anyone is in the area.

Any of the Youtube videos i watch with the skydio following someone down a path, and someone has walked past in the other direction, "if the drone is DIRECTLY (an exact silhouette of the person extending up to infinity) over the other person has broken the law, and could be fined, and/or lose their 107.
 
Does the FAA ever actually define what they mean by “over people”, other than in the context of “open air assemblies”? I searched but couldn’t find the quote mentioned by @vincent228, where is that from?
 
Does the FAA ever actually define what they mean by “over people”, other than in the context of “open air assemblies”? I searched but couldn’t find the quote mentioned by @vincent228, where is that from?
It does not explain it in “exactly” those words. Tgat is a simplified version that came directly from a professional uav pilot that was trained directly from the FAA. Here is one of the FAA quotes. “Note: Sustained flight over an open-air assembly includes hovering above the heads of persons gathered in an open-air assembly, flying back and forth over an open-air assembly, or circling above the assembly in such a way that the small unmanned aircraft remains above some part the assembly. ‘Sustained flight’ over an open-air assembly of people in a Category 1, 2, or 4 operation does not include a brief, one-time transiting over a portion of the assembled gathering, where the transit is merely incidental to a point-to-point operation unrelated to the assembly.”. So basically, you can interpret that as “any uav flying over any crowd not protected by a covering”. That comes from this site: https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/operations_over_people/
If you would like, i could copy and paste the quote given to me by the pro.
 
Here is the exact explanation given to me by a person employee by the FAA, and also has a drone business on the side. My question was about crossing over a highway. But the explanation does encompass your question.

“The actual law you're looking for is "§ 107.145 Operations over moving vehicles". While the title mentions moving vehicles, the rule is actually about people inside moving vehicles. Wording in the body of the law states: "No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft over a human being located inside a moving vehicle unless the following conditions are met:..." and then it goes on to describe the conditions.

Suffice to say that those conditions mirror Operations Over People (OOP) rules. So unless you have a Category 1 OOP compliant drone, you technically can't fly over people in moving cars.

By the way, "over" means "over" when it comes to OOP regulations. Imagine a column of air directly above the person in questions the exact shape of that person. If the drone enters that column, it's over them. If it's not (1" any direction), you're no longer over them. When determining safety mitigations, you should also take into account mechanical failure and it's inevitable flight path after failure. If that takes you into the realm of OOP, you should probably not fly.

This is an RPIC determined mitigation.

This is all assuming you're flying in the U.S.”
 
Thanks, I am talking about flight in the US (recreational though also interested in how OOP relates to Part 107 flight) but I was wondering about the details in part because Canadian laws are a bit more specific (and restrictive). There, for "Basic operations" (roughly comparable to recreational for FAA) you can't fly closer than 100 feet horizontally from 'bystanders' ("anyone that is not directly associated with the operation").

So for Skydio flights in the US I'm not too concerned, I already avoid overflying anyone who's not involved with the operation, and certainly stay well away from crowds.

Even tracking a subject who's not part of the ops seems like a non-issue, setting privacy aside, as long as it's at all a side view and doesn't directly over-fly.

All this of course with failure cases in mind as you mention. Always good to expect it might fall straight down (maybe a bit downwind) at any moment.

Canada will be more tricky in this regard because of the 100' horizontal thing. But it's much more sparsely populated anyway, so... :p
 
Wow. I guess Canada is a lot more strict in their rules. Which kind of sucks because when my wife and I were going to travel to the west coast, I was really hoping to fly that area of Canada. As far as recreational vs 107. At least in the U.S, the rules are pretty much the same. Except you cannot benefit monetarily without a 107. And a few lax rule on recreational. But the OOP are identical. I hope that helps.
 
My question is, has anyone seen propeller guards for Skydio 2+? I do not spy them on the store nor the great Google.
I'm studying for my part 107 right now, and I can see nothing in the circulars that say folding props are any different than solid props when it comes to exposed rotating elements.
 
AgEagle eBee X appears to be the only drone approved for OOP Category 3. It's a very nice drone, but much more than I need (and apparently it costs $15k+). Has anyone heard if Skydio, or any other drone manufacturers are at work on a drone that has the FAA certificate of compliance for Category 1, 2, or 3? Nice that the FAA is allowing OOP without waivers, but if the manufacturers don't start producing the drones the new rules aren't doing much.

Until there are more options available that meet Category 1, 2, or 3, the ParaZero system appears to be the FAA favorite for OOP waivers. ParaZero makes a nice kit for the DJI Mavic. Does anyone know of something similar for the S2?
 
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I'm wondering how Skydio owners comply with this regulation. Are there Emergency controls that stop the props?

I'd like to ask, what do most folks who own an SD2 use them for ??? New to the Skydio family
 
I'm wondering how Skydio owners comply with this regulation. Are there Emergency controls that stop the props?

I'd like to ask, what do most folks who own an SD2 use them for ??? New to the Skydio family
To my understanding, you cannot get around the Operations Over People compliance as the Skydio 2/2+ are Category 2. Are there any Cat 2 that are approved yet?

To make this clearer, go to UAS Declaration of Compliance and filter by OOP and search Skydio.... nada.

Even though the Skydio 2 series has an Remote ID Means of Compliance, it doesn't appear they are approved for OOP. You could always buy or make prop guards and request a waiver. Kinda like asking a hot girl (or guy) on a date.

Cat 2 drones have been approved for a waiver (I think). The get-around was the people were "on notice" the drone would fly over them. I recall these were NOT mass assemblies. There was a looonnng discussion on the Pilot Institute Part 107 Facebook group regarding Cat 2 and the rigors of flying OOP or nearly so.

That said, others have still performed filming and crowd counting functions utilizing "clearly" designated drone areas. The right angle can fool the human eye to appear "directly over" humans and their "parts".
 
Hey FP, thanks for your take on this. I'll end up using it, as you stated "on notice" and by angles...TY
 

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