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| Aerial photo from a low-end drone showing "jello" distortion |
Three years in prison and a total of $277,500 in fines and penalties. That's what I could receive if I flew my camera-equipped quadcopter without marking an official FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) number on it. And that's just federal heat. Texas has its own set of rules and consequences.
Welcome to the fun world of drone flying!
I wanted to get a drone to use as a flying camera. I'm not real interested in racing them or building my own. I just wanted a flying camera. In this case, I wanted to be open and legal about it. (Disclaimer: I don't necessarily urge other people to be open and legal. I have specific reasons.)
Besides the federal laws, Texas has its own set of drone rules, some of which sound pretty weird. It seems to be legal here to take pictures with a drone in a public space, but only if you use a non-"amplified" camera, and you don't fly more than eight feet above the ground.
That's weird, because in a public space, people occupy the first six feet or so of the available airspace. Maybe seven feet if you count hats and hairdos. That's not where you want to fly a drone, because people!
I haven't been strong enough yet to try to figure out what an "amplified" camera is, or why they're so dangerous.
