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FAA Releases Proposed Rules for Small Drones

Businesses might not deliver packages or pizzas by drone quite yet, but the Federal Aviation Administration is taking a step toward the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft.

The agency unveiled proposed new regulations for small unmanned systems (weighing less than 55 pounds or 25 kilograms) on Feb. 14.

Under the rules, flights would be limited to daylight hours and aircraft would have to stay within sight of their operators. According to the FAA, the rules cover height restrictions, operator certification, use of a field observer (which will be optional), aircraft registration, aircraft markings and operational limits.

The FAA announcement is available on the Internet at http://1.usa.gov/1AaMoDX.

Public comment on the rules is now open.

One of the avenues the government plans to explore is regulations for “micro” unmanned aircraft of less than 4.4 pounds or 2 kilograms.

Authorities will take comments on the idea of sending small unmanned aircraft beyond an operator’s line of sight.

San Diego has several businesses that sell unmanned aircraft to the government, hobbyists and business interests.

Businesses see the potential of using unmanned aircraft for still and video photography, agricultural crop monitoring — and maybe one day, package delivery.

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