A new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) memorandum, issued on May 4, expands use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for student coursework community-sponsored events, a shift from previous policy.
Faculty and students are now permitted to conduct drone operations for educational purposes, which will be considered a "hobby or recreational" use and not require FAA authorization.
"AMA [ Academy of Model Aeronautics] applauds the FAA for making it clear that students can use UAS, including model aircraft, for educational purposes," AMA Executive Director Dave Mathewson said. "For years, model aircraft have been used for science, technology, education and math (STEM) education without burdensome requirements on teachers and students."
Previously, the FAA had issues cease-and-desist notices to universities teaching students to operate drones.
The policy now allows student drone operations without FAA authorization at schools and other community-sponsored events as long as they are not compensated for it, and faculty to assistant with the institution. All other uses must seek FAA authorization.
There have been 5,188 UAS operators approved by the FAA under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization Act as of May 9, 2016. And FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said he estimates seven million drones will be flying by 2020 during a keynote speech at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) conference.
