Pilots Register Thousands of Drones

A measure number of drone owners are showing to be responsible and lawful, as over 181,000 unmanned vehicles have been federally registered since the Federal Aviation Administration kicked off its national database on December 21, the head of the FAA reported Wednesday.

According to the law, all unmanned aircraft weighing between 0.55-55 lbs.—including when carrying bits like cameras—must be registered. Pounds (approx. 25 kilograms), including payloads such as on-board cameras, must be registered. Operators of drones prior to Dec. 21 have until February 19, 2016 to get listed—but owners who started their drone piloting following the December deadline cannot fly without joining first.

The FAA also released an Apple smart phone app for drone operators—B4UFLY—which warns about nearby no-fly zones (a beta version for Android is also available).

“We expect B4UFLY will help raise public awareness about what it means to operate unmanned aircraft safely said FAA head Michael Huerta while speaking at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, “It is another important part of our education and awareness efforts to foster a culture of safety and accountability for the UAS community.”

This is making sure information related to drone flight is likely to become vital to share as approximately 400,000 drones were sold during the holidays (as per the Consumer Technology Association)

Registration can be achieved online at faa.gov/uas/registration, for a $5 fee.