The Federal Aviation Agency may finalize its highly anticipated rules for commercial drones by the end of the year, . Among those rules: a requirement that all drone operators obtain pilot certification, a process that demands dozens of hours in a cockpit. Rules would apply to drones weighing less than 55 pounds and limit flights to daytime hours and an altitude of 400 feet.
People 鈥渇amiliar with the matter鈥 told the聽WSJ that the rules may be more restrictive than what drone enthusiasts have expected over the past six years, though recent news hinted that national regulators would take a tough stance on the pilotless aircraft. Last week, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to police civilian drones. , the NTSB clearly set out a very broad definition of 鈥渁ircraft鈥 that also put drone supporters on edge: 鈥淎n 鈥榓ircraft鈥 is any device used for flight in the air.鈥
This comes as bad news for those who argue that the FAA should create more lenient rules for smaller drones. WSJ聽sources point out that the rules would not properly address privacy concerns. Such sweeping applications may also hamper drone operations that do more good than harm鈥攍ike those used by.