FAA: More than 180,000 Drones Have Been Registered So Far
Anyone who purchased a drone after December 21st must register with the Federal Aviation Administration, and the number of Americans who have done so is now solidly into the six digits. At a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced that as of this morning, 181,061 people haven registered as drone owners. That’s up significantly from the 45,000 registrations that the agency announced last month.
Anyone who registers their drone before Jan. 20th won’t have to pay the $5 fee that will be required afterward. (The FAA is at CES and has a booth where you can register, if you happen to be in Las Vegas this week.) Registration requires your name, home address, and email address, and is valid for three years and an unlimited number of drones. If you’re caught flying without registering, you could face civil penalties of up to $27,500.
In related drone news today, the FAA announced that its atrociously named B4UFLY app — that’s “before you fly,” but styled as if it were a Prince song — is now available in beta for Android. The app uses your location to determine if there are any flight restrictions in the area and has a “planner” mode to see whether there are any restrictions for a planned future flight. It was previously released for iOS.
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