Congratulations to the Green Hope High School students and teachers for their eagerness to learn and use unmanned aircraft for a fun event at school. Unfortunately, for now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put a stop to the practice.

Recently, a group of Green Hope High students have been learning about operating unmanned aircraft while videoing their Friday night football games. The school’s cyber security club, named “The Black Falcons”, used a camera on their aircraft to video and stream their school’s football game live on the internet. What a great way to learn a new technology that will undoubtedly be a technology they will use and benefit from during their adult lives. The use of unmanned aircraft will be a normal practice in the coming years for many businesses and events.

The FAA however disagreed. The FAA sent a letter to the school which citied FAA regulations of the use of unmanned aircraft over large crowds. The FAA is currently working on regulations regarding the use of unmanned aircraft. Many people and companies are eager for the FAA to finalize the regulations in order to allow this technology to be used more readily.

The FAA has published guidelines for recreational use of airspace by unmanned aircraft. They did so in the FAA Advisory Circular 91-57.

Using unmanned aircraft for personal, recreational, hobby and/or business use will certainly increase in the coming years.