Everything you need to know about flying a drone recreationally

Flying a drone can be done for fun or for hire, but if you’re new to the activity or interested in taking it up for the first time, then flying for fun is absolutely going to be the best place for anyone to start.

If you’re thinking about getting into the hobby for the sake of capturing wicked aerial images and videos and giving your photography and videography skills a boost, then there are a few things you really should know before getting started. Once you’re all set up, you can fire up your Mac and supplement your photo and video libraries in ways you never thought possible.

Rules and regulations for recreational drone flyers

As you might come to expect, there are rules and regulations in place to ensure the safety of the airspace. You’ll find rules and regulations in almost every country around the world to some varying degree, with some places having stricter and others having more relaxed standards. Rules and regulations impacting drone flights shouldn’t be viewed as roadblocks, but instead as guardrails to ensure safe and well-intended drone operations.

In the United States, the airspace is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This government agency enforces a part of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) known as Part 107 for commercial drone flyers. Tucked inside of Part 107 is a carve-out for recreational flyers called Section 44809.

If you plan to fly a drone for your personal enjoyment, and not for hire whether you’re being compensated or not, then you can fly it under the rules of Section 44809. You do not need a license to fly a drone under Section 44809, but you do need to pass the FAA’s free TRUST test and carry your completed certificate on or about your person when flying a drone.

Additionally, you must register your drone with the FAA for $5 from the FAA’s DroneZone website if it weighs more than 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds. Many “mini” drones have a takeoff weight of 249 grams or less, and do not need to be registered with the FAA if flown recreationally (a 250-gram takeoff weight is the threshold after which a drone must be registered with the FAA to legally fly it).

To qualify for the recreational drone-flying carve-out known as Section 44809, you must follow nine rules. If you break even one of those nine rules, then the FAA automatically lumps you into flying your drone commercially under Part 107. This could land you in hot water if you don’t have your Part 107 remote pilot license, and that’s why it’s important to understand and comply with the rules for recreational flyers before taking off.

Nine rules for recreational drone flight

If you’re going to be flying your drone recreationally, which means only for fun and not for hire, then you can follow the rules of Section 44809.

One mistake we see often is people assuming that because they aren’t being paid that they’re not flying commercially. This isn’t always the case. The FAA considers flying a drone for hire, even if you aren’t being paid for it, to be flying for commercial purposes — this would include volunteer work or favor work.

On the other hand, if you’re just going to your local recreational center to fly for your enjoyment or with a group of fellow drone hobbyists, then you may qualify for Section 44809.

The nine rules of Section 44809 are as follows:

1. Fly only for recreational purposes (personal enjoyment).
2. Follow the safety guidelines of an FAA-recognized Community Based Organization (CBO).
3. Keep your drone within the visual line of sight or use a visual observer who is co-located (physically next to) and in direct communication with you.
4. Give way to and do not interfere with other aircraft.
5. Fly at or below FAA-authorized altitudes in controlled airspace (Class B, Class C, Class D, and surface Class E designated for an airport) only with prior authorization by using LAANC or DroneZone.
6. Fly at or below 400 feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspace (Class G).
7. Take The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) and carry proof of test passage when flying.
8. Have a current FAA registration, mark your drone(s) with the registration number, and carry proof of registration with you when flying.
9. Do not operate your drone in a manner that endangers the safety of the national airspace system.

Those are the nine rules that every recreational remote pilot operating a drone must follow to comply with federal law in the United States. The FAA also wants recreational drone pilots to be aware of the following:

• Flying drones in restricted airspace is not allowed. Drone pilots should always check for airspace restrictions prior to flight using the free B4UFLY app or the FAA’s UAS Facility Maps web page.
• Starting September 16, 2023, any drone that requires a registration number will also be required to broadcast Remote ID information. The drone may already do this out of the box, or you may be required to outfit your drone with a remote ID device.
• Individuals violating any of these rules and/or operating in a dangerous manner may be subject to FAA enforcement action.

What does & doesn’t constitute recreational drone flying?

The FAA doesn’t give any examples of what constitutes recreational drone flying, but they do give examples of non-recreational drone flying, to include the following:

• Taking photos to help sell a property or service
• Inspecting building rooftops
• Taking pictures of a high school football game for the school’s website
• Acts of goodwill
• Volunteering to survey coastlines on behalf of a non-profit organization

As you might have noticed, the general pattern of non-recreational drone flights include flying for hire, whether you’re making money from it or not.

While this isn’t intended to be construed as legal advice, flying a drone recreationally typically means that you’re just flying to enjoy the thrill of the act itself with no other motives behind it.

If you’re unsure whether your drone flying activities will be considered recreational or not, then the FAA recommends flying under Part 107 by default, which requires a remote pilot license and following a longer list of rules and requirements because it’s no longer considered to be recreational flying.

The FAA provides a handy online tool that can help you decide which rules to fly under.

How difficult is TRUST?

The FAA’s TRUST test is easy, and you can’t possibly fail it because if you get anything wrong, then you can simply try again.

You can take TRUST from any provider on the FAA’s website from the comfort of your home on your personal computer. Overall, you can expect to spend about 30 minutes taking the TRUST test.

After passing TRUST, you can either print a paper copy of your passing certificate or save it as a PDF and upload it to your Files app so that it syncs with iCloud and becomes easily accessible at any time.

If you should ever lose your TRUST certificate, you will need to take the test all over again since the FAA doesn’t keep a record of test takers and therefore cannot retrieve your passing score or certificate.

What are Community Based Organizations?

Community Based Organizations (CBO) are generally non-profit groups that promote nationwide recreational remote aircraft flying.

There are tons of these around the United States, but to satisfy the FAA’s recreational flying requirement, you must choose to follow the rules set forth by one that the FAA recognizes.

The FAA has a growing list of approved CBO guidelines that you can choose from. We recommend reading all of them to see which one best suits your drone flying needs. As every CBO has its own set of guidelines, no two will be alike.

While not required, we recommend printing a copy of your chosen CBO guidelines and keeping them with you when you fly your drone as evidence of the CBO guidelines you’re following if asked by law enforcement or the FAA.

Understanding recreational drone registration

You need to register the drone you plan to fly if its takeoff weight is more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds. Anything heavier than 55 pounds requires extra paperwork, and you aren’t likely to be flying a drone this heavy in the first place.

If your drone’s takeoff weight is 249 grams or less and it will only be flown recreationally, then it doesn’t need to be registered with the FAA.

The only time a drone with a takeoff weight of 249 grams or less needs to be registered with the FAA is when it will be flown for commercial, or otherwise non-recreational purposes.

If flying your drone recreationally, and you own more than one drone, then you may attach the same registration number to every one of your drones. This can be done with a simple sticker, but if you prefer, you can also use a permanent marker or an engraving method to mark the surface of your drone.

The only time you need separate registration numbers for more than one drone is when they will be flown for commercial, non-recreational purposes.

The cost to register a drone is $5 per registration and can be done via the FAA’s DroneZone website. Do not use other websites or pay more than the required $5.

Once registered, and after attaching your registration number to your drone’s external surface, you may print it out or save it as a PDF and upload it to your Files app so that it syncs with iCloud and becomes easily accessible at any time.

Additional things to keep in mind

Before flying a drone for recreational purposes, you should always follow basic safety procedures. Some of the things you should check are:

• Ensure that you aren’t under the influence of alcohol or drugs that could impact your ability to fly a drone safely.
• Check that you have all required documentation on or about your person.
• Use the B4UFLY app to ensure there aren’t any temporary flight restrictions and that you aren’t taking off in controlled airspace without authorization.
• Check the weather to make sure you don’t fly your drone in unsafe conditions.
• Review over your aircraft, battery, and propellers and ensure they’re free of cracks, warping, or other damage that could impact a safe flight; replace anything that needs replacing before taking off.
• Ensure your drone batteries and remote controller are fully charged.
• Ensure your remote controller exhibits a strong wireless connection with your drone prior to taking off.
• Designate takeoff and landing locations and set a return to home point in case of any malfunctions in mid-air.
• Ensure you’ve connected to enough GPS satellites to ensure a stable flight.
• Survey your surroundings to ensure there aren’t any hazardous obstacles around you.
• Attempt to fly far away from people to avoid the possibility of bodily injury.
• Be mindful of people’s privacy in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy and avoid capturing photos and videos of people without their permission.

Another thing we should note is that while the FAA has exclusive authority over the airspace in the United States, state and local governments can control where you can take off and land from. Research and stay mindful of your local laws so that you don’t run into any trouble with local law enforcement when sending your bird into the sky.

If you’re unsure if you might get in trouble for flying your drone in a particular place, it’s best to check with the property owner before flying. This is especially going to be the case if you plan to use onboard cameras for photo or video capture.

You should generally avoid flying a drone over sensitive areas such as critical infrastructure and highly populated areas where you may inadvertently hover over people.

What is the best drone for recreational flying?

This is a highly subjective question, and it will result in a highly subjective answer.

Personally, I only ever recommend DJI drones. They’re reliable, feature-packed, and come with great warranties and support. I always compare DJI to Apple in that DJI is the Apple of the drone world.

Recreational flyers can use full-size or mini drones. It really come to personal preference regarding portability, features, and what you’re willing to spend.

If you’re an entry-level recreational flyer, then I would recommend something along the lines of the following:

• DJI Mini 2 (regularly $449)
• DJI Mini 3 (regularly $559)
• DJI Air 2S (regularly $799)
• DJI Mavic 3 Classic (regularly $1,549)

If you’re somewhat experienced in drone flight and may work to become a commercial Part 107-certified remote pilot in the future, then you may want to invest in something more advanced, like the following:

• DJI Mini 3 Pro (regularly $909)
• DJI Mavic 3 Pro (regularly $2,199)

Better and more capable drones apart from those mentioned above do exist, but I won’t recommend them to recreational flyers because of the additional cost associated with them. For the most part, only commercially-licensed Part 107 professionals will demand higher performance than what we’ve suggested above.

Wrapping up

If that seemed like a lot to wrap your mind around, then don’t fret. You will quickly become familiar with the rules of the air after a few recreational flights of your own, allowing you to take to the skies and capture some stunning photos and/or videos of your own.

Getting into the basics is a great gateway toward furthering yourself and your photography and videography capabilities – something that a drone can absolutely help you do. Just remember that you’re only flying for fun under these rules. Should you decide to fly for hire, whether being paid or not, then you need to get your Part 107 remote pilot license.

Do you plan to, or are you already exploring recreational drone flight? Let us know in the comments section down below.

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