FCC Cracks Open the Door for Chinese Toy Drones, Walmart and Wing Expand, and a Man Shoots a BB Gun at a DFR Drone

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. I have three stories for you this week. The FCC opens the door for Chinese toy drones, but there’s a bit of a catch. Walmart and Wing are expanding their drone delivery operation. And then in Lee County, Florida, a DFR drone gets shot at with a BB gun. So let’s get to it.

The FCC Will Allow Chinese Toy Drones, but Almost Nothing Qualifies

First up this week, the FCC just announced that it will allow new models of Chinese toy drones to be imported into the United States. But before you get too excited, the rules are so tight that there’s actually almost nothing that qualifies, as expected.

To be considered a toy under this new exemption, a drone would have to weigh no more than 150 grams, or 5.29 ounces. It also must stay within 100 meters (328 feet) line of sight, fly no longer than 10 minutes on a charge, have a 300-foot altitude ceiling, and a speed cap of 10 meters per second, which is 22 mph. Now, more importantly, it cannot have any GPS, no brushless motors — which I don’t even know how that would work — and absolutely no camera or network capability.

So to put it in perspective, the DJI Neo, which is like the smallest-ish drone you probably want to buy, weighs just 135 grams, which passes the weight test. But it carries a 12-megapixel camera that shoots 4K video, it uses a wireless link rated to several kilometers, it has brushless motors, and it flies for 18 minutes. So it completely fails basically the rest of the requirements. And obviously, drones like the Mini 4 Pro, the Mini 5 Pro, or anything in that category at 249 grams don’t even pass the weight check.

Walmart and Wing Expand Into Seven New Metro Areas

Next up, we have a massive expansion in drone delivery that is putting two major operators on a direct collision course. Walmart and their drone partner Wing just announced that they’re going to be in seven new metro areas to do deliveries, including Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City.

Wing has already completed well over 1 million commercial deliveries, averaging about 23 minutes per drop. The service is free for Walmart Plus members and then $19.99 for anybody else who wants to use it.

Now, the snag here is that Amazon Prime Air is also staging operations in Memphis and is actively conducting flights in Phoenix. Since the Wing aircraft don’t really look like cranes, the risk of collision with a Prime Air drone is pretty low. Wing uses a smaller, purpose-built drone that hovers and then lowers the package on a tether. Amazon, on the other hand, uses what they call the MK30, which weighs 83 pounds and carries up to 5 pounds of cargo. Now, Amazon has had a few incidents this year with the MK30, reportedly crashing into a construction crane twice, an internet cable, and an apartment building. Thankfully there were no injuries, but it will be interesting to see how the systems compare in the same operating environments.

A Man Fires a BB Gun at a Lee County DFR Drone — and That’s a Federal Felony

And then last up, this is in Lee County, where the sheriff’s office in Southwest Florida released footage showing a man firing a BB gun at one of their UAS that was doing a search operation. The drone was flying as part of the department’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) program while they were searching for a bear, when its operator spotted a group of men who were apparently shooting a firearm into the wooded area. The released video shows that one of the men was pointing the BB gun at the drone and then firing it twice. The arrest occurred on Saturday, with the deputies using the live feed as real-time evidence to support the arrest.

Now, firing at an aircraft, including drones, is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 32, destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities. The penalty here runs up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or possibly both. The classification of a drone as an aircraft is established in 18 U.S.C. § 31(a)(1), which defines aircraft as any contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, fly, or travel in the air. The FAA has previously confirmed that shooting at an unmanned aircraft falls under section 32, and federal prosecutors have charged individuals on that basis. The type of weapon and whether or not the drone is damaged is actually not a factor in the offense. The act of firing constitutes the violation.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office stated that its drone carries an LCSO insignia and also has red and blue lights anytime it’s airborne, providing visual cues that the aircraft is indeed law enforcement. Now, as always, you know what I’m going to say — don’t be that guy.

We’ll continue that conversation on Post Flight, where we discuss the stories uncensored in the premium community. Even the Neo 2 wouldn’t qualify for this exemption. There are more grams of sugar in a can of Mountain Dew than there are grams of drone. There’s a link in the description if you want to join. We’ll see you on Monday for the live Q&A. Have a great weekend.

You can watch more videos like this on the Pilot Institute YouTube channel. Read more articles by Greg Reverdiau on DroneXL.