Drone Service Providers

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Sep 28

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COVERED LIST

FCC Covered List Doesn't Ground Your Drone. Repair Waits Do.

A Commercial UAV Expo panel spent the morning correcting the word ban. What bites operators is parts, repair queues and six to nine week lead times.

Haye KestelooSep 1

A DJI Mini 5 Pro hovering above a field of goldenrod

State Law

Washington Commercial Drone Fees Jump 10x to $150 After Jet Tax Repeal

Washington will charge commercial drone operators $150 per aircraft a year from January 2027, up from $15, in the bill that repealed its luxury jet tax.

Haye KestelooAug 25

Close-up of a DJI Mini 5 Pro in flight, its gimbal camera and forward sensors facing the viewer against blurred green trees.

OPERATORS

DJI Ban Hits Home: Drone Pilots Ask Whether Their Businesses Survive

A new Part 107 pilot asked Facebook if the DJI ban killed his drone business before launch. 268 comments show what operators face ahead of September 3.

Haye KestelooAug 20

AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins on stage at XPONENTIAL Detroit in May 2026, weeks after defending the FCC's expanded Covered List.

ADVOCACY

DSPA Presses AUVSI To Back Operators Over Bans After Robbins Exit

DSPA calls on AUVSI to reset after Michael Robbins' exit: back drone operators, demand evidence, and judge drones on risk, not country of origin.

Haye KestelooAug 20

DJI Mini 5 Pro Best Settings Guide - Best Deals on Amazon for DJI Drones - The Toy Association lobbied its way to an FCC toy-drone exemption while DJI, Autel, and the operators who fly for a living stay banned. A look at who wins in Washington.

DJI

Toy Drones Win In Washington While Working Pilots Keep Losing

The Toy Association lobbied its way to an FCC toy-drone exemption while DJI, Autel, and the operators who fly drones for a living stay banned. A look at who wins in Washington.

Haye KestelooJun 17

FAA's ICE NOTAM Gets Teeth: Change 13 Is the Enforcement Escalation Drone Pilots Should Fear - FAA Cracks Down on Drone Violations with $341,413 in Proposed Penalties - FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024: Key Changes for Drones and Advanced Air Mobility

FAA

FAA Adds DHS Drone Authorization Path To World Cup NOTAMs, Texas Locations First

The Federal Aviation Administration will modify all of its FIFA World Cup 2026 drone NOTAMs to add an authorization pathway through the Department of Homeland Security, starting with the Texas locations. The change comes less than two weeks after the tournament’s sweeping flight restrictions took effect on June 1 and began grounding commercial drone operators…

Haye KestelooJun 9

FAA

DSPA Urges FAA To Use Section 2209 NPRM To Preempt 25 State Drone Airspace Laws

The Drone Service Providers Alliance is pressing the FAA to use its long-overdue Section 2209 rule to invalidate the patchwork of critical infrastructure airspace laws that 25 states wrote while the federal rule sat undone for nearly a decade. In a comment guide posted to the alliance’s website, DSPA President Vic Moss laid out a…

Haye KestelooMay 16

FAA

FAA’s ICE NOTAM Gets Teeth: Change 13 Is the Enforcement Escalation Drone Pilots Should Fear

FAA Order 2150.3C Change 13 removes investigator discretion for drone pilots, mandating legal action for violations of invisible DHS/ICE mobile restrictions under NOTAM FDC 6/4375.

Haye KestelooMar 12

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