Skip to main content

Hobbyist drone owners can now get their registration fees back

drones faa refund registration fee flying drone
Lu Yao / Shutterstock
Much was made of the launch of the drone registry in 2015, which forced hobbyist pilots to fork out five bucks to have their details sit on a database in case you decided to do something silly with your flying machine and the authorities needed to track you down.

Up to a million drone owners have so far done as they were told, hitting the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) website to register their information. But then in May a U.S. appeals court affirmed an earlier lower court ruling that said the policy was in violation of a preexisting law banning regulation of model aircraft. So for the last few months, buyers of new drones have been able to fly them without first registering their details.

Recommended Videos

But the story doesn’t end there. Although the FAA is still encouraging hobbyist drone owners to register their details voluntarily, May’s ruling has led the agency to start offering a refund to registered users and for their details to be wiped from the database.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

To obtain your $5 refund and have your registration details deleted, you’ll need to fill out this FAA form, which requires you to confirm that you only fly your drone for hobby or recreational use. Commercial drones still need to be registered.

Submitting the form will guarantee the deletion of your records, though you’ll need to check a box and give your bank details if you want your $5 back.

The odd thing is, another ruling could be on the way that stipulates owners of consumer drones must register their flying machine, which would mean that anyone who unregisters their drone now will have to register it again, possibly for a future system that allows a drone in the sky to be identified by officials on the ground. So is it really worth the hassle of taking yourself off the database now?

When it launched toward the end of 2015 in response to the growing popularity of remotely controlled quadcopters and the like, the FAA said its registration system would “foster a greater awareness on the part of users to learn the rules about flying safely” in U.S. airspace, and would also enable the authorities to trace ownership of a drone in the event of an incident.

The FAA also launched a B4UFLY iOS and Android app to teach owners about drone safety. The app lets you know if there are any flight restrictions at your current location. Responses could include, “Proceed with Caution,” “Warning — Action Required,” or “Flight Prohibited.”

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
HomePod owners can now ask Siri to play music from Deezer
homepod mini hand side

Music streaming service Deezer can now be added to the HomePod and HomePod mini. Doing so means that if you own one of Apple's smart speakers, you'll be able to ask Siri to play tracks, artists, albums, favorites, or playlists. It will work for Deezer subscribers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.

Deezer joins just a handful of third-party streaming music services that Apple allows on HomePod devices, including iHeartRadio and Pandora.

Read more
FAA authorizes autonomous drone flight without an operator nearby
DJI Mavic Air 2 underneath view

You could soon be able to buy and operate your own autonomous drone, thanks to the first approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of an automated drone that can operate without a human pilot on site. The company American Robotics announced it has received FAA approval for its A.I.-powered drone which can operate safely even when the operator isn't within line of sight.

Autonomous drones are already used in applications like patrolling military bases, but until now there hasn't been a commercially available drone that flew autonomously.

Read more
New drone rules could be troublesome for some owners
dji mavic 2 pro zoom drone deals best buy summer sale 2020 2018 768x479 c

New rules mean that from 2023 anyone with a drone weighing more than 0.55 pounds (that’s most consumer drones on the market today) will have to ensure their flying machine is fitted with Remote ID technology — a kind of “digital license plate” — so the authorities can see the location and details of both the pilot and their drone.

The new measures, unveiled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday, December 28, will also allow drones to be flown over people and at night, though extra training will be required beforehand.
Remote ID
Drone makers will be given 18 months to start incorporating Remote ID into their flying machines, while owners will have a further 12 months to register their Remote ID.

Read more