I hold an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate and have overseen drone operations for a county. Drones are a small part of my work; this page covers the credential and how I approach safety and privacy.
Certification
Current
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot
Small unmanned aircraft systems
How I would run a public-sector UAS program
- Written procedures first: who may fly, for what purposes, and who approves each flight.
- Check the airspace and the rules before every flight, and work from a pre-flight checklist.
- Log every flight, every battery and every maintenance item.
- Plan flights to avoid capturing people and private property; blur faces, license plates and house numbers before anything is shared.
- Strip location metadata from images before they are published, and keep imagery of sensitive facilities out of public view.
- Decide in advance how long footage is kept and who can see it.