Over the years the RC hobby has undergone many changes. Such as gold sticker radio equipment, the introduction of 2.4gHz, and the popularity of electric power to name a few. Now the FAA is taking action to have remote ID technology-equipped drones to enable the FAA to track them during flight.
What is a Drone? According to the dictionary, a Drone is an unmanned aircraft. This definition is too broad because it includes RC aircraft of all types whether they are flown "line of sight", FPV, or autonomously. AMA has done a good job lobbying the FAA to create approval for "line of sight" RC aircraft to be flown at approved FRIA (Federal Recognized Identification Aera). This is a geographic area where drones are allowed to fly without having to use Remote ID technology. FRIA goes into effect on 9/16/2023. Currently, I belong to 3 RC clubs, as of today one has FRIA approval, one has been denied due to its location to a small private airport, the other I am waiting to hear if they are approved or not. The club with the denial plans to appeal the decision. However, AMA has announced FAA is extending the remote ID tracking requirement until 3/16/2024.
The overall issue as I see it is traditional RC model aircraft flown by "line of sight" are being grouped with FPV and autonomously flown RC model aircraft. The FAA requirement for remote ID for so-called "drones" should apply to FPV and autonomously flown RC model aircraft. The other issue is the term drone also applies to "line of sight" flown RC model aircraft because they're unmanned. We need another term to enable separation.
A summary of FAA's final FRIA and remote ID requirements
