I noticed this last episode (Season 7, Episode 26) had a few drone shots edited in. There have been other episodes in the past with drone footage too. Seeing the aerial footage of the hunting area really adds to the viewing experience for me. I like seeing the layout of the area thats being hunted. As a licensed drone pilot I'm also curious if the guys using the drone footage from their hunts are licensed drone pilots too.
I will be honest, I didn't know they were giving out "licenses" for drones.. chad and I shot all of our footage a DJI Inspire.
I'm assuming by licensed, you are referring to Part 107 Drone Certification. I can't speak for anyone on the BHOD crew, but I personally do not have a Part 107 certification. I think this is a bit of a grey area as most of the members of the BHOD crew fly as hobbyists and they are not profiting from their footage. It's not their jobs, the drones are flown for pleasure. The footage taken is not being sold, yet it is being used by BHOD in the production of footage that can generate profit for the owners. I fall under the same situation as I have a P3P and my footage will be used in a TV show. I'm giving my footage away and am not being compensated for my footage. To me, that's recreation since I'm not being paid for the footage. I have registered my drone w. the FAA as a "Fly for Fun" drone.
For mine, I can fly on our university property without any type or certification but I need to call the flights in. We don't make money off the pictures but being it's for a university, it's still a different category. If I were to leave the property I would technically need something else (I don't know what?). Like all regulations, too confusing to understand most of it.
You would just need to register the drone with the FAA. $5 and about 10 minutes worth of information on this website: Register Your Drone | Know Before You Fly
As long as it's registered, you are free to fly as long as you fly within the constraints of the law.
I have no idea about the compensation for a BHOD pro staff member, but if they are "paid" for their submitted hunting footage, and the drone footage is part of that, it is considered a commercial operation under Part 107. There's a lot of sponsored gear floating around in their tree stands. Even if they are only "paid" with the products they use it is still considered compensation.
I pulled this off the FAA's FAQ's page. What I take out of it is highlighted in bold. Submitting video to BHOD is the definition of a hobby. A pursuit outsides ones regular occupation seems to me to be exactly what they are doing. If we to go strictly on if you receive compensation or not, I would suspect thousands of YouTube channels would all be breaking the law because they are receiving compensation for views via advertisement dollars. I think we need to use a little common sense on this one. What is the definition of recreational or hobby use of a UAS? Recreational or hobby UAS use is flying for enjoyment and not for work, business purposes, or for compensation or hire. In the FAA's Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, the FAA relied on the ordinary, dictionary definition of these terms. UAS use for hobby is a "pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." UAS use for recreation is "refreshment of strength and spirits after work; a means of refreshment or division."
I believe you missed the first part of that paragraph. I'll repost it here and highlight the obvious. What is the definition of recreational or hobby use of a UAS? Recreational or hobby UAS use is flying for enjoyment and not for work, business purposes, or for compensation or hire. In the FAA's Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, the FAA relied on the ordinary, dictionary definition of these terms. UAS use for hobby is a "pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." UAS use for recreation is "refreshment of strength and spirits after work; a means of refreshment or division." Submitting video to BHOD is the definition of a hobby ONLY if the submission is completely free of any compensation. BHOD is a hunting show utilizing hunting footage submitted by members of its pro-staff. If those pro-staff members are compensated in any way, either with money or gear, and they use drone footage in their video submission then by rule it is no longer considered recreational or hobby use.
I don't think you can infer that they are being specifically compensated for the drone footage. I would bet you that they have signed some sort of contract that give BHOD the rights to use the footage, but they are not being directly compensated for providing the footage. They may receive free or discounted products from their sponsors but that is because they are willing to promote the sponsors, but I would venture to bet there is no compensation directly from BHOD. Again, I think some common sense needs to be used here. The federal government is just trying to distinguish a difference between hobby fliers and professional flyers that are being paid to perform a task with the drone like people who fly and take footage for real estate sales or for doing mapping or event videography. People that are making drone flying their main source of income.
You're dealing with the Federal Government. Common sense doesn't apply. FAA: Don't post drone videos on YouTube | WTOP
I think that letter represents an overreach of the FAA's power before there were any clear cut drone regulations. The current regulations didn't take effect until August of 2016.
Yeah mine is registered and I fly it as a hobby. Basically for my personal farming operation. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
But common sense SHOULD apply....since you, I, and everyone posting in this thread isn't the Federal Gov't.
