I'm not writing this to discourage people from getting a Part 107 or from getting involved in the commercial UAS industry. However, I am writing this now because I feel we are on a bad path that will hurt the UAS industry in ways we can't fully comprehend yet. Bad pilots/operators lead to rules being made that effect us all. The same way the one obnoxious kid in elementary school would get the whole class in trouble, bad pilots create a bad image for the whole UAS community. This leads to more strict rules, and it turn makes life harder for those of us already in the industry. Not only does it make it harder for all of us currently in industry, but it also makes the industry more difficult for new people to get into. We as a community need to push for everyone to be more professional and to swiftly distance ourselves from the bad apples currently here.
Likely you have experience driving somewhere, when on your commute, you come across a really poor driver. With that context, at least at one point in time that person had to demonstrate there ability to drive in order to get their license. Now that time may have been 20 years ago, but they had to do it at least once. When it comes to obtaining a Part 107, you have to demonstrate your ability to fly a UAS... ZERO TIMES. Getting your Part 107 is essentially the trope of the rich kid paying money to become a "professional" when in reality they don't know anything. To get your Part 107, you can pay an online service around $100 to teach you how to prepare and pass the test, then you pay to take the test, and so long as you actually pass it, you are now a commercial sUAS operator. Go ahead, hop on LinkedIn or Indeed, and start filling out all the job postings where the qualification is to have a Part 107.
Commercial UAS operate in the NAS (National Airspace System), where other manned aircraft operate in. For those manned aircraft pilots they have to go through a minimum of dozens of hours of training, in addition to taking tests to prove their book smarts, before operating some of the cheapest airplanes you can currently fly. All of that while someone with a Part 107 can fly everything from a DJI Mavic or M350, WingtraOne, eBee X, Freefly Alta X, or C-Astral Bramor. In addition to these, many other variety of aircraft are free to be operated with a Part 107 as well, many of which are capable of high speeds and causing real harm to people and property.
I don't love government intervention for the sake of government intervention but we are rapidly heading down a path where that is what is going to happen the more incidents and accidents that occur because of inadequate commercial UAS operators (and sometimes hobbyists but that is a different topic). More and more state level, and local level laws are being written up that will interfere with the operation of commercial UAS, and this is happening because UAS/drones are more and more at the forefront of the general publics mind. And why are they front of mind for more people now than before? Well the whole December 2024 New Jersey "drone sighting" incidents didn't help, the Mavic that struck an aircraft helping with the CA wildfires doesn't help, people recklessly flying and uploading the footage to social media doesn't help, and the FAA not doing anything doesn't help either.
This post won't dive into all the ways I would suggest fixing Part 107 and what I think a Part 108 should be. The situation is very complex and striking the balance between freedom and safety is a fine line. But by expressing my concern here, I want to push myself to promote and create better information for those currently in the industry and those looking to get into the industry. When it comes to "professional training content" involving the UAS industry, it very much is a mixed bag. Throw in FPV hobbyists, the banning DJI debate, as well as current politics, and the content ranges from genuinely helpful and well produced, to outlandish "how to make $50K a month" posts and "drones are politics and X people are in the wrong".
I know a sliding scale of content quality is inherit to every industry or hobby, but my gut feeling has never been more negative on the industry than it is right now. And because of that I want to push myself to be a better contributor to the industry, in a more public way. I believe I am a good UAS operator, but certainly not perfect. And so in addition to my desire to produce informational content for beginners I want to shed light more publicly on the ways I myself am trying to do better, and encourage others to do the same.
Rant over. (Though I will definitely rant about this again)
