The Drone Pilot Brief
Part 107 Commercial UAS Operator, former manned aviation journalist, and Editor-in-Chief of The Drone Pilot Brief. Specializing in regulatory workflows, GIS mapping telemetry, and advanced fleet operations.
The FCC granted a temporary nationwide waiver for DOT’s Mobile Network Aviation Assessment Program. It bypasses decades of cellular airborne restrictions across 14 spectrum bands — but Part 107 pilots cannot fly on it yet....
Proclamation 11055 put additional ad valorem duties on certain UAS and UAS components entered or withdrawn for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time September 3, 2026. That is a customs cost and lead-time story. It is not a Part 107 grounding order, not a Remote ID change, and not “every small drone at 100 percent.”...
TSA is soliciting operators and associations for closed technical roundtables that will help shape model language for TSA-approved UAS BVLOS security programs. Requests are due October 19, 2026, unless TSA shifts that window after its final rule publishes. This notice is not a final rule and does not authorize BVLOS flight....
FAA will select up to eight more BEYOND lead governments. Part 108 is still pending at OIRA. A national drone-delivery PEA is not a flight authorization. Three things that did not change, so you don’t rewrite a CONOPS on a headline....
A simulator is a cheap place to fail at an unfamiliar stick. It is not proof you can fly the aircraft you will take to a job. Treat simulation as a gate for basic control, then prove the same maneuvers on the real airframe....
Amazon says Prime Air will reach nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026 — about a sixfold increase from its current footprint. That is a company target, not an FAA authorization for anyone else. Prime Air flies under Part 135. Your next mapping job still flies Part 107 unless you have something in writing that says otherwise....
The UK Ministry of Defence awarded development contracts under LCADE to three SMEs. It is development money, not a fielded production system....
Six heavy-lift drones completed a coordinated 780 kg sling lift in Yunnan across ~700m in three minutes. An industrial utility demo, not a Part 107 blueprint....
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 published a 90-page orientation handbook establishing the Four Ps and Five Ds. It is a shared vocabulary, not domestic scanning or an FAA rule....
An Army instructor explains why flying through goggles lacks vestibular feedback, presenting a hurdle for crewed pilots. A training observation, not a new syllabus....
The draft Part 108 BVLOS final rule is under OIRA review under RIN 2120-AL82. It is not currently operative law. Part 107 still governs ordinary commercial small-UAS work, plus whatever waiver you actually hold. Part 135 carriers stay on that certificate until a published Part 108 rule actually applies to them....
Matternet partnered with Beeline UAS under Beeline’s Part 135 certificate to target Bay Area and LA BVLOS delivery. A capacity partnership, not a new FAA regulation....
The weekly operational-intelligence briefing for drone pilots. Filtered down to what actually matters before your next mission.
