The Drone Pilot Brief separates journalism from commerce. We do not sell the news hole.
Primary sources
Regulatory stories cite dated government documents: the Federal Register, eCFR, FAA orders and circulars, Regulations.gov dockets, OIRA records, NTSB dockets. A forum post or a manufacturer blog is not a rule. If we use a secondary report, we say so and we keep the primary in the source list.
Who writes this
Ray Richardson edits every published piece. There is not a separate bench of contributing researchers unless named people appear on the site with bios.
Hardware and how-tos
A review is a review only if we flew or processed the thing and can say so: airframe, firmware, hours, purchased / loaned / supplied. A how-to that is not a field test will not pretend to be one. Spec sheets get labeled as spec sheets.
Tone
No “game-changer,” “revolutionary,” “groundbreaking,” or “unprecedented.” If the fact is new, date it.
Conflicts
Financial interest, consulting, or loaner hardware related to a story gets disclosed on that story.
Updated 3 September 2026