Drone businesses pop up in Montana

Roughly a half-dozen Montanans have received federal exemptions to fly unmanned aerial vehicles commercially. The authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration has the entrepreneurs sharing rarefied air with the likes of Amazon, which was green-lighted earlier this month to test package delivery. There have only been 224 such exemptions issued in the U.S.

Those granted exemptions by the FAA are ecstatic. It takes months to receive approval under FAA Section 333. Those who get the OK are only allowed to fly unmanned aircraft lighter than 55 pounds at altitudes no higher than 400 feet and within eyesight of the pilot. The FAA scrutinizes everything from the technical specs of an applicant’s unmanned aircraft system to his flight manual and his plans for recovery should things go wrong.

By Tom Lutey

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