To say things have taken off for aviation entrepreneur, Brian Dale would be predictable.
“In the last month my free time has been pretty much spent doing this,” he mentioned.
But how else would you describe it?
“It all started…I posted this video on YouTube of the Pee Dee region and within two hours of posting this video I got all kinds of phone calls and emails,” Dale explained.
A month ago, Dale started his company Drones In SC and with new proposed FAA rules his business might finally get a chance to fly.
“Just in the past couple of years there has been such a huge surge and interest. People are buying them off the shelves like hotcake’s and it’s something i wanted to be a part of,” said dale.
His videos and images of the Pee Dee are indeed breathtaking, but in the same breath, due to regulations he can’t provide services.
“I’m not allowed to fly commercially because I don’t have an exemption,” he said.
However, under the proposed FAA rules drone operators would not need a pilot’s license or medical certification.
The rules proposed would allow small (under 55 pounds) commercial unmanned aircraft to perform routine tasks like crop monitoring, aerial photography, inspections of bridges and cell towers, and much more.
Studies show the drone industry could create 70,000 jobs and have a more than $13 billion impact in its first three years.
“The potential benefits, I mean I can name a couple of dozen off the top of my head that you can’t even realize yet that you haven’t even thought about yet that are really interesting,” stated Dale.
He thinks fields from search and rescue to agriculture could benefit from the proposed rules.
It could still take a while for the rules to become official. The plan must first come up for public comment.
