A North Carolina drone company – PrecisionHawk- was first to get a FFA (Federal Aviation Administration) waiver to fly beyond line-of-sight by end of August 2016. 
The waiver means that a pilot will be allowed to fly a drone without having to change locations to keep the device in sight, like the general rule demands you to. PrecisionHawk has been researching beyond-line-of-sight flying over the last year through a collaboration with the FAA. According to its manager, it takes a lot of work to prove the FAA that they conduct the operations safely and fulfill all the requirements.

The FAA rule which prohibits operating a drone beyond line-of-sight used to be one of the main barriers to companies such as  Amazon, which hope to use the devices in package delivery. The waiver could help Amazon to pursue their planned Air Delivery service via drones which they have already announced on their website as Prime Air. Amazon describes their vision as a future delivery system designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less.

However, it probably takes at least a few years until Amazon will be able to put Prime Air into service – if at all. The regulatory support is one problem, but there is definitely more to consider. What about managing the logistics and the maximum range of a drone? How will Amazon make sure to reach the customer within 30 minutes? What is our airspace going to look like when there are hundreds of drones buzzing around? Is it safe enough? And what about privacy and property rights by flying over foreign property? After all, we can all be excited if and when we get Amazon packages delivered by drones.

Best regards
und viele Grüße aus Charlotte
Reinhard von Hennigs
www.bridgehouse.law