If you have signed up for the University of Missouri’s ” Introduction to Drone Issues, Applications and Flight: for Student Researchers, Entrepreneurs, Educators and Communicators” there’s been a change to the schedule! The FAA has forced the lab indoors.
As reported by The MANEATER, the official student newspaper of the University of Missouri:
“We can’t fly outdoors because of FAA regulations,” Allen (Bill Allen, assistant professor of science journalism) said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t fly indoors. It’s not as easy, but we can do it.” Students will sign up for Friday lab sessions, and he and a teaching assistant will administer 30-minute flying lessons to students individually and in pairs. “That’s part of our job here at the university to teach people the great ideas, how to be a thinking citizen and all those other things, but also give them a chance to be prepared for the advent of a new technology,” Allen said. Allen said that class was slated to run again last fall, but it got pulled after MU received a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration over the summer that told the university not to fly drones.
The University of Missouri isn’t alone in the FAA’s cross hairs as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also received the FAA letter. It is suspected that the FAA was tipped off by a YouTube video posted by the Drone Journalism Lab.
How many permits are issued by the FAA each year?