Pegasus

@arthur_erickson In your blog post it says: "The flight must be within visual line of sight of the operator. Remote viewing of a camera feed on the drone is NOT considered a visual line of sight. Also, the operator cannot be in a moving vehicle or aircraft during the flight." Doesn't that defeat the purpose of autonomous delivery if you have to be able to see the drone the entire time? It also says "You cannot fly over anyone who is not involved in the delivery." So if I understand correctly you can't fly over anyone and you have to keep it in sight. I feel like I'm missing something.

@mike_cooke @arthur_erickson They made a product, and are instructing everyone how to use it legally. Sometimes people choose not to follow manufacturer guidelines/regulations on products. Kind of like Q-Tips, everyone jams those in their ears.

@claudesutterlin @arthur_erickson Using a Q-Tip the wrong way is not against the law. The whole point of this is autonomous delivery. No one is going to use this for autonomous delivery if they have to maintain visual contact with it. So that means that the only way people will truly use this is illegally and that to me seems bad for business.

@claudesutterlin @mike_cooke @arthur_erickson The regulations simply do not allow delivery, unless it is to your next door neighbor. It's bogus, and companies like this should be allowed to do whatever they want, but the facts are the facts and we are years away from autonomous delivery.

@mike_cooke Hi Mike, with our blog post we felt it was our responsibility to do the best we could to inform our fellow Americans about the US drone regulations as they currently stand. The rules you are quoting are from the Small UAS Rule (Part 107); businesses and operators can currently file for a Section 333 exemption which can waive these requirements set down by Part 107. In general, the FAA has been relaxing rules for UAS operations, both commercial and recreational, and we expect them to continue this trend. The Pegasus has been legally tested at its maximum operational ranges under autonomous control. We are fully confident that it operates smoothly and safely without a visual spotter. That being said, the FAA has very good reason for controlling the operations of UAS. Safety is their number 1 issue and we wholeheartedly agree with their concern. In the near future I hope the Pegasus and other drones will continue to prove that they are safe and incredibly useful and the regulations in the States will relax accordingly. Also, there are several countries with different UAS regulations and we are not restricting the Pegasus to just the United States. There are drone delivery services already operating in Australia and China! We hope that the Pegasus will facilitate the growth of this industry as a whole and give entrepreneurs all over the world a tool to build their businesses with.