Drones Cleared for Take Off.

An administrative judge on the National Transportation Safety Board has ruled that the

commercial use of small drones is in fact legal, despite six years of Federal Aviation

Administration statements to the contrary. Today Judge Patrick Geraghty dismissed a $10,000

fine levied by the FAA against Raphael Pirker, a Swiss drone operator who used a camera

drone to film on the University of Virginia campus. "At the time of respondent's model aircraft

operation ... there was no enforceable FAA rule or FAR Regulation application to model aircraft

or for classifying model aircraft as an UAS," the judge writes. The ruling effectively invalidates

the FAA's 2007 ban on the use of commercial drones. But if the agency appeals, the case will

go to the Washington, DC, US Court of Appeals. There are plenty of would-be drone operators

eagerly awaiting the opportunity to do so legally. Amazon famously announced that it would

create a fleet of package delivery drones, but had to shoot its demo video outside the US to

comply with alleged FAA rules. Legal use Drone based photography is estential part of

VREN's complete video delivery sytem.