Recreational operation at 55 pounds or greater

For Recreational operation at 55 pounds or greater, weight limit is 55 pounds or greater; what crossing it means is A person may operate an unmanned aircraft weighing 55 pounds or greater only if it complies with standards and limitations developed by a community-based organization and approved by the Administrator, and it is operated from an approved fixed site; citation is 49 U.S.C. 44809(c)(3), recorded from its source on 2026-08-26.

Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.

What the source says

§44809. Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft (a) In General .-Except as provided in subsection (e), and notwithstanding chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code, a person may operate a small unmanned aircraft without specific certification or operating authority from the Federal Aviation Administration if the operation adheres to all of the following limitations: (1) The aircraft is flown strictly for recreational purposes. (2) The aircraft is operated in accordance with or within the programming of a community-based organization's set of safety guidelines that are developed in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. (3) The aircraft is flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a visual observer co-located and in direct communication with the operator. (4) The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft. (5) In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the operator obtains prior authorization from the Administrator or designee before operating and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions. (6) Except for circumstances when the Administrator establishes alternative altitude ceilings or as otherwise authorized in section (c), in Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown from the surface to not more than 400 feet above ground level and complies with all airspace and flight restrictions and prohibitions established under this subtitle, such as special use airspace designations and temporary flight restrictions. (7) The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request. (8) The aircraft is registered and marked in accordance with chapter 441 of this title and proof of registration is made available to the Administrator or a designee of the Administrator or law enforcement upon request. (b) Other Operations .-Unmanned aircraft operations that do not conform to the limitations in subsection (a) must comply with all statutes and regulations generally applicable to unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems. (c) Operations at Fixed Sites.- (1) In general .-The Administrator shall establish a process to approve, and publicly disseminate the location of, fixed sites at which a person may carry out recreational unmanned aircraft system operations. (2) Operating procedures.- (A) Controlled airspace .-Persons operating unmanned aircraft under paragraph (1) from a fixed site within Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, or a community-based organization sponsoring operations within such airspace, shall make the location of the fixed site known to the Administrator and shall establish a mutually agreed upon operating procedure with the air traffic control facility. (B) Altitude .-The Administrator, in coordination with community-based organizations sponsoring operations at fixed sites, shall develop a process to approve requests for recreational unmanned aircraft systems operations at fixed sites that exceed the maximum altitude contained in a UAS Facility Map published by the Federal Aviation Administration. (C) Uncontrolled airspace .-Subject to compliance with all airspace and flight restrictions and prohibitions established under this subtitle, including special use airspace designations and temporary flight restrictions, persons operating unmanned aircraft systems from a fixed site designated under the process described in paragraph (1) may operate within Class G airspace- (i) up to 400 feet above ground level, without prior authorization from the Administrator; and (ii) above 400 feet above ground level, with prior authorization from the Administrator. (3) Unmanned aircraft weighing 55 pounds or greater .-A person may operate an unmanned aircraft weighing 55 pounds or greater, including the weight of anything attached to or carried by the aircraft, if- (A) the unmanned aircraft complies with standards and limitations developed by a community-based organization and approved by the Administrator; and (B) the aircraft is operated from a fixed site as described in paragraph (1).

— uscode.house.gov, retrieved 2026-08-26

Source

• uscode.house.govhttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title49-section44809&num=0&edition=prelim

Last verified against source: 2026-08-26. Due for re-check by 2027-08-26. This page as Markdown · OKF bundle · full dataset as JSON.