The subject of what constitutes a small drone commercial operation can’t be broached without relating the story of “FAA v. Raphael Pirker.”

While BCA was refused an interview with an FAA small UAS manager, the administration did respond to a slate of questions.

What finally galvanized the FAA and its Cabinet-level overseer, the Department of Transportation (DOT), into implementing meaningful regulation of civil drone operations were predictions by the UAS industry that between 700,000 and 1 million small drones would be purchased as 2015 holiday gifts in the U.S.