An exemption to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for commercial purposes issued to Peter Sachs, a drone advocate and professional lawyer, might mean that motorized paper airplanes fall into that self-same category.

Sachs sent his exemption request to the Federal Aviation Administration to see how the organization would respond, considering it was for the Taylor Toys Power Up 3.0, which the toy company describes as "smartphone-controlled paper airplane." The whole shebang is a motorized frame that can transform a paper-made craft into a "lean, mean flying machine." Most have referred to it as a simple, innocuous plaything — even Popular Science called it "one of the purest 'just a toy' drones out there.

Sachs posted his letter to the FAA, which granted the exemption, on Twitter.


Sachs stated to Popular Science via Twitter that by granting the exemption, "[t]he FAA just asserted jurisdiction over all paper airplanes, thereby subjecting them to federal aviation regulations." He continued:

"Paper airplanes were invented 2,000 years ago. I highly doubt the 1958 Congress ever intended a paper airplane to be an 'aircraft' when they defined that term. And not just commercial paper airplanes, all paper airplanes. By granting my exemption, the FAA extended the definition of aircraft to paper aircraft. Whether flown for pleasure or profit, all aircraft are subject to a minimum of FAR 91.13, the careless/reckless regulation." 

When Popular Science reached out to an FAA representative for comment on its inadvertent definition by way of the exemption, spokesperson Les Dorr explained, "If you look at the exemption documents, Mr. Sachs submitted a valid petition for exemption, and we granted the requested relief ... [e]very petition for a Section 333 exemption is reviewed individually and considered on its own merits." 

Check out the Powerup 3.0 in action below.

 

Via: Popular Science

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