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In some instances, the FAA has attempted to regulate UAVs by relying on existing regulations that are stretched and distorted. For instance, it uses regulations governing experimental aircraft and the flight crews of experimental aircraft to justify the current permitting system, which is consistent with Dorr’s acknowledgment that the FAA uses regulations governing manned aircraft to regulate UAVs. Of course the whole point of an unmanned aerial vehicle is that there is no flight crew, but no one seems to have pointed that out to the FAA. In fact, one could argue that it’s voluntary to listen to the FAA about drones. In its literature discussing its governance of UAVs, the FAA often refers to Advisory Circular 91-57, which addresses model airplanes. However, AC 91-57 merely “outlines, and encourages voluntary compliance with” the model airplane standards it states (so I guess paper airplane–slinging third-graders are safe). I think “voluntary” is probably a more honest representation of FAA authority over UAVs as well, absent congressional approval or at least publicly vetted regulations. Similarly, there is reason to think that if you keep your beer-delivery drone flying low, you’ll be in the clear. In its documentation addressing a redesign of the national airspace in the Northeast, the FAA provides a useful outline of the NAS, including Class G airspace, which goes from the ground up to at least 700 feet in the eastern United States. The document notes that the FAA’s air traffic control (ATC) system “does not have the authority or responsibility to manage … air traffic within this space.” That seems to state outright what the lack of specific statutory and regulatory authority already suggests: The FAA can’t regulate UAVs, at least within that Class G space. Dorr disputes this, pointing out that “Class G is often defined as uncontrolled (no ATC services). However, uncontrolled does not mean unregulated.” This is somewhat inconsistent with the NAS outline, which clearly states that ATC does not have the “authority” to regulate air traffic in Class G air space. As most delivery drones would only need to operate in Class G, if the FAA does not have the authority to manage that area of the skies, the FAA does not have the authority to manage most delivery drones. 3) Congress did nothing to confirm the FAA’s current authority to regulate UAVs when it passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. In passing the 2012 act, Congress finally defined “unmanned aircraft” and ordered the FAA to create a regulatory system to permit UAVs. Those regulations should be in place around September 2015. The FAA has said it expects to release proposed rules addressing smaller UAVs later this year, but so far the administration has run behind in meeting preliminary deadlines established by the act. The act also requires that the secretary of transportation develop a comprehensive plan to “safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.” That plan was released (late) on Nov. 6, 2013. However, while the act grants authority to the FAA to regulate UAVs, nowhere in it did Congress state that the FAA already has authority to govern UAVs and that Congress would like the FAA to regulate them differently. Congress only called for the FAA to “integrate” UAVs into the NAS. There’s no reason to believe that UAVs are currently prohibited from the NAS based on the language Congress used. Rather, it looks like Congress wanted to give explicit authority to the FAA to regulate UAVs to integrate them into the fabric of the NAS with traditional airplanes and aircraft. Until 2015, or some later date, when we see the FAA’s rules, this legislation doesn’t give the FAA any more authority to govern UAVs than before the president signed it. Admittedly, there is no obvious provision in federal law prohibiting the FAA from regulating UAVs, and Les Dorr and the FAA in general are adamant about the FAA’s authority to ensure safety in the NAS. However, there are plenty of weaknesses and gaps in the foundation of the FAA’s legal authority to govern drones. Until the 2015 regulations put this issue to rest, there is a legitimate question about the legality of flower-, beer-, and Kindle-bearing airborne robots. I’d like to see someone challenge the current permitting system now and jump-start the new drone economy.