The Individual Sovereign - Decentralized Airspace Control
Property Rights Ignored, Means Fortunes Taken And Centralized Actors Rewarded
I got a call recently from one of the United States’ largest landowners. They asked:
”Why are commercial drones that have received licenses from the FAA to fly, transiting through my airspace without permission and without paying for access - what’s going on?”
Is this government overreach, or is it commercial entities encroaching on people's rights and freedoms because they don’t want to pay for access, or something else?
Understanding the hoops commercial drone companies need to jump through to become operational is essential. But this is just the normal course of business. The fundamental truth is that all these certificates, blessings, and deliveries of medicine to old folks' homes do not give drones a special place in the US Constitution or remove them from operating legally.
The Certifications
Commercial drones are pushing to fly Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS), the next frontier in unmanned aircraft operations. BVLOS reduces costs by eliminating the need for human observers, but it requires FAA approval and access to private airspace.
The FAA regulates BVLOS using rules and regulations that would make the most bureaucratic civil servant rejoice. These include Part 107, Part 91, and Part 135. So to fly BVLOS, drone operators need a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, a Part 61 manned aircraft pilot license (in some cases), training on detect-and-avoid systems, a special airworthiness certificate or FAA exemption, and a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA)
Part 91 governs larger drones and advanced operations, like cargo drones. Part 135 is for drone delivery services like Walmart and Amazon, which require certification to carry goods for hire. However, certification doesn't exempt drone companies from respecting private airspace and obtaining permission.
To scale BVLOS operations, drones may need FAA airworthiness approval, including type certification or special airworthiness certificates. Type certification involves a rigorous engineering review, while production certificates enable mass production of certified drones.
These operations require navigating many FAA regulations, but certification doesn't guarantee unrestricted access to private airspace. Drone companies must still respect property rights and obtain permission to operate.
Where the drones are manufactured is now becoming an even bigger issue, with bans on drones manufactured in certain countries for police work due to national security risks and tariffs changing incentives.
Each of these approvals comes with fine-print conditions that operators must follow. Deviating from the approval, like using a drone different from the one listed, would violate FAA rules and could invalidate the waiver or certificate.
The commercial drone entities make great efforts to avoid violating the FAA's rules, but they are less concerned with violating citizens’ rights. The main reason they are less concerned is not new; it’s played out time and again. It’s Incentives. The FAA will shut them down, fine them, and, in certain circumstances, jail people.
As luck would have it, incentives, freedom, property rights, and common law can help keep commercial drones on the right track. They can also help steer companies that use drones to transport their items away from flying into a liability storm and protect people and their constitutional property rights.
Drone Tracking - Who Is In Your Airspace
Any drone operation must use a Standard Remote ID-enabled drone. As of April 2025, the FAA has granted a few temporary exemptions for Remote ID issues, mostly for manufacturers, but there’s no leeway for operations. An operator flying BVLOS without broadcasting Remote ID is non-compliant with Part 89, invalidating their waiver and other approvals, so they can be tracked.
Some hobbyists, many of whom currently use Chinese-manufactured DJI drones, do not require Remote ID unless they are performing commercial operations. If, for example, the hobbyist is using the pictures or data they capture from their drone for rewards or to sell, they need Remote ID, or they and their paymasters can run afoul of the FAA's guidelines.
You may see drones flying above your property. Now, they can be tracked simply using an app such as Drone Radar. You can see who is in your private airspace and soon charge them for this. If you don’t want them there, you will also be able to indicate a ‘no fly zone’ so there is no debate as to who can be in your private airspace.
The large landowner who called me concluded that commercial drone entities can be a net positive for society, but only if they respect and compensate private property owners for access to their airspace. By using technology to manage private air rights with clear guidelines and protocols for drone operations, landowners can open up new revenue streams and increase the value of their portfolios, and drone operations can scale.
There are commercial centralized drone operations flying over real estate right now, taking pictures, surveying land, monitoring people’s movements, and collecting data to be sold to the highest bidder. These are commercial drones directed to trespass into individuals’ private airspace without any permission or compensation.
The future of drone operations is not just about technology but the underlying social and economic structures that govern our airspace and our freedoms. It holds a mirror up to how we want to live. The question is not just about who gets to fly drones but who owns the sky. This is decentralized property rights, incentives, and individual freedom versus the tyranny of centralized control.