Time to Yearn for The Vast and Endless Sea
Federal Power Sets the Floor, Communities Shape the Sky
Drones are everywhere, but many deliberately still behave as if the air above your home and town belongs to no one.
Commercial drones routinely operate in ways that ignore property rights in the United States, as policymakers argue about supply chains, geopolitics, and national security, low-altitude air has become economically real.
This is the core failure. Not technology. Not Chinese or US manufacturing. Not a lack of federal or state authority. The failure is that low-altitude air, the space where drones actually fly, is underutilized and unpermitted.
Progress toward the “flying car” has not stalled because the machines are incapable. It has stalled because we have not embraced ownership of air rights and consent.
The total US drone market size was $25B in 2024, rising to $30B in 2025 and projected to reach $450B over the next five years, according to Ark Invest, assuming low-altitude private airspace becomes accessible. That growth sits on top of a fragile supply chain reality that keeps Chinese DJI as the default. The Commerce Department states that DJI controls about 70% of the global commercial drone market and a similar share in the US.
That dominance is most evident in public safety. DJI drones are heavily used by US public safety agencies, which is why every attempt to “ban” foreign drones quickly morphs into an exemption regime. On the commercial delivery side, open sources rarely let you prove a clean “uses Chinese parts” claim, because operators do not publish bills of materials. Chinese firms, especially DJI, dominate the complete systems market.
Everything that follows, from FCC bans to Commerce Department reversals, from Chinese drone promoters pretending to be concerned citizens to China hawks in Congress and exemptions buried in agency guidance, is downstream of this. Washington is fighting a supply chain war, while homeowners, towns, states, and real estate owners are poised for significant commercial gains.
Recent federal guidance indicates a greater focus on enabling drones and air taxis to take to the skies. For example, Missouri proposes to tighten and expand “unlawful use” rules governing where drones may be operated, particularly near critical infrastructure and open-air facilities, and to increase penalties for certain conduct. If it moves, it is a bill that can quickly change where lawful operations are permitted, even when FAA flight rules are met. This is a clear development of local laws taking control of low-altitude airspace.
In Hidden Hills, California, it is very clear that air rights are key to drone use. Nationally, operators often claim the rules are unclear, which is not the case. This is newspeak for we don't like the way we don't have free reign over your sovereign rights.
By default, drones cannot fly without the permission of the air rights owners. Hidden Hill has documented it, so there is no dispute. They prohibit flying over private property without permission.
