Registrations Fell From 1,746,248 To 868,421 Between December 2020 And March 2021

The folks at the Academy of Model Aeronautics tell us that the FAA has experienced a precipitous 50% decline in new registrations and renewals for UAS via faadronezone.faa.gov. The total number of registrations fell from 1,746,248 to 868,421 between December 2020 and March 2021, comprising 492,492 recreational fliers and 375,929 commercially registered drones.

The FAA attributes this drop to registrations to reaching the end of their three-year expiration date, though dissatisfaction with the current processes and a number of anti-model aviation decisions may also have an impact on this issue.

The first round of expirations occurred on December 12, 2020.

AMA has maintained that recreational FAA registration numbers are higher than the actual amount of current UAS operators. Many of the recreational FAA registrations were newcomers to the hobby, or those who received UAS as gifts. AMA fully expected these attrition rates at the December 2020 renewal deadline.

For those needing to register your model aircraft with the FAA, please visit faadronezone.faa.gov.

For assistance in renewing your registration, please see the link below in the FMI.

FMI: www.modelaircraft.org, https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/2020/12/16/faa-registration-renewal-process/