Rules promulgated for drone flying at Burning Man

Gary Mortimer

A sign of the times, the burning man festival has its own unmanned aircraft rules out ahead of the FAA ;-) Even to the extent of creating registrations and privacy guidelines, who thought a process started in 2007 by the FAA and still not completed could be so straightforward! (ed)

Participants flying unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drones, RC airplanes, etc.) have developed a set of best practices for flying at Black Rock City this year.

The best practices came out of a July 17“Drone Summit” at Burning Man headquarters that had 40 in attendance and an estimated 100 on a teleconference. Burning Man organizers arranged the summit following participant complaints from BM2012 that included UAVs flying over crowds at the Man burn, one UAV flying at the Temple burn, and a concern that UAVs with cameras were invading peoples’ privacy.

Burning Man 2012, Aerial, overview from ZM Interactive on Vimeo.The best practices developed by participants were modeled on safety guidelines adopted by the Academy of Model Aeronautics and updated to address the unique environment of Black Rock City. The entire list of guidelines is here, but the highlights include:

All UAVs carrying cameras will register with Media Mecca and each UAV will carry a unique registration number on a small decal on the vehicle.
Operators will avoid flying over crowds and populated areas.
Operators will avoid flying during the Temple burn.
No flying near the Black Rock City airport or helipads.
No flying near the Man any time Saturday the day of the burn.

Anyone with a concern or question can report it at Media Mecca in Center Camp. If the concern is regarding a specific vehicle, it will help to get the vehicle’s identification number (UAVs typically have very short flight times). Burning Man organizers will be assessing how well the guidelines were followed and participants’ concerns as part of a post-event review.

Happy flying!