The Federal Aviation Administration has made available its much anticipated drone registry, though has decided not to reveal names and addresses of individuals who have registered as owners of unmanned aerial vehicles weighing more than .55 pounds and less than 55 pounds. So we’ve got some raw numbers on Wellesley residents who have registered drones, but not the nitty-gritty details you might like to see.
Both those using drones for recreational and commercial purposes must register, with those having commercial interests required to file additional paperwork as well. As we wrote in a piece called “Here come the drones” for WellesleyWeston Magazine last year, and have illustrated in various posts since then (A Drone’s Eye View of Wellesley Town Hall), drones indeed have begun hovering over Wellesley. Hobbyists, as well as professional photographers, appear to be the main users locally to date.
According to the FAA database, which began filling up in late December and now includes 461K+ registrations, there are 66 registered drone owners in Wellesley. The numbers are a tad confusing, with Wellesley and Wellesley Hills appearing to be mixed between 02481 and 02482 zip codes. The 02481 zip code has 45 registrants, the 02482 zip code has 20 and the Babson Park zip code of 02457 has just one.
There are no registered commercial drone owners in Wellesley, though that’s perhaps not too much of a surprise. We found just 4 commercial drone owners between neighboring communities such as Needham, Newton and Natick.
