A production company called Fly Habana said it's the first in Tampa to get a Federal Aviation Administration exemption to fly drones commercially, a move the Hillsborough film commissioner calls an historic opportunity.
"We worked for over a year to get it," said Fly Habana executive producer Steven Levy. "We just couldn’t be more excited to be working with the city and to be first here in Tampa."
The FAA does not want anyone flying drones for profit until a new federal law is finalized or the operator gets a Section 333 exemption. So far, there have been 1,657 requests nationwide, and the FAA has only issued 246 exemptions. The exemption process provides operators who wish to pursue safe and legal entry into the National Airspace System a competitive advantage in the unmanned aircraft system marketplace, thus discouraging illegal operations and improving safety, according to the FAA.
Fly Habana received its FAA drone exemption on April 6 to conduct aerial photography for the motion picture, television the content creation industries for scripted closed set filming.
"The phone is ringing off the hook," Levy said. "Our next project will be with Six Flags Magic Mountain in three different states across the country."
Levy said he's the founder and partner of Fly Habana, a branch of a production company called Habana Avenue, that has worked with artists and projects that NFL fans will recognize.
"We’re very excited to be a big player in sports. We’ve done the opening of Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football," he said. "We've worked with U2. The opening of the World Cup soccer in South Africa, and now we’re excited to bring drone aerial photography, UAVs, to Florida."
The FAA drone exemption comes with strict conditions for flying. The drone must remain within a line of sight the entire time, each operation must have a pilot and observer, the drone can't fly higher than 400 feet above the ground and can't go faster than 100 mph. The drone operators must also have a pilot's license.
Mark Eberle, Fly Habana director of flight operations, said all of the members of their five drone teams have drone pilot licenses and follow all of the guidelines.
"Our mantra is going to be safety first," Eberle said. "And we’ll get the shot."
Eberle said Fly Habana also reports all of its activities to the FAA on the day it flies and keeps a log staffers submit on a monthly basis. Pilot Jordan Klein said Fly Habana flies a dozen custom-built multi-rotor drones that cost about $20,000 each. Fly Habana flew a drone under their new FAA exemption for the first time over the Port of Tampa on Wednesday to give Bay News 9 an exclusive look at their capabilities.
Hillsborough Film Commissioner Dale Gordon said she's excited at the new possibilities the company can bring to the Bay Area.
"This is an historic opportunity for us as a local jurisdiction, to be able to start permitting for drone filming activity," she said. "With Habana Avenue being given the first FAA exemption in the state of Florida for cinematography, we will now be able to work with them in defining a local standard operating procedure to allow for a safe and liable permitting process."
Levy predicts aerial cinematography is an industry that's going to take off.
"Florida is probably No. 3 or 4 in the nation for cinematography, film, TV and media. So, this is huge," he said. "We’re pros in cinematography and television and film production, and now we can add this to our arsenal."