Luther College approves guidelines for drone usage on campus

If there are drones in the sky over the Luther College campus in the future, the college wants to know about it in advance.  School officials have come up with official guidelines for the use of drones—or "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles"—that fly over campus property.

The policy calls for drone operators to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for a license to operate a drone.  After they receive FAA permission to operate a drone, they will also need to apply for a permit from Luther College.

Operators must provide a detailed flight itinerary at least 72 hours in advance of the flight.  Only those covered under Luther's insurance policy will be allowed to operate the UAV.

There are several restrictions in drone use, as well.  They may not fly over people, except those directly involved with the flight and they must stay at least three miles away from airports and out of airport flight paths.

Operators will also be required to have a safety observer who will be responsible for warning the operators about pedestrians, vehicles, aircrafts or animals entering the flight area and warn onlookers to stay clear of the drone.

Drones have been used in the past to take video of the Luther campus, as you can see from the video posted above.