Status board, 26 October 2026

Topic	Where it stands	Source
US remote pilot certificate (Part 107)	In force; knowledge test of 60 questions, 2 hours, pass mark 70%; recurrent training every 24 calendar months	FAA testing matrix, 14 CFR 107.65
US BVLOS rule (Part 108)	Proposed 7 August 2025; final rule at the White House review office since 10 July 2026; not published	USI
US Remote ID (Part 89)	Required since 16 September 2023 for every Part 107 drone	FAA
EU BVLOS	Specific category: STS-02 by declaration, PDRA-01, or a SORA-based authorisation	EASA
Open-source autopilots	PX4 under BSD 3-Clause, ArduPilot under GPL version 3	PX4 licence, ArduPilot

Until Part 108 takes effect, flights beyond visual line of sight in the US need a waiver or an exemption.

The toolkit, job by job

Mapping. Choose a camera, then fix either the altitude or the ground detail you need. The planner returns ground sample distance, photo footprint, line spacing, number of flight lines, photo count and time in the air, and warns above 120 m or when photos would come less than two seconds apart. Method: ground sample distance.

Choosing an autopilot. Four questions on product, airframe, priority and who maintains the code give one answer with its reasons, and the licence consequence of selling modified code. Background: PX4 vs ArduPilot.

Flying further. For the US, the Part 108 status in plain words; for the EU, three questions that point to STS-02, PDRA-01 or SORA. Details: Part 108 and EU specific category.

Paperwork. Remote ID: which of the three ways to comply fits your drone (Remote ID). Part 107: your recurrent training due date, with a calendar file, and a practice quiz (licence, test, renewal, operating limits).

Why software and rules sit on one site

An autonomous mission is legal only if the software can prove what the rules ask: geofences that hold, a flight plan that stays under 400 ft, logs for the authority, a Remote ID broadcast with the right fields. Choosing the stack and reading the rules are the same job seen from two sides.

Everything here is free to use. The site sells no software, drones or courses, and each figure carries its source and the date we read it. Questions people ask most are in the FAQ; the full source list is on sources.