Hylio assists with Part 137 onboarding as a complimentary service along with your purchase of any of our UAS. Essentially, we provide thorough guides as well as blank/example documents for every step of the process. You simply need to fill out similar turn in the application documents to your local Flights Standards District Office (FSDO) and eventually FAA officials will visit you for an interview/test to finalize your application. The entire process from start to final approval can take several months. We have seen the process take as little as 2 months and as long as 12 months. Generally speaking, the sooner you start this, the better!
The Part 137 is the FAA's, "regulation for operating drones to dispense or spray substances (including disinfectants)". This is the same legal structure that manned aviation crop-dusters (spray plane and spray helicopter pilots) need to obtain . There are relatively few Part 137 licensed organizations within the US at this time but that number is rapidly growing with the increasing popularity of spray drones. You can use this database tool to search for currently active Part 137 organizations.
Under 14 CFR Part 137, the following aircraft operations are considered agricultural by nature:
1) Dispensing any economic poison:
- The FAA defines an economic poison as any substance that acts as a pesticide, plant regulator, or defoliant.
- The FAA considers chemicals used as disinfectants for viruses to fall in the category of economic poisons as defined in part 137.3.
2) Dispensing any other substance intended for plant nourishment, soil treatment, propagation of plant life, or pest control.
3) Engaging in dispensing activities directly affecting agriculture, horticulture, or forest preservation.
Note: Dispensing of live insects is not included.
This is the bulk of the paperwork that needs to be done for licensing; fortunately, Hylio has you covered on it. Hylio has already successfully assisted hundreds of customers with this FAA Part 137 process. With your consent, we are able to file the necessary paperwork so that you obtain a Part 137 license for your organization. Once your organization has the Part 137, it's yours to keep. The Part 137 is a valuable certification to have because once you obtain it, you can hire and certify operators to legally operate within your organization's 137; this allows your business to rapidly scale up.
Each organization that has a Part 137 Certification must designate a chief pilot; this chief pilot is then permitted to certify other pilots within that organization to operate the organization's UAS. Thus, the chief pilot does not have to physically attend every UAS operation; a pilot of the same organization that has a valid Part 107 license (see section above), has been certified by the chief pilot, and is up to date with their Airman medical certificate, is permitted to operate the organization's UAS in the field.
Once your organization is Part 137 certified, you must maintain yearly records of your flight activities. Thankfully, Hylio's software, AgroSol, streamlines the storage and export of that data into FAA-compliant report formats to make that yearly reporting simple and fast.
As mentioned previously, the wait times for Part 137 approvals can vary significantly. Wait times can vary state by state depending on your local FSDO's level of experience with UAS applications and internal processes of the FAA at the federal level can speed up or slow down the process. Don't hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about this process.
As a final note, it is possible to legally operate under someone else's Part 137 if they formally add you to their organization. Many Part 137 holders allow others to utilize their license for a fee.