so this has been bugging me for a while. i have a decent sized property out in rural tennessee, no neighbors for like half a mile in any direction, and ive just been flying my drone whenever i feel like it. no registration, no nothing. figured since its my land and im not bothering anyone whats the issue. then my cousin who flies commercially told me that the airspace isnt actually mine even above my own land and that technically i could be breaking FAA rules. is that actually true? i always thought the whole airspace thing was more about airports and cities and stuff. feels kind of insane that the government controls the air above my own backyard

your cousin is right unfortunately. FAA jurisdiction over navigable airspace isnt tied to land ownership at all, it applies everywhere in the US regardless of whos land is below. the supreme court has touched on this a few times going back decades. practically speaking nobody is going to show up at your rural tennessee property and fine you for flying a drone over your own field, the enforcement reality is very different from the letter of the law. but you are technically supposed to register any drone over 250g and follow the recreational flyer rules. if your drone is under 250g like a mini 2 or something then registration isnt required though other rules still apply. honestly for where you are flying the main things to actually watch are staying under 400ft AGL, not flying near any airports (check the airspace on a map, even small regional fields have a radius around them), and not flying over people. if youre way out in the country doing all that youre probably fine in practice

same situation here in rural kansas and i just went ahead and registered mine anyway, its like 5 bucks for 3 years and took maybe 10 minutes on the FAA website. figured not worth having that hanging over me if something ever went sideways. the TRUST test is also free and takes maybe 20 minutes. just knocked both out and now i dont have to think about it