my friend who doesnt even fly drones told me i need some kind of FAA license just to take my drone out to a field and film stuff. i bought a relatively cheap drone off amazon, nothing fancy, and i just want to mess around on weekends. i live in a pretty rural area in ohio so its not like im flying over crowds or anything. this feels like overkill but i dont want to get in trouble either. is he right or is he just being paranoid

your friend is kinda half right but also kinda wrong lol. if youre flying strictly for fun and recreation you dont need a part 107 license, thats the one pilots need for commercial work. but you do still have to register with the FAA if your drone weighs more than 250 grams, which is like most drones sold on amazon tbh. registration is only five bucks and you just put a label with your number on the drone. you also technically need to fly within the recreational rules which means stuff like staying under 400 feet, not flying near airports without authorization through the LAANC system, that kind of thing. rural ohio youre probably fine in terms of airspace but its still worth checking B4UFLY or whatever before you go out just to confirm

depends on the drone weight honestly. what model did you get. if its one of those tiny ones it might be under 250g and then you dont even have to register. but yeah no license needed for hobby flying, thats a common misconception. just dont do anything dumb like fly over people or near an airport and youll be fine in a rural area