Drones: By the numbers

In his Nov. 8 Nebraska Lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln drone journalism expert Matthew Waite will discuss how disagreement over regulation is limiting the Drone Age’s potential in the United States.

Waite, a professor of practice in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, will speak at 3:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Auditorium. Learn more about the Nebraska Lecture here. Waite said the popularity of drones is clear from the numbers, several of which he will focus on during his talk.

Here are a few for starters:

• 770,000-plus – consumer drones registered with the Federal Aviation Administration

• 1.1 million-plus – estimated consumer drones in the United States

• 3.55 million – predicted number of consumer drones in the country by 2021, according to the FAA

• 42,000 – commercial drones registered with the FAA

• 442,000 – predicted number of commercial drones in the country by 2021, according to the FAA

• 82 billion-plus – predicted economic impact in dollars between 2015 and 2025 of integrating drones into the U.S. National Airspace System

• 16 – minimum age of pilot as required by FAA commercial drone rules

• 55 –weight in pounds, including an attached load, that a consumer or commercial drone must be under

• 100 – maximum miles per hour at which consumer or commercial drones are allowed to fly

• 400 – maximum height in feet at which consumer or commercial drones are allowed to fly

• 2 – drones to be given away to audience members during the Nebraska Lecture