It’s no Christmas or Halloween, but the drone industry’s own holiday is coming this month. Called “Drone Safety Day 2023,” it’s a holiday invented by the Federal Aviation Administration, and it’s set for Saturday, April 29, 2023.
This holiday used to span a whole week, but in 2022, the FAA pared down the annual event to run just one day, which was a Saturday in mid-June. Once again, 2023’s version lasts just one day, and the event has been moved up to April.
Drone Safety Day is conjured up by the FAA, but it’s made possible by individual companies and organizations around the country. In a symbiotic relationship, those groups put on real, live individual events to ride the wave of the FAA’s marketing of the ‘holiday.’ In turn, the FAA’s holiday amounts to something more than a digital hashtag.
It’s an opportunity for businesses, schools, and organizations to share how they use drones with the broader community, and drone enthusiasts get an excuse to share their passion. Of course, the heavily-safety-oriented FAA gets a platform to continue to hammer home its safety message.
Live, in-person events for Drone Safety Day 2023
So far, there have been more than a dozen events occurring around the nation that have been announced ahead of Drone Safety Day 2023, though more could be added. The events are hosted by all sorts of groups, including colleges and local AUVSI chapters. They range from panels on topics like drone law and policy to more casual and fun fly-ins.
Here’s a map that indicates a few of the events around the nation:
Many, like the fly days, are happily in-person, though other events have hybrid and virtual formats, which is helpful for folks who can’t travel to attend IRL.
See a full list of the 2023 Drone Safety Day events here.
And if you’re hosting an event that you want added to the FAA’s map on the official FAA Drone Safety Day page, you can submit it here. If you want to host an event but aren’t sure quite what to do, recommended activities from the FAA include hosting live drone demonstrations, TRUST or Part 107 Test Prep courses or general fly-ins or get-togethers.
For folks staying at home, the FAA has also put together a Drone@Home Activity page, which is mostly geared toward STEM training for kids.
What to know about Drone Safety Day 2023
This is the fifth consecutive year of Drone Safety Day, previously known as National Drone Safety Awareness Week. Often the FAA’s marketing folk assign cutesy themes and acronyms that only kind of make sense. The FAA’s marketing team has delivered once again.
This year’s theme is Fly RIGHT, which is, in fact, a goofy acronym (it’s the same acronym that was used last year):
Register your drone – FAA DroneZone
Interact with others
Gain knowledge
Have a safety plan
Trust and train
Of course, if you didn’t post about it on social media, did you even participate? The FAA is encouraging you to use the hashtag #DroneSafetyDay if you take part in any festivities.
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