ALASKA TRENDS.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... wait, what exactly is that?

No, it's not Superman. And sorry to disappoint, but it's not a UFO either.

We're talking drones. Or for the purists: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Alaskans may have noticed an uptick in the little hovercrafts that just seem to be everywhere (including some places they probably shouldn't be), and for good reason.

Outside of personal use, there are a variety of applications for the devices from surveying to surveillance, farming to photography. And in the not-so-distant future--even delivery.

The Department of Transportation classifies drone users into three different categories:

* A recreational user is anyone who uses a drone solely for recreation. Anyone who flies a drone for monetary or business purposes is not a recreational user.

* Federal, State, or Tribal government entities, including schools and universities, that use unmanned aircraft system/drone technology are considered public operators.

* A person or company using unmanned aircraft system/drone technology for compensation or business purposes is considered to be a commercial operator. This includes any person or company using a drone in any way to advertise, promote, or demonstrate a product or service, even if the product or service itself does not include a drone.

Indeed, drones are on the rise. But just how fast might surprise you.

It's estimated that nearly 1 in 10 Americans own a drone and 15 percent of the population have flown one. Further, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts that by 2023, the number of commercial drones in operation will triple: 835,000. And by the same year, experts are expecting there to be 350,000 licensed drone pilots.

But there's still rules! This month's installment of Alaska Trends is here to keep you in the know and out of trouble.

8% of Americans own at least one drone.

15% of Americans have flown a drone according to a 2020 survey of over 1000 participants.

1,563,263 UAS

The FAA predicted there would be 452,000 commercial UAS in use by 2022, but that number was reached in March of 2020.

As of March 10, 441,709 commercial and 1,117,900 recreational UAS had been registured, totaling 1,563,263 registured UAS in the US.

350,000 Pilots

Experts claim that 350,000 UAS pilots will be registered by 2023.

Recreational vs. Commercial

People assume that a commercial flight is done for financial compensation. Compensation or the lack of it is not what determines if the flight is...