Commercial Drones and the Rise of GIS Under FAA Section 333

Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had not yet finalized comprehensive regulations for commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), organizations seeking to operate drones legally were not without options. Through petitions filed under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, companies and individuals could apply for exemptions allowing commercial UAV operations under specific conditions.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, beginning March 23, 2015, operators granted a Section 333 exemption automatically received a blanket Certificate of Authorization (COA) for flights at or below 200 feet. These approvals applied to aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds, operated during daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions, within visual line of sight (VLOS), and at prescribed distances from airports and heliports. The FAA published lists of approved applicants, offering a unique opportunity to analyze emerging patterns in commercial drone adoption.

Analyzing the First 2,000 Section 333 Exemptions

An informal review of the first 2,000 granted exemptions, conducted as of November 16, 2015, sought to evaluate demand for UAV-based data collection tools — particularly within GIS and geospatial workflows — and to identify geographic and industry trends.

The analysis grouped missions into several categories:

• Photography (including videography, cinematography, aerial imaging, and thermography)
• GIS & Geospatial (surveying, mapping, mining, photogrammetry, remote sensing, orthomosaics, landscape analysis)
• Inspections (utilities, pipelines, railroads, construction)
• Real Estate
• Agriculture (precision farming, crop scouting, crop insurance)
• Insurance (damage assessment, crop claims)
• Search and Rescue

It is important to note that the review was not a strictly scientific study. Companies frequently listed multiple intended missions in their exemption applications, and categorization required interpretation. Some applicants emphasized a single use case, while others described a broad portfolio spanning photography, mapping, and inspections. As a result, mission counts reflect representation rather than exclusive specialization.

Exemptions by State: Geographic Distribution

Overall, exemption totals loosely correlated with state population, though notable deviations emerged. Florida, despite having roughly half the population of California, recorded the highest number of approvals. Virginia, ranked twelfth in population, placed fourth in exemption count.

The ten states with the highest total exemptions were:

• Florida — 228
• California — 221
• Texas — 153
• Virginia — 88
• Illinois — 70
• Colorado — 66
• Ohio — 60
• Pennsylvania — 58
• Arizona — 58
• North Carolina — 55

These clusters suggest that commercial UAV demand was not solely driven by population density but also by industry mix, regulatory climate, and business adoption patterns.

Industry Segments: Where Drones Are Being Used

Photography dominated exemption filings, accounting for approximately 30% of recorded missions. However, GIS & Geospatial ranked second at 16.5%. When agricultural applications — many of which rely on spatial data capture and analysis — are combined with GIS, the share increases to over 21%.

Mission counts and percentages were distributed as follows:

• Photography — 1,282 (30.4%)
• GIS & Geospatial — 698 (16.5%)
• Real Estate — 367 (8.7%)
• Agriculture — 202 (4.8%)
• Search and Rescue — 106 (2.5%)
• Inspections — 70 (1.7%)
• Insurance — 39 (0.9%)
• Others — 1,460 (34.6%)

The strong representation of GIS and agricultural uses indicates that UAVs were not confined to media and real estate imaging but were becoming essential tools in surveying, mapping, and environmental analysis.

GIS & Geospatial Adoption by State

When focusing exclusively on GIS-related exemptions, the same states largely remained at the forefront. Florida and California each recorded 72 GIS & Geospatial approvals. Texas followed with 60, while Virginia reported 30. Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Arizona, and North Carolina rounded out the top tier.

This distribution reinforces the view that UAV adoption for spatial data collection was gaining momentum across both coastal and inland states, reflecting demand in sectors such as infrastructure, natural resources, and land development.

Drone Manufacturers: Market Leaders

Applicants were required to specify drone manufacturers and models in their exemption filings. Because many organizations listed multiple platforms, manufacturer counts exceeded the total number of exemptions.

Across all mission types, the leading manufacturers were:

• DJI — 2,628
• 3D Robotics — 250
• senseFly — 91
• Yuneec — 64
• Trimble — 45

Additional manufacturers included Tarot, Blade, Freefly, Aeryon, Altavian, Draganfly Innovations, VikingUAS, PrecisionHawk, Microdrones, and SteadiDrone.

Within GIS & Geospatial applications specifically, DJI overwhelmingly dominated, representing 66% of listed platforms. 3D Robotics followed at 8.28%, with senseFly at 5.08% and Trimble at 2.81%. The remainder of manufacturers each accounted for less than 2% individually.

The prevalence of DJI platforms suggests that affordability, reliability, and payload flexibility positioned the company as the leading choice for commercial mapping and surveying operations.

Implications for the GIS Industry

The data indicate that more than 16% of early Section 333 exemptions directly supported GIS and geospatial missions, rising above 20% when agriculture is included. These figures underscore strong demand for UAV-enabled spatial data acquisition.

Affordable drones are reshaping the GIS ecosystem. Beyond hardware disruption — including lightweight cameras and advanced sensors — UAV proliferation is accelerating innovation in photogrammetry software, orthomosaic generation, and cloud-based mapping workflows. Lower barriers to entry are enabling smaller firms and local governments to adopt aerial data collection strategies once limited to large enterprises.

As regulatory frameworks continue to evolve, further analysis will be needed to distinguish between fixed-wing and multirotor platforms in geospatial workflows and to evaluate which sub-sectors — such as surveying, precision agriculture, or infrastructure inspection — stand to benefit most.

The early Section 333 exemption landscape makes one conclusion clear: commercial UAVs are no longer peripheral tools. They are becoming integral components of the modern GIS and geospatial technology stack.