a. Types and Authority. Current FAA policy for UAS operations is that no person may operate a UAS in the NAS without specific authority.
(1) Public.
(a) FAA policy restricts COAs to public operations as defined in title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1, Definitions & Abbreviations.
(b) For UAS operating as public aircraft, the authority is the COA.
(2) Civil.
(a) Civil applicants must apply for a Special Airworthiness Certificate–Experimental Category.
(b) For UAS operating as civil aircraft, the authority is special airworthiness certificates.
(3) Hobbyist.
(a) Hobbyists should follow the guidance contained in Advisory Circular (AC) 91-57.
(b) For model aircraft, the authority is AC 91-57.
Oh thank god Policy11 finally cleared up the whole confusing mess in Policy07 that we have been discussing for years:
Policy Statement
The current FAA policy for UAS operations is that no person may operate a UAS in
the National Airspace System without specific authority. For UAS operating as public
aircraft the authority is the COA, for UAS operating as civil aircraft the authority is special
airworthiness certificates, and for model aircraft the authority is AC 91-57.
Silent,
Perhaps you could use this lil gem at the bottom of the new Policy11 faa doc to show your point:
13. Word usage.
a. May (need not be followed by a verb) means a procedure is optional.
b. Must (followed by a verb or the use of an appropriate action verb in the imperative sense) means
a procedure is mandatory.
c. Should (followed by a verb) means a procedure is recommended.
d. Will (followed by a verb) indicates futurity; not a requirement for application of a procedure.
e. Singular words include the plural and plural words include the singular.