"Gary Drescher" wrote in message news:Fg0%b.399249
CJ, that makes a lot of sense as a guideline for distinguishing whether
the
passenger has a more or less commercial purpose for taking the pictures
(as
opposed to just wanting to put some scenic photos in a personal album, for
example). I wouldn't be at all surprised if the FAA draws the same
distinction. But the problem I still have here regarding the FARs, as
written, is that nothing in the FARs' exemption for aerial photography
suggests that it makes any difference whether the passenger's purpose is
commercial or not. I'd probably draw the line just as you suggest, but I
still wish the rules said what they meant, and vice versa.

The rules don't draw a distinction between commercial photography and
private photography for a very good reason. The FAA has enough trouble
defining commercial and private aviation. Attempting to add such a
distinction would introduce enormous complexity to a relatively small area
of aviation.

If the purpose of the flight is so questionable that I cannot tell whether
it is really an aerial photography flight or not, I would have to assume
that it is not.