According To the FAA, Motorized Paper Airplanes Could Now Be Considered Drones

An exemption to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for commercial purposes issued to Peter Sachs, a drone advocate and professional lawyer, might mean that motorized paper airplanes fall into that self-same category.

Sachs sent his exemption request to the Federal Aviation Administration to see how the organization would respond, considering it was for the Taylor Toys Power Up 3.0, which the toy company describes as "smartphone-controlled paper airplane." The whole shebang is a motorized frame that can transform a paper-made craft into a "lean, mean flying machine." Most have referred to it as a simple, innocuous plaything — even Popular Science called it "one of the purest 'just a toy' drones out there.

Sachs posted his letter to the FAA, which granted the exemption, on Twitter.