And then there’s all the uncertainty over what the FAA is going to do.

“I think we’re going to wait right now and see what happens,” he said.

MAKING RULES

Until recently, the agency essentially ignored the drone realm, simply offering a few basic rules for model aircraft hobbyists to follow. But as drones have grown more sophisticated — and with companies such as Amazon pushing to use them for deliveries to customers — the agency has been forced to reconsider its position.

One of its most closely watched cases started in early 2012, when the FAA went after Raphael Pirker, who used a drone in 2011 to shoot aerial footage for a University of Virginia Medical Center promotion. The agency slapped Pirker with a $10,000 fine for unsafe use of an aircraft.

In March, a federal administrative judge ruled against the agency, saying it had no basis for the fine and that it shouldn’t have applied aircraft rules to what is essentially a model aircraft.

The agency is appealing the decision, even as it works to come up with a new set of regulations for unmanned flights, as directed by Congress.