HoverAir Launches $750 Versa After FCC Approval as Loophole Risks Reversal Within 30 Days
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Aug 19
HoverAir Launches $750 Versa After FCC Approval as Loophole Risks Reversal Within 30 Days
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Aug 19
Summary
August 9 FCC approval let HoverAir launch the $750 Versa on Indiegogo this week, marketing it as a mini camera with optional snap-on propellers rather than a drone.
That approval hinged on certifying only the camera portion: the propeller Flight Kit appears to lack its own wireless radio, potentially keeping it outside normal FCC review.
The workaround may still fail because the foreign-drone ban also covers “UAS critical components,” and the FCC has explicitly said cameras can qualify when they contain radios tied to flight functions.
Within 30 days of certification, the FCC can quickly revoke a private certifier’s sign-off if it decides the Versa camera is effectively a banned drone component.
The case highlights how drone makers are testing the edges of the 2025 US foreign-drone restrictions that already derailed HoverAir’s Aqua launch.