Politicians Watching Us

Delta Blue · Jan 17, 2018

WATCH: Private drones cause increasing concern on Capitol Hill

This article and video should be of concern to us. I have seen many drone users bragging about flying outside authorized envelope, into clouds, flying at night, farther than visual ability, etc. They are waiting for a disaster to happen to force regulations if we do not do it ourselves.

embayweather · Jan 17, 2018

I would completely agree, and I live in the U.K.

Norm Kokes · Jan 18, 2018

I see lots of postings on youtube related to distance and extreme altitudes etc. I hope agencies that come across this realize these are unlicensed flyers who are the exception to the rule not the general rule. I hope if new laws are enforced they will be done in two parts, one that applies to hobbyists and another to professionals.

Randy Bailey · Jan 18, 2018

I read an article that the FAA is studying technology to electronically identify drones. I guess it would be some sort of transponder that would send position/altitude/speed. They are looking at a two-way version that, I assume, would allow them to land drones. Interesting, it mentioned there would be a grace period to retrofit existing drones.

FLYBOYJ · Jan 18, 2018

Randy Bailey said:
I read an article that the FAA is studying technology to electronically identify drones. I guess it would be some sort of transponder that would send position/altitude/speed. They are looking at a two-way version that, I assume, would allow them to land drones. Interesting, it mentioned there would be a grace period to retrofit existing drones.

I know there are commercial drone transponders out there, and I believe a few folks are trying to market a drone ADS-B system. In the bigger picture I think its a great idea but hate to think about the increased cost.

mdurbanek · Jan 18, 2018

Randy Bailey said:
I read an article that the FAA is studying technology to electronically identify drones. I guess it would be some sort of transponder that would send position/altitude/speed. They are looking at a two-way version that, I assume, would allow them to land drones. Interesting, it mentioned there would be a grace period to retrofit existing drones.

The DJI Aeroscope is a start.

mdurbanek · Jan 18, 2018

mdurbanek said:
The DJI Aeroscope is a start.

And one of the Next Big Things is the "drone mitigation" business. Hang on to your hat.

924 · Jan 18, 2018

Delta Blue said:
WATCH: Private drones cause increasing concern on Capitol Hill

This article and video should be of concern to us. I have seen many drone users bragging about flying outside authorized envelope, into clouds, flying at night, farther than visual ability, etc. They are waiting for a disaster to happen to force regulations if we do not do it ourselves.

924 · Jan 18, 2018

The ironic thing about it is that anyone who is willing to learn the rules in the first place is not likely to be the one to willingly break them, so the short-sighted "It's only a matter of time" statement shouldn't be applied as broadly as these concerned legislators are want to do. Knee-jerk law is usually bad law.

AH-1G · Jan 18, 2018

Randy Bailey said:
I read an article that the FAA is studying technology to electronically identify drones. I guess it would be some sort of transponder that would send position/altitude/speed. They are looking at a two-way version that, I assume, would allow them to land drones. Interesting, it mentioned there would be a grace period to retrofit existing drones.

They, meaning the Military has that technology, FAA is studying whether to implement it into their program. Funding is the issue for now.

mdurbanek · Jan 18, 2018

Some are concerned that the recent leanings towards allowing local control of drones in the airspace would be bad (and it would). However, the easiest thing for the FAA to do is to restrict drone use to the huge players by way of regulation and fees. That would knock all of us out of the business. Those are the two sides of the Federalism coin.

AH-1G · Jan 18, 2018

mdurbanek said:
Some are concerned that the recent leanings towards allowing local control of drones in the airspace would be bad (and it would). However, the easiest thing for the FAA to do is to restrict drone use to the huge players by way of regulation and fees. That would knock all of us out of the business. Those are the two sides of the Federalism coin.

I don't think and hope it wouldn't happen, I would rather see registration for all drones and substantial increase in the registration fee.

mdurbanek · Jan 18, 2018

The reason this worries me is that people think the issue is akin to the 2nd Amendment. It is not. There are WAY more yahoos abusing the ability to fly drones than there are gun owners (THANK GOD!) flouting gun laws. Just as someone as already said in here, the bad guys don't obey the rules, and the rest of us pay for it. I do have slight optimism that the airspace belongs to all of us, not to the government, and they are going to have to find an accommodation. I'm hoping LAANC calms the water long enough for the public to become accustomed to our technology.

AH-1G · Jan 18, 2018

mdurbanek said:
The reason this worries me is that people think the issue is akin to the 2nd Amendment. It is not. There are WAY more yahoos abusing the ability to fly drones than there are gun owners (THANK GOD!) flouting gun laws. Just as someone as already said in here, the bad guys don't obey the rules, and the rest of us pay for it. I do have slight optimism that the airspace belongs to all of us, not to the government, and they are going to have to find an accommodation. I'm hoping LAANC calms the water long enough for the public to become accustomed to our technology.

My sons are in their 20's and drones are not an issue with them, I'm sure this goes with the 30's and 40's group. The challenge are the folks who do not like or understand technology.

But yet they seem to embrace cell phones and cell phones are more intrusive. IMO

Quad Squad · Jan 18, 2018

Someone on our city council was not happy with the idea of "drones" buzzing around our city, even though they are not common here.

All it took was a little chat and a video on my phone to get this council woman to change her attitude. Showing her the 107 license and the FAA registration, and talking "legalities" really changed her tune. She no longer saw them as a menace but as a valuable tool.

Ignorance = fear. A little education goes a long way.

Andy Post · Jan 20, 2018

Personally, I'd be happy to buy one of these. pingRX So small, just move it to whichever vehicle is in the air at the time. I know I'm where I should be, they know I'm there, about the cost of a Mavic. Done....

James Vaughn · Jan 22, 2018

FLYBOYJ said:
I know there are commercial drone transponders out there, and I believe a few folks are trying to market a drone ADS-B system. In the bigger picture I think its a great idea but hate to think about the increased cost.

Some 3DR pilots have successfully operated SOLO's with ADSB...

FatherXmas · Feb 11, 2018

A big concern of mine is all of the folks who say that for recreational flights, the rules are only 'guidelines' and they can do whatever they want. Then you see folks flying at ridiculous heights and distances way beyond VLOS, over people, etc.

embayweather · Feb 11, 2018

I am from the U.K. but I agree with that thought. Until those guidelines are made mandatory our respective qualifications will mean little.

ArrUnTuS · Feb 11, 2018

Luckily in our case, Spain, the rules for hobby flying have already been defined. It is a complaint that has been heard for a long time because amateurs could fly in more places than professionals and without any training.

They absolutely must be brought into line with the rules. That its use is restricted to uncontrolled airspace and not fly in urban areas. In this case only drones of less than 250 grams can fly in urban nucleus. At least now it's in the legislation.