New law being passed that severely restricts drone hobbyists

Why would this be an issue?

Because this is how it starts. Require licensing for a 500 gram toy with wings. Then keep ratcheting up the restrictions until no one can participate.

Same reason we are against licensing of firearms by the Feds.

Will a 500 gram drone go 400 ft?

Easily

There are a lot of birds that weigh more than that. Are we going to outlaw all birds from the sky while we are at it?

So what should be the standard....8700lb Learjet?

In a reasonable world the standard would be you get in trouble for interfering with normal aircraft no matter the weight of the interfering object.

You don't need to register every toy drone. Just enforce existing safety laws.

Just like you don't need to register your firearms. If you kill someone, you go to jail.

So with that logic I can ride a bicycle on the Interstate. So should drones be registered and "tagged" and carry Insurance?

Funny how many things are illegal... until you pay the government money. Then, no problem!

That's why we need government so badly!

I agree...right up until I'm on final approach and your 500 dollar drone takes out my 2.8 million dollar engine on my Citation and hopefully doesn't kill me in the process.

So am I to assume you haven't thought this through yet. One more question, what about people who shoot your drone down. Or what about using a drone to spy on you>

True. But I don't think the government will allow drone flyers to do that even if they pay a license fee.

And what many forget is, terrorists flying a drone with 3 pounds of C4 strapped to it won't bother following any rules. For that reason, the only defense of offense: planes will need to be designed with drone detectors and fitted with drone killers. That's the only surefire way to protect them.

"When they ban drones, only criminals will have drones"

Heard anything similar before?

[link to www.bloomberg.com (secure)]

The measures have been endorsed by government agencies and industry groups to combat growing numbers of safety and security incidents, and to ensure a predictable environment for burgeoning commercial operations such as deliveries.

The civilian drone world has evolved in recent years from one dominated by hobbyists to growing involvement by companies seeking to profit from unmanned flight in everything from infrastructure inspections to drone deliveries that are already subject to regulations. These uses have been embraced by industry behemoths including Intel Corp., Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s BNSF Railway Co., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.

[link to www.bloomberg.com (secure)]

less then 50%

Follow the money now that makes sense.

Not even suggesting banning them I'm thinking Insurance and radio tracking I have to do that with my 26 million dollar aircraft, should you not have to follow same you are also In the air.

A goose typically weighs between 30 and 45 pounds so what damage do you think a 1 pound bit of plastic is going to do?

Quite a lot if we're talking plastic explosives :)

I have insurance for the goose like you do on your car for a deer. But if my engine ingests your drone because its in my airspace, it just like you running a red light and hitting me...you pay

I have had one of them supermarket plastic bags shut down an engine, by the way.

So I read the "proposed law". it's not restricting you, it's making you responsible...big difference. you need to remember the airspace does not just belong to you. nor has it ever.

My point was that presumably an aircraft engine is designed to handle half a dozen 45 pound geese going through it so what problem would a little plastic drone do. And if your engine can be shut down by a plastic bag then are they really safe to be flying?

I’m no expert but just don’t see how a little plastic drone is going to damage a plane travelling at hundreds of miles per hour.

Surely if drones were really a threat they would have been banned years ago before the market even got started.

Hobbyists will just print fake FAA registration adhesive labels and put them on their drones.

Last Edited by Cheyenne on 09/28/2018 06:47 AM

Train a goose and strap a camera to it. Keep lawyers employed forever.

Mine displays a written alert if I fly in restricted airspace (for instance too near an airport) and I bring it down.

If they are trying to restrict drone flights then they should be planning on building something worth seeing.

Me neither. I think it is more to do with the reach of them so people can see or get to stuff they otherwise couldn't. It is great that the army have them to observe the situation from above, i think they do not like the public having this ability imo.

My drone is the Mavic 2 zoom it weighs about as much as an Apple can fly about 2000 feet high and has a range of about 5 miles from the controller and will fly for about 25 minutes and basically flies at south to text any obstacle’s can track and follow people Auto stabilizers itself and its camera automatically flies home and lands at south on command or if it ever loses contact with the controller And is viewable through wireless VR goggles for an immersive experience flying in HD. I agree it’s bullshit that’s such a tiny little toy requires this. If this ever hit an airplane or helicopter it would be like a bug hitting your car

Last Edited by Cardiak on 09/28/2018 07:18 AM

Drones are not protected by the constitution so no, not the same. Its more in line with fcc rules and regs regarding ham radio. Do you really want a bunch of retarded drone pilots flying something with spinning hack saw blades near you? Do you want the sky packed full of drones when you walk around outside?

That is exactly what it looks like when you first come down to take a look, only you end up in a dark sack with a clock next to your ear.