DronePilot_01 Posted at 2018-3-14 13:32
I think we are long past the point where drone use could be so drastically restricted. If such rules were put into effect it would pretty much put DJI and most other drone makers out of business. Why pay $1500 for a P4 Pro when it can do no more than a $200 WiFi drone? Why buy a drone at all if you are not allowed to fly it anywhere but really boring places with lots of RF interference from other people trying to fly at the same time? The DJI drones are used to take amazing aerial videos of spectacular locations. That's why we all buy them.

You are correct that a helicopter or aircraft pilot would have trouble dodging a drone because it is so small. A drone pilot has a similar problem of dodging an aircraft because it is so big and fast. You said that you can hear an aircraft approaching. That's only true if you are flying close to your own location. If the drone is a mile away, you will never hear the aircraft.  DJI advertises that their drones have ranges of over 4 miles. This is because if you are trying to capture some really amazing scenery you often need to fly a large distance. Again this is why people spend $1500 for DJI drones rather than $200 for a toy.

Are you flying something else but DJI drones?Do you know those RC Jets that cost 10.000 bucks and are only allowed on model airfields? Costs are no argument.
A Ferrari, even normal cars, reach speeds that are not allowed on the most roads, yet people buy them. There are a lot of good things that are made for cool stuff, still they are not allowed everywhere. Unfortunately...

A drone operator will not see an airliner. Airspace separation prevents that, if the drone operator sticks to the rules. In the allowed 400ft band you can find small airplanes and all types of helicopters.
Nothing supersonic... you can hear them normally. It doesn't mean you have minutes till they are at your position, but enough to descend and find a safe place.
Just because DJI sells a drone that is capable to fly far away, doesn't mean that you are allowed to do that. You have to stay in line of sight (but there are different concepts what that actually means for the distance), in order to avoid collisions.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to to have rules for BVLOS with a respective licence, because I know what you mean with flying large distances. But unfortunately it is not allowed. So flying outside of the rules and taking this as an argument that the rules don't work, is kind of strange.

iFoxRomeo Posted at 2018-3-14 15:10
Are you flying something else but DJI drones?Do you know those RC Jets that cost 10.000 bucks and are only allowed on model airfields? Costs are no argument.
A Ferrari, even normal cars, reach speeds that are not allowed on the most roads, yet people buy them. There are a lot of good things that are made for cool stuff, still they are not allowed everywhere. Unfortunately...

This happened to me: I was flying at the coast of northern California. It was a desolate area with no one around. Perfect spot for a bit of drone flying. I flew from the road and had my drone fly up and down the coast a bit before heading back. Just as I did, I noticed a Cessna 172 zipping along the surf line at about 20 feet above the water. I only heard it when it had passed. Had my drone still been there I would have had no chance to react and no sense on which direction to go to avoid the plane. I estimate the Cessna to be going around 140MPH. My drone does around 40 MPH in sport mode. Had the Cessna hit my drone, I am certain I would have been blamed for the crash even though there was nothing I could do to avoid it.

DronePilot_01 Posted at 2018-3-14 15:17
This happened to me: I was flying at the coast of northern California. It was a desolate area with no one around. Perfect spot for a bit of drone flying. I flew from the road and had my drone fly up and down the coast a bit before heading back. Just as I did, I noticed a Cessna 172 zipping along the surf line at about 20 feet above the water. I only heard it when it had passed. Had my drone still been there I would have had no chance to react and no sense on which direction to go to avoid the plane. I estimate the Cessna to be going around 140MPH. My drone does around 40 MPH in sport mode. Had the Cessna hit my drone, I am certain I would have been blamed for the crash even though there was nothing I could do to avoid it.

No, I don't think you would be blamed for a mid air in such a case. In case of a mid air this would be investigated by the NTSB. The Pilot of the Cessna was flying recklessly. He was lower than the wingspan of the aircraft. There are enough crashes of aircraft, because the pilot flew multiple times in similar ways.
And thats why I said in the first place for the case of this topic: let the NTSB do its job and see what they find out.

iFoxRomeo Posted at 2018-3-15 03:17
No, I don't think you would be blamed for a mid air in such a case. In case of a mid air this would be investigated by the NTSB. The Pilot of the Cessna was flying recklessly. He was lower than the wingspan of the aircraft. There are enough crashes of aircraft, because the pilot flew multiple times in similar ways.
And thats why I said in the first place for the case of this topic: let the NTSB do its job and see what they find out.

Yep,  you are right.    The Cessna pilot was flying dangerously and illegally.    If anything goes wrong at 20ft altitude, the pilot has no time to react and probably no chance to recover/fix things.

There was a pro-baseball player killed in the Gulf of Mexico recently,  doing this exact thing.  Flying low and fast over the water.

Sid

GrangerFX Posted at 2018-2-18 20:01
I will yet point again to the millions of drones being sold and the FAA admonishing people who have never flown anything before to "stay below 400 feet and in visual line of sight" as if that would magically prevent a collision with an aircraft flying below that altitude. I suggest placing equal responsibility on the drone and aircraft pilots to stay out of each other's airspace. Yes that's what I said. The FAA should declare 400 feet and below to be drone airspace. Stay out of it except near airports or in an emergency or you will be looking for some middle age dude who bought a drone from Best Buy to blame for your accident.

Hello grangerFX  I totally agree ,drones and full scale aircraft should drum up on rules and common sense.put the blame on the pilot at fault.