Well they are getting plenty of ammo against our hobby here in the U.S. I can't say that I blame them.  All of the UAV pilots that think it's OK to do whatever they want wherever they want is leading to the FAA putting their foot down. Sorry for just posting the image of the article it's just easier. I think the scary part of the article is and I quote "the FAA is asking the general public to report illegal flights to local law enforcement."  This part makes me nervios.  Think about it... Now there will A bunch of uneducated John or Jane Q public that will call the cops almost every time they see a UAV flying if they think it's wrong, or worst yet they will become combative with us pilots that are in the right.  Make sure that you do the right thing and teach them when or if they come to you first.  Most of all be polite, you will get a lot more with honey than you will with vinegar.

-Dog

A little misleading.  What they are cracking down on is people flying these things in crowded airspace, near airports both large and small...etc.

This has really nothing to do with Johnny flying his quad at his home or out in the middle of nowhere.  

Location location location and using a little common sense.

Too much of a hooray for me and f you attitude in the world today.

When I first got involved in flying RC helicopters, you needed to learn about how to actually fly. There were no turn key copters on the market. You built it, you flew it. Not anymore.

Today with the quads, it's take it out of the box, maybe charge the battery and go fly. This reminds me a lot of the 35mm SLR revolution on the early eighties. Open the camera back, plop in the film and you're now a Pulitzer prize winning photographer. People found out that photography involved more than pushing a button to get great results. This is where we are at today with the quad copter.

As long as you read the manuals before operation, quads are very easy to fly, almost too easy.
Manufacturers could do more to educate buyers and the local dealers also share in this responsibility. Getting access to a location to fly would bring people into the hobby and hopefully, those with the intere

I went looking around and found this little diddy. These are RC people talking about cracking down on drones. So reminiscent of both archery and firearms. Archery folks are devided into a few groups, long bows, compound bows and cross bows, Long bow folks look down on compound bows and the compound bow folks look down on crossbow folks.  

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohf ... ewfull=1#post973017
snip:
Folks who fly model planes are virtually all aviation enthusiasts and have enough knowledge of aviation to fly their models safely, without interfering with real aircraft. Some drone flyers might have this knowledge too, but many, perhaps most, are clueless, totally ignorant of aviation, and fly drones not because they're interested in aviation, but just to take photos. Again, the difference is obvious but tricky to define in legal terms.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greg ... and-model-aircraft/

DrACE Posted at 2015-8-18 20:32
A little misleading.  What they are cracking down on is people flying these things in crowded airspa ...

That's the point... When the FAA asks the general public to call local law enforcement. This will be a broad stroke.  Think about it, you are going to get any yahoo that thinks your breaking the law, even if it's just taking it out of the box and setting up at your local park.  That why I say that it's so important to help educate these folks on what to law is and make sure it's in a kind manor.

-Dog

gregg1r Posted at 2015-8-18 20:50
I went looking around and found this little diddy. These are RC people talking about cracking down o ...

Just take photos?
That is what the Phantom is.  
A Flying Camera.
What else can you do with it?
You can't buy a Phantom3 without the camera.

liningiv Posted at 2015-8-18 22:56
Just take photos?
That is what the Phantom is.  
A Flying Camera.

Ah, but you can purchase a replacement Phantom without the camera for like $680 USD.

People purchasing quads for racing, don't purchase DJI product. The Phantom series quads weren't designed for aerobatics or racing. Some of the FPV racers, race in wooded areas. Crashes are inevitable.

For what it is, the Phantom isn't a bad quad. It's getting dated in design compared to other brands. The introduction of the P3 Standard shows that DJI is seeing sales slip to cheaper competitors.

The next move up from the Phantom, at least in the DJI world, is the Inspire 1,  For $2900-3400 you get the same basic camera that the Phantom uses with a larger craft. Then you've got the Flamewheel hexacopters and the newer Matrice.

I see the FAA via the FCC requiring a frequency change to new birds with limits on elevation and range. Once they limit the range, I think the issue of airspace encroachments will stop. You'd still be able to purchase the "professional" versions by would require a 333 exemption to purchase and operate.

when i fly my birds i put on a yellow safety vest and a construction hat an I am left alone even by P D

If you look at the stunning inability to fly those things and some of the posts in here (just today that kid who bragged flying into power lines), I am not surprised. I am even more stunned about the responses, in which people congratulate those idiots ("Dude, that was awesome!") and the lack of public criticism, because that would be extremely uncool.

Unfortunately, most of those inept people tend to fly RTF machines where the overall attitude is that they can be flown with very little IQ.

Drone flown near airport, the Statue of Liberty, at concerts causing injury to the performer, fly-aways, above clouds, in crowded areas - you name it. I am sure overall this is very tiny minority of people and most operators try to educate themselves and fly responsibly, but those few foul ones are generating a lot of bad press and have generated an overall negative public image, in that feel more embarrassed to be seen by anyone when flying to avoid being told off.

Some people lack even a basic sense of knowledge and responsibility. Most people don't even know what a firmware is and how to update them or understand the basic principles of flying, let alone multi-rotor flying. Or lack basic skills of how to operate an iPhone or Android device and wonder why they app keeps crashing on a single core phone from 3 years ago, which they have somehow managed to install the DJI piloting app.

In the past, people used to join an RC club and flew in a controlled space with supervision and received proper training. Nowadays, people think they have a right to fly anywhere, anytime, without any regard for others or their surroundings.

Let's just get it out of the box to do an FPV for 3 miles, right? If it crashes daddy will by a new one. If it falls from the sky onto a highway with cars swerving around and potential loss of life, bad luck. Most people have no idea who much damage an item can do falling even from 30ft.

Even those "professional" reviewers are not prone of this moronism. There was just a review about a drone from a well-known gadget site where the reviewer complained about flyaways and disconnects - and, of course, he reviews this thing in Central Park in New York, where you find at any given point probably a few dozen WiFi appliances on the same channel!

I am all for a basic drone operators certification with proper aircraft identification to stop this level of nonsense.

#rant end

aerdt Posted at 2015-8-19 00:29
If you look at the stunning inability to fly those things and some of the posts in here (just today  ...

I completely agree with you, the CAA is leading the way, and it wont be long till everyone has to have a PFAW - its not cheap (in total I have spent in excess of £5000 getting to that stage).  by doing that, it will stop the numpty's going to maplins buying one and flying like a tool...

the rest of the world will catch up eventually...

Having a good friend who just retired from the FAA, I highly doubt much will come of all this talk.  First off the FAA is a poorly funded governmental body.  They do not have the manpower to send out agents to track down some guy flying a drone around town.  Now with that being said, there are going to continue to be some knuckleheads out there who buy these things, do not read a thing or watch a video and fire it up right out of the box and hurt someone or something with it.  Its going to eventually happen but that does not mean at all that they government will be coming for your drone.  Heck, we have nutjobs offing people left and right and this administration has tried its hardest to harness in guns and you see how that has turned out.  

The FAA will make a point out of a few and it will make news and it will scare a lot of people off........but that is the extent that I believe will happen.

DrACE Posted at 2015-8-19 09:19
Having a good friend who just retired from the FAA, I highly doubt much will come of all this talk.  ...

Well the FCC is doing a BIG harm to wherever transmits illegally on ham radio bands or transmits where they are not permitted any where on the RF spectrum and these people face fines ranging from 10,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars and some times prison time, with that and news about it and bulletins of such fines with the names and addresses of such offenders AND people still do it.

The UAS America Fund, a drone investment group based in Washington, has urged the FAA to expedite laying out its proposal for classifying and regulating drones weighing 3 pounds or less. Congress ordered the FAA to have this done by Sept 30 of this year………like Congress should be ordering anyone to do something on time……have they ever done anything on time   ha ha       On a different note, I went to my towns Airport Commission Meeting tonight….had to after reading last months minutes. They put a 5 mile radius blanket ban around the airport. Out of the 4 FAA categories and 5 subcategories ours is one step up from the bottom GAA and has no operational facility or tower (LOS and transponders only). At tonights meeting they began by saying "since last months meeting we have done some very extensive research and these are what we will be publishing to be complied to". I of course called them out and said that "from where I am standing you have done no research, as 80% of what you have stated is either inaccurate or flat out does not exist under US code 49, FAA regs, section 336, MGL or CMR. I had copies of all and highlighted but they refused to even accept them to look at……the ignorant and pompous arrogance of it all. I will comply to appease but they unqualified jokes.