http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ ... st-month-alone.html

Ignoring the fact its a DM article and the heading is "Four planes have been involved in fatal near misses with drones at major British airports including Heathrow in the last month". Its unlikely the CAA will make all UAV's have a transmitter on them..

I agree with a registration system though. I would also be happy if everyone shluld be required to be licensed.

sploodge Posted at 2015-9-28 19:59
Ignoring the fact its a DM article and the heading is "Four planes have been involved in fatal near  ...

They should start putting number plates on large birds too. ;(-

I'm not sure why some people are so keen on registration  and license? Please tell me what advantages it has?

There is little different from RC planes and helicopters which have been around for years, even 'shock horror' some with cameras on them!
Some RC planes also have a range of 2 miles more than the majority of quad copters.
I thought you had to have a license to fly a RC plane but people tell me different.
What RC planes do have are local  clubs and a national organization where they can meet. Owning a drone can be a solo experience and from my experience many RC plane groups see drone enthusiasts as dirty stinking sinners that will infect the pure sport of flying.

How would such a registration work? Pay your money for registration when you buy? Because if you did not then there will always by people who get around it, even when you buy just say a false address.
How would you decide what quads should be registered and what are technically toys? In the end registration is just another form the government can make some cash.

licence - I'm also not sure!  If it's a hobby!
What the UK needs is local clubs, where it is safe to fly, where experienced drone pilots who are licensed can teach new pilots.

I agree we should also have to buy air tax, virtual fuel and decompression suits and have to wear a helmet at all times. now then there must be a way to make more money from skateboarding and jogging.

Why do people think that something like this will REALLY help?  Those who break the law aren't going to register and even if you did and put your registration number on every arm on the craft, an aircraft pilot is not going to be able to identify the craft later.

I say we find a couple idiots in the act, shame them, prosecute them and see if education sinks in.

A little signal jamming, watch for return to home and bingo "Drop the remote buddy..."

My reason for being keen on a license is mainly accountability. Yes RC planes and helis have been around for a long time ( even with cameras ) but the ease of flying has not. Any idiot and his dog can be in the air within minutes of parting with about a grand. And as we see daily, money don't equal sense..

A license would show the person at a minimum displayed competence at one point ( same with driving ) and failure to ad hear to the regulations could be more strictly enforced. Wont stop the numpties I know but it will be a start. Maybe restrict selling them to people with licenses..

I'm not a law man so its only my opinion..

yep the driving license put an end to all drink driving and speeding.

"restrict selling them to people with licenses" - that would (excuse my French) faire chier DJI off, as DJI see the hobby market as the main growth market.

In the end how many Phantoms are they going to sell to photographers?

At the moment I can only think of fishing and gun ownership as a hobby where you require a license. Do quad's = guns?   The problem is the horse has bolted already. I'd agree with Mr Wholly when there has been a few more prosecutions for stupidity then it will settle down. I still think we need a national and local drone flying group.  Saying this I'm not against a minimum competency test although there would need to be more licensed assessors and the course much much....much cheaper, say 10 bob.  

"The devices, which can be purchased for as little as £30, have become increasingly popular gifts and toys"

I very much doubt a £30 toy will be able to crash a plane even in the unluckiest of circumstances. If the plane isnt' just going to push that away then we've got a serious problem, how are the going to survive any bird strike?

"including a parallel air traffic control system to monitor drones in British airspace"

So where are the billions that's going to cost come from? If I'm not mistaken the existing system is already creaking all over the place.

sploodge Posted at 2015-9-28 19:29
My reason for being keen on a license is mainly accountability. Yes RC planes and helis have been ar ...

I'd agree if the cost of getting a licence in the UK wasn't so exorbitant.  Bring the most down by 75% and make it mandatory.

sinbad_uk@ntlwo Posted at 2015-9-28 19:43
yep the driving license put an end to all drink driving and speeding.

Not at all saying it did.. What I'm saying is that when I see a driver on the road, at a minimum they have passed a test at one point to be allowed to drive and have accountability. Would you be happy driving about if most on the road had no license? What about pilots? Go on that holiday to Spain with someone who just started flying yesterday?.

I don't think for a second that something like a Phantom poses that much of a risk to a commercial airliner as the media makes out. But to a helicopter or light aircraft it could. People also fly irresponsibly IMO ( those flying BLOS for miles for example ). How at all do they know a helicopter is not in the P3's path? being accountable might make them think a little.

Just last month, even after informing the local ATF I was flying at a particular spot at a certain height, a SAR helicopter came right over where I was flying. If my P3 was not withing LOS, It could very well have ended badly. I had about 20 seconds to beign it down..
Some people volunterally impose restrictions on themselves by joining a flying club with insurance. maybe this would be a better stipulation for hobbyists instead of a license.

I am by no means a killjoy. But as with everything, idiots ruin it for other responsible people.. Even drivers get it in insurance premium to finance the morons.

I think guys we need to sit back a little here.  For the number of drones that are out there in the world against the number of reported sightings is exceptionally small and is not even worth debating.  I believe the actual number of proven collisions is zero. The only thing people are getting prosecuted for in the UK is flying in breach of the regulations and I fully support that. This is all press scaremongering which is being fed by relevant government departments who think they will might make a fortune in licence fees etc..
Yes Drone sales are on the increase, but the ones that may cause any sort of issue for manned aircraft are into thousands of pounds and to be honest even a Phantom 3 or Inspire is outside of the disposable income of quite a mass of households.  The Phantom 3 weighs only 1.28kgs and plastic (which even cracks on its own) and as said previously I don't think if a collision was to happen that it would have any detrimental effect.
With that said if operators stick with current rules then there won't be a problem nor will any lives be lost and regulations will not need to be changed.  I do not see the day that we will need a specific air traffic control for drones unless Amazon gets their way and to be honest from 5 miles out is radar going to pick up a Phantom 3 etc...  Registration of these type of Drones is quite a task and too be honest probably impossible to manage. TV licence fees are a nightmare to administer and prove impossible to enforce so what hope have they with drones.
I think that the market will settle down in time and the fad will fade and we will be left with the people who really are interested in the true usefulness of drones and peace will ensue.  If current regulations are changed it will only stifile this much needed resource in so many applications that it will outweigh the benefit.

I think they will always be hobbyists - the drone industry needs them.

It is however the sort of sensationalist media propaganda the Daily Mail spews out although I very surprised they did not get the word paedophile somewhere in the story.

A parallel air traffic control system to monitor drones -
Measures to enable officials to track the owners of drones - now I can see this coming because the UK government hates not been able to track your movements
Big drone brother is watching


  

Sorry, I am a bit confused here. How can it be a near miss and fatal?  Never mind just started to read the article and I see the arricle says potentially fatal. Gotta Love those headlines!

Has anyone picked up on the fact that there is no such thing as a 'fatal near miss' ?

sploodge Posted at 2015-9-28 19:29
My reason for being keen on a license is mainly accountability. Yes RC planes and helis have been ar ...

Exactly who  among us likes a hit and run driver, registration and insurance at least gives the injured or damaged property owner some recompense for an incident he has no control over.Will those who want to fly further and higher come forward when their craft goes AWOL NO THEY WONT.With registration and insurance comes responsibility and perhaps some acceptance and assure to the public to some degree.One example was an incident in kent an out of control UAV impacted a home owners roof causing considerable damage the authorities were unable to trace the owner of the UAV VALUE £4000 plus The property owner incurred the full repair costs OUT OF ORDER but wait for it some will disagree

You all in the UK are in a complete police state anyway, you should all love to line up like lemmings and register your flying camera,  I agree you all need to be watched very closely,  your country is pretty much destroyed anyway,  If your not responsible enough to fly in a safe place, safely you dont need one of these anyway, show some responsibility on your own and buy some insurance and take responsibility for yourself and dont act like or put yourself in a position to be a hit and run driver. .

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-29 04:14
You all in the UK are in a complete police state anyway, you should all love to line up like lemming ...

POLICE STATE,LEMMINGS,NEED TO BE WATCHED,WIND YOUR NECK IN MATE.We in the UK don't have the luxury of unending open spaces as the US enjoys so have to except more constraints ,some of your states are larger than the UK.In Comparison its 60 million people in a country park.Yet you in the states seem to get more threats of legislation against the use of uav use WHOSE BEING WATCHED???

pi-inthesky@hot Posted at 2015-9-29 09:01
POLICE STATE,LEMMINGS,NEED TO BE WATCHED,WIND YOUR NECK IN MATE.We in the UK don't have the luxury ...

The difference here in the USA is that there has been zero talk on a national level about doing anything with UAV's. We have the fruits and nuts cities and states that are restricting our rights due to like minded voters and the lame stream media.

Our Constitution has a State Rights provision which allows for states to set laws that effect them locally unlike legislation on a national level.

Someone flying in the Plains states could fly  to 20,000 feet if the craft could get that high with no harm. A person on either coast where the largest population centers are would be lucky to find a location that you wouldn't be visited by the police after flying a half an hour or more.

The Drone has replaced the Pit Bull dog as the cause De jour .

Isn't the FAA currently working on rules for the hobbyist and commercial use of UAVs in the USA public airspace?  The FAA is 'national', isn't it, 'Federal' Aviation Administration?

Or did I misunderstand?

Geebax Posted at 2015-9-28 23:17
Has anyone picked up on the fact that there is no such thing as a 'fatal near miss' ?

Yes, pretty much every second comment under the Daily Fail article points that out ;-)

What I'm saying is that when I see a driver on the road, at a minimum they have passed a test at one point to be allowed to drive and have accountability.

Not really.  At least in the USA, there are LOTS of unlicensed drivers on the road.  They aren't SUPPOSED to be there, but they are.  In some areas, they are in the news almost daily, because they are involved in an accident or crime.

That said, I have no say in what the UK is going to do about the problem, and it IS a problem here in the USA, so I won't expand this further.

Good luck in your homeland.

ag0n Posted at 2015-9-29 16:10
What I'm saying is that when I see a driver on the road, at a minimum they have passed a test at one ...

Here in New Mexico there is a large percentage of drivers that don't have a license, insurance or anything else.  Many are undocumented. citizens of other countries, But that is alright. Also if you are familiar with the Albuquerque police you know they would likely just shoot you, if reported for flying a camera, they would feel threatened.  Tell me who is the problem here.

Your drone is already registered, its registered with DJI,  Now if any of you in any country dont think that the US and Israeli Govt, has access to who owns what, when they can track and record everything you do, say or buy, track your cell phone and record everything you do or say already, then you haven't heard of Edward Snowden.

Further in  my solid metal, shop my I1 shows 3 to 4 gps satellites  right through the all metal roof and building.  Dont think that they cant track you and your drone, If those special gps satellites can penetrate this building, they can easily see you and your drone if they so choose.  Registering your drone, is the same situation as with gun registration, it is simply the first step to confiscation.

You Brits should know the routine already.  You do not own these drones you have purchased, you are merely allowed to use them, for now.  Dji has complete control of the unit you bought anyway.  You will eventually need a 3rd party hacked app to likely even fly it in the future.  Your whole damn life is registered anyway, and it always starts in your neck of the woods and spreads to the U.S.  Also have any of you ever heard of false flags, dont think that they wont be used, to put this all in line.

Require accredited pilot training course.
Need to license operators.
Register quads.
Pay mandatory insurance premiums.
Maintain accurate flight logs.
Require black box flight recorders.
Lodge flight plans with authorities.
Not deviate from lodged flight plans.
Complete post flight report and lodge with authorities.
Remove FPV and telemetry to enforce LOS flights only.
Complete comprehensive maintenance schedules routinely and lodge compliance reports with authorities.
Make no unlawful modifications to any quad.
Any legal modifications to be engineer certified.

Is there anything I've missed?

Once these changes are implemented we can all have nice safe fun and make the media all happy and the journalists can then feel they have made a wonderfully helpful contribution to society as they always do.
Now lets all sit in a circle holding hands and sing Kumbaya.

AlienWarrior Posted at 2015-9-29 17:51
Require accredited pilot training course.
Need to license operators.
Register quads.

Glad to see someone else gets it. That all sounds so liberal, and politically correct, you must be right. Very nice, very proggressive dont ya think.

deleted post

sploodge Posted at 2015-9-28 05:59
Ignoring the fact its a DM article and the heading is "Four planes have been involved in fatal near  ...

Gun registration in the States has really cut down on the bad guys having guns.....NOT.  The law abiding person will fly right, the idiots with or without registration will still be out there. Registration will not help curtail the idiots from flying irresponsibly.

AlienWarrior Posted at 2015-9-29 17:51
Require accredited pilot training course.
Need to license operators.
Register quads.

There is a couple of things you left out.

You will need to be fingerprinted.
You must turn over your first born for sacrifice.
Your 401k will be held in escrow
You will need to report in to your handler daily
You will need to purchase a cell service for the installed tracker
a Shock system will need to be installed in your remote
Sploodge will be the only person allowed to post on the forums
A tracking chip will be installed in your head
your new remote will only have one control on it, up and down
you are required to be naked when you fly
Your N number will be tattooed on your ass
you must be able to sing kumbaya and piss while standing on your head

These extra requirements  are for Brits only  

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-30 14:21
There is a couple of things you left out.

You will need to be fingerprinted.

Well at least SPLOODGE has got something interesting and informative to say rather than listen to your paranoid drivel SORRY IVE GOT TO GO BIG BROTHERS TAKING THE DOOR OF ITS HINGES

pi-inthesky@hot Posted at 2015-9-30 10:56
Well at least SPLOODGE has got something interesting and informative to say rather than listen to  ...

You Brits need to lighten up, Most of you seem very uptight, Good God cant you have a laugh, Do you know the meaning of sarcasm,  break out of the matrix and look around.