Sport Pilot Talk

bitten192 wrote:I was in Southern California on flight follow and got 2 calls from So Cal

Ernie, that was just your warning to stay in WA where you belong!

drseti wrote:

bitten192 wrote:I was in Southern California on flight follow and got 2 calls from So Cal

Ernie, that was just your warning to stay in WA where you belong!

We have or share of jets out of Whidbey on Low Altitude routes (not watching where they are going) in eastern WA to keep us on our toes.

Here is what I thought was a very nice piece on the current and likely future state of drone use by Miles O'Brian for the News Hour last night.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/drone-in ... tion-lags/

Of course, FAA boss Huerta continues to hide behind the safety curtain, where all aspects of the FAA's performance (and lack of performance) are justified by 'safety'. We're seeing a polished bureaucrat in rare form when he says 'The FAA does not regulate 'use', our concern is safety'. And so 216 current requests for exemptions for commercial USE go unapproved and even draft rules for commercial USE will not be published by May as mandated by Congress. Slippery as an eel is our man Huerta.

Jack Tyler wrote:Here is what I thought was a very nice piece on the current and likely future state of drone use by Miles O'Brian for the News Hour last night.

The "ignorance" he mentions is the part that scares me. I ran into a guy flying a drone the other day. He was hovering it above a major highway, flying around office buildings, etc. When I asked him if he knew he was flying in PDK's Class D airspace (the same one I fly in) he said "no."

Very typical story. Did you notice the short clip of someone filming a wedding and managing to clobber the newly married couple with his drone? What about the one of a drone hitting the side of a high rise building and then stuttering around, brain damaged. Drones being flown now number in the hundreds of thousands. With idiots already shining laser lights into the cockpits of passing aircraft - at least two yahoos have been sent to prison in my city for doing that - what are the chances a neatly tied package of FARs will bring both order and sanity to the low-level airspace?

I've never been keen on flying down low where the scenery is easier to enjoy but I have many friends who think that's one of the true joys of flying. Unfortunately, I'm thinking their risk factors are growing...

Education and public awareness are the key. Something like "Thinking of flying a drone? Think very carefully... (insert risk and legal issues here)"

The general public doesn't understand airspace or the hazards that exist related to general and commercial aviation. The sky just seems like unused wide open spaces where airplanes rarely fly. They don't understand the hazards that exist from wind, malfunctions, or other unexpected results. Case in point: A friend asked me to photograph their wedding from the ground... and fly a drone over the country club during their ceremony. Of course I explained that it would be illegal, and also the tremendous liability and safety risk that exists flying a drone in close proximity to a crowd of people. Additionally, their country club of choice was in very close proximity to a fairly busy executive airport.

......

I'm simply unable to imagine the derision with which this 'opportunity' to assist the FAA is greeted in the police squad rooms and watch commanders' offices around the country. A community's pressing LE issues of the day are to be set aside while watch captains train up their sworn officers to "interview witnesses, track down the drone operators, collect evidence and then notify local FAA inspectors," all while the FAA refuses to even offer a delivery date for the draft rules meant to address these 'incidents'. It would seem the FAA has lost all sensitivity for self-embarrassment...except that happened some time ago.

The FAA is going to have a very hard time enforcing action on illegal drone operation, unless the operator happens to be a licensed pilot, in which case he/she should know better.

This is interesting. A happy wedding couple, one of whom happened to be a congressman, hired drone photography of the wedding, allegedly illegal drone operation:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/ ... .usdVzzDP3

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You had me at "toilet paper by drone"!

Drones are a reality in government, public and private sectors. The question is how to assign responsibility (liability and insurance), assure safe operation and avoid conflict with traditional aircraft.