ORIGINAL: cj_rumley
ORIGINAL: 804
ORIGINAL: cj_rumley
ORIGINAL: joebahl
ORIGINAL: BarracudaHockey
Sadly, not always. Hence the problem, the ones that always have to push the limit.
It is sad but its true and there will be some who not only give our hobby a bad name but the club's flying field too. In the past years we have lost flying fields for many reasons and i dont want to loose any because bad drones pilots are using them for their home base. joe
Sadly, some miscreants use guns, Ryder trucks and airliners to commit mass murders. Guns, Ryder trucks and airliners should be banned.
Seriously, if your club cannot enforce a simple rule that prohibits flying beyond the boundaries of the designated flyover area, why have rules at all?
But, cj,
Is there not a significant number of Americans willing to ban certain types of guns, and even all guns, because of the actions of a few?
Yes, that is true, and similarly there are Americans that would ban certain types of model airplanes, even all model airplanes.
I don't agree with them.
Before boarding an airliner, does one not have to submit to metal detectors and body scans in order to prove he/she is not capable of downing the aircraft (because our government suspects all passengers are potential criminals)?
Also true. At any of the clubs I am associated with (currently three) pilots new to a club are screened at some level as to their ability to safely control their model aircraft and briefed on the rules in effect at the site. In all cases of AMA chartered club flying sites there are rules in effect that designate where models are not to be flown, as behind other pilots. I expect most have rules (or conventions) regarding other exclusion areas that are site specific, and in the rare cases where none such rules/conventions exist I would presume it is because none are required so special rules for
any given type of model are unwarranted.
I hate that it is that way, but it is, and it is a real concern wrt FPV.
Our hobby has progressed to the point that FPV makes it easy to step over a line not previously crossed before (notwithstanding Maynard Hill).
And people outside of some of the choir here are uncomfortable with the possibilities.
Clearly from some of the opinions expressed in this thread some people are uncomfortable with FPV, but I frankly don't see the alternative viewpoint available to the pilot as compelling him to fly in an unsafe manner or otherwise resist compliance with accepted standards at the flying site. Actually he is probably less likely to screw off, as per the rules regarding FPV flying recently promulgated by, AMA a spotter is required.....pilot always has another pair of eyes on his actions.
Every R/C model I own is easily capable of flying beyond distance/altitude limits set by rule or reason, and yet I resist the temptation. Why would I expect modelers flying FPV as a class to act any less responsibly than I do? Why would you?
Until recently, we have not had the ability to fly 5 or so miles away, have not had the ability to fly by video, and record by video, and post video for all to see, good or bad.
This is not about what we as hobbiests think anymore, we are no longer out of sight, out of mind.
This is about what the public thinks from the standpoint of media spin,
how FAA reacts to that, and what we may need to do to counter that should the worst happen.
I am not uncomfortable with FPV as a technology by itself.
I am bothered by the way many, and I mean many, not just a few, practice FPV.
Why would I expect modelers flying FPV as a class to act any less responsibly than I do?
Because in my estimation, and in the opinion of many, many others, they do.