Originally Posted by
NorfolkSouthern
And who says a model airplane can't be equipped with a camera, and go the same distance, and do the same thing as a drone? If it's R/C, it's a drone. A harsh reality.
Sorry, NS, but I can't agree on several accounts...
1. Up until a couple of years ago, the term "drone" was practically never applied to traditional (fixed-wing) model aircraft. The term was coined shortly before WWII to describe the use of military pilotless aircraft that were used for artillery practice. While those targets were definitely fixed-wing airplanes, they were not MODEL aircraft.
2. Except for military applications and a limited few outside of the military, the term "drone" is now almost wholly applied to small multi-rotored camera platforms. Even the general public knows the difference between a model airplane and a "drone". Unfortunately, the news media has discovered that "drone" is more nefarious-sounding than "model airplane" and now uses it to describe Aircraft Number 2 in almost all small-vs-full scale news stories.
3. Model airplanes HAVE been equipped with cameras for many years now but since model airplanes require more skill to fly, those who go on to excel at it are more likely to be "R/Cers" instead of someone who is more of a picture-taker than an aviator or modeler.
And before anyone shoots back a nasty reply about the
enormous amount of skill it takes to fly a mulit-rotored drone, let me point out that they didn't (and couldn't) exist until on-board electronic stabilization systems were developed. Because of the meteoric advance in multi-rotor technology, even the klutziest kid (or adult) can now successfully fly his newly-purchased camera-equipped "drone" over to look in his neighbor's windows shortly after getting it home. No need to join a club to learn how to fly, no need to join AMA for representation or insurance, and no desire to follow ANYBODY'S stinkin' rules!
Harvey