How Many Will Refuse to Register?
I have read in a couple threads that there will be a number, maybe a large number, of folks who will drop out of this hobby because they won't be willing to register their planes with the FAA. What is the general feeling here concerning that situation? Secondly, how many people will refuse to register but continue to fly?
Another question would be who is going to enforce the new rule or will there be any attempt at enforcement? Is this just an attempt by the guvment to show the great unwashed public that they are indeed on top of the drone situation and really don't have any intention of trying to enforce a really lame rule? Does the run-of-the-mill FAA agent have the power to arrest or issue citations or will they be enlisting the help of the local law enforcement agents to do the actual arresting. Local law won't have any idea what the laws are or who is in violation of them. We had an irate neighbor call the local law on us several times this year and they had to respond because there was a complaint on paper that they had to satisfy but had no idea what to do once they arrived at the field, whether we were breaking any laws or not. We had to tell them what the laws are.
I personally live in a small town in northern Arkansas. The nearest FAA office is in Little Rock. We fly at three different fields, all privately owned, none AMA affiliated, and I doubt the FAA has any idea that they even exist. I really don't expect anyone from the Little Rock FAA office to show up at any of the fields looking for guys who didn't register their models.
Is this just a foot in the door kind of thing to generate some revenue in future for the guvment? Ostensibly, it is $5.00 to register the first time, that money to be refunded if the sheep fall into line and register within 30 days. That is good for three years. Then, will it go up to $25.00 for the next three years and then $50.00 the following three years? Twenty years from now, what will it cost to register your toy planes with the FAA?
Surely no sane person with the ability to think will believe that registering our toy planes with the FAA will do a damned thing toward combating terrorism. Isn't that allegedly what this is all about?