Originally Posted by
Sport_Pilot
"En Mass" ? When was the last time you saw anyone flying a quad outside the RC field? I don't think I ever have! Fact is most are flown a time or two and put into the closet. We don't need the AMA or FAA for these and most that are flying are not breaking the rules. Go read the sighting reports from the FAA, you would be hard pressed to be absolutely sure that the report was real and of a illegal flight. This is not a true issue but a made up one by the press and FAA.
Just spotted one yesterday, as a matter of fact, right off the freeway on a frontage road. A kid who works for me, and has zero RC experience, purchased a camera-quad and was out flying it in a national park. He lost control and thought it was gone. He was walking back to his car when he heard the craft coming down towards him. He did not even realize it had a 'homing' GPS and was returning to the transmitter in his hands... obviously, this IS 'Beyond Line of Sight' capable, and only about $400, HD camera and all. These things are everywhere!
Go to any motocross track or snowboard arena, and you will find them being flown, filming.
Was at a Xmas party and a kid there had one. He flew it in the back yard of my buddy's house... pitch dark night sky. He accelerated straight up like a rocket and then hovered over the neighborhood maybe 100 feet. He could see the orientation based on the colored lights on the craft. It too had a camera and GPS. Nothing particularly dangerous about it - this kid knew how to fly it - just
MAINTAINING my position that these 'flyin thingz,' flown in this manner, have ZERO in common with what I do and have been doing LOS, not invading anyone's privacy, at a controlled model field for 4 decades.
Had the AMA made this legal distinction right out of the gate, it would not matter HOW WRONG FAA reports were... my hobby (and industry) would not be in jeopardy from an over-reaching, over-bearing, bureaucracy lumping MRVs in with my airplanes!