Originally Posted by
GerKonig
OK, so in it not 4 fun, like a doom and gloom thread? I see... Good that you have your own thread.
Gerry
Originally Posted by
init4fun
Gerry to tell you the truth , I DO see great potential in the properly used commercial drone , but no sir , the hobbyist drone being flown beyond it's operators direct line of sight is an accident waiting to happen that our hobby doesn't need the black eye over . You wanna fly hobby based FPV following ALL of the AMA doc. #550 rules ? God bless ya , enjoy your drone and hell yea I'd love to take a try at flying AMA #550 legal FPV sometime . But if your gonna try to somehow defend the hobby based beyond line of sight use of this technology , save you keystrokes cause both the FAA and the AMA say that hobby drone being flown beyond it's operator's direct line of sight = not legal to the FAA and not covered by AMA insurance . All these years the RC model aircraft hobby has been pretty good about generally following the rules so as to not make a repeated nuisance of ourselves . Since this new ability of the flying camera came along , it seems the folks interested in actual aviation are the ones "doing it right" (following AMA #550 , for ex) VS the "It's like my video game , and I'm such an awesome pilot I can fly wherever I want" type who are flying them into buildings and will move onto the next fad hobby once they've ruined this one .
It's kinda like (full sized) racecars . You wanna own one and drive it on the track racing other racecars ? Hell yea , sounds like fun ! You wanna own one and drive it on the street ? Well then your "part of the problem" as it were , since with both racecars AND drones it's all about use , using and having fun with them in the way the established protocols say makes the most safety sense .
Or maybe your "fun" doesn't begin till your breaking the rules and endangering innocent folks , because your such an awesome pilot and nothing bad will ever happen with your drone ?
So Gerry , nothing to say to my response ? When someone's "fun" comes at the expense of a safety threat to uninvolved folks , that's where I draw the line . Take skiing , for example . The only person the skier is ever gonna hurt is either himself or perhaps another skier on the same trail , and ALL skiers know that being hit by an out of control skier is a (tiny percentage wise) threat to a skier's safety when out skiing . It's a known , assumed risk when participating in that hobby . Same goes for flying RC aircraft in the good ol "traditional" club way . There is always the (tiny percentage wise) chance of being struck by an out of control RC aircraft but everybody (with half a whit of common sense) knows that's one of the inherent risks of our hobby also . But now look at the hobby based BLOS flyer (no matter WHAT craft is carrying the camera) , he (or she) is flying over SCORES of uninvolved people any of whom are at unknowing risk of being hit by an errant BLOS aircraft , without ever giving their consent to being exposed to such risk ! Sorry pal , but I DO NOT believe you or any other hobby entity have the right to endanger uninvolved folks , no "Iffs , ands , or buts" !
Originally Posted by
astrohog
WELL SAID, SIR!!!
Astro
Originally Posted by
rcmiket
Great post.
Mike
Thank You Astro and Mike , I'm happy to know that at least some folks out here see the danger to our hobby that BLOS hobby flight presents .
Originally Posted by
HoundDog
tommydrone Aren't glad U found this thread. At one of the clubs I fly at has a school grounds about 5/8 mile SW on the other side of a 4 lane road. There 4 gentleman that fly there and do FPV. Several times one has flown over our field at about 100 feet. One of our club members (a very good friend) has expressed his opinions much like most of the people here. He has yet to do any thing about it though. I don't see the big deal. If someone flying at our field can't avoid other planes then Maybe they should fly alone. We do fly on a full scale airport but maybe 3 take offs and landings a week. What I'm Saying this FPV is no more a hazard than any other model flying here. I know I'm going to get lambasted here but BLOS is and will become commonplace intime. Birds are a million to one a grater hazard than any BLOS FPV. This is my opinion as a Instrument rated full scale pilot. Yes out 8 miles and at 5000 feet they would be a hazard, but not at a few hundred feet AGL a mile out. Actually they are not beyond LOS because we can see them when they are flying over the school grounds.
And this , good grief , this .....
Hound , buddy , there is no way in whats left of either of our lifespans that we'll ever see totally legal & FAA condoned BLOS hobby flight of any kind of model aircraft . Period . Now commercial operations ? Sure thing , I believe the FAA has already established the protocols for various commercial interests to do that , but hobby use BLOS ? Being legally flown ? Cows will come home , and leave again before ya ever see that
