According to one of the common Q and A's included in the article, you do not have to register with the FAA if you fly strictly indoor, free flight, or control line.
Taking into consideration that the average - or even slightly above-average - citizen/authority doesn't care if a model airplane is controlled or not - these are legitimate concerns I don't know the answers to:
Why would first responders allow special treatment for free flight-ers? How would they distinguish the difference between sUAS's and a free flight model? What if the free flight model is a FF owner gutted (hence uncontrollable), DJI Phantom with parachute recovery and doesn't have a registration number. "Looks like a drone to me; it must be a drone!"
Take the following scenario. What if someone who flies strictly free flight were to equip their 7 lb. 4 oz. .65 powered free flight old-timer with a dethermalizer they could somehow control from the ground - regardless of how they did it, would this action be considered controlled flight or not and would they be responsible for registering with the FAA? Remember, they can only change one thing (to decrease the risk of aircraft going OOS), otherwise relying on inherent stability while at the mercy of the winds for recovery with no further control possible.
Last edited by H5606; 02-22-2019 at 05:07 PM.