Originally Posted by
juvatwad
Correct, and since these players want to transport people ( not inanimate products) the case can be made that there will be no room for an RC airplane in any airspace.
Not really. Delivery drones and electric air taxis will be short ranged, so most operations will be in or near major metropolitan areas. Those of us who live in "fly over country" may never see one of these things.
There is also no reason why commercial traffic can't "detect and avoid" RC models equipped with Remote ID. And models flown LOS in a FRIA can be avoided simply by going around the FRIA.
Originally Posted by
ira d
The best way to keep separation between whatever it is the FAA wants to allow is keep all commercial traffic above 2,000' except emergency aircraft. Commercial Traffic that needs to fly low such as delivery craft and taking pics stay at or below 200' and stayaway from overflying know RC activity and or stay within a certain distance of the property they have business at.
The airspace around major airports is already severely congested with full scale traffic, especially at certain times of day when airliners are making connections, and certain times of the night when package delivery services are doing the same. Add commercial drones to that mix and the existing ATC system will be totally overwhelmed. Plus for drones there's no range or fuel economy advantage to operating at higher altitudes.
Originally Posted by
ira d
Next corridors should be established for low flying commercial to get from one job to another and also for craft that fly over 2000' to get up and down.
Approach and descent "corridors" already exist; that's why the floor of uncontrolled airspace is at 400' near major airports, and lower on the published approach routes.
A better idea for "commercial drone corridors" might be to route them at low altitudes over major highways. These are easy to find and follow, and tend to be obstruction free once you get above the bridges and light poles. It's also an unlikely place to encounter RC model traffic. Collision risk could be minimized by staying right of the centerline. And in the event of a failure the people below are relatively well protected, convertible drivers excepted...