FLAPHappy

My Feedback: (209)

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Flight Risk

My Feedback: (1)

I can see how drones for news, traffic, police work, etc. could be so much cheaper than putting putting up full scale helicopters.
I'm curious what sort of fail-safe requirements these drones might have. I'm concerned with the quads losing one engine and they go down. Wouldn't it make sense to require six or more rotors, although I'm not sure they could be flyable on five of the six rotors, and more rotors is more chances that something fails. How about requiring a parachute to deploy? I can see one of these hovering over heavy traffic and dropping, causing a massive accident. No doubt they would fly these much lower over traffic which could cause distractions, and being so cheap compared to helicopters they would no doubt have dozens of these zipping around. Then add in the UPS drones and everything else flitting around and I see problems. Are they going to allow these to fly with the cheapest Chinese lipo's, motors, and receivers or will they need extensive testing and certification? How about routine inspections and maintainance by certified FAA agents?
Remember the days when we dreamed of everyone having a flying car? Can you imagine the problems with a million commuters in their flying cars over Los Angeles?

Instructor

My Feedback: (16)

North and South routes would be odd altitude, with a 200 foot space and the East and West routes would be even with a 400 foot space. the only time they would need to go lower would be when they reached their destination......

Larry

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

There are lots of great uses for all types of RC aircraft out there, for sure. Police, fire, search and rescue, agriculture, etc etc. More will come to light with continuing advances in the technology. One that never should have seen the light of day:

http://fortressamerica.gawker.com/tg.../+laceydonohue



.http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ldhEsgcOq9U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Would have loved to been in the "brainstorming" session when this one got signed off on. That's an easy $5,000 settlement in NYC.

cj_rumley

Wonder if the guy that came up with that is an AMA marketing staffer.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I like that they blame her for " Flinching " what a bunch of morons! I have thousands of flights with blimps ( up to 28' in length ) in sports arenas and have never flown so close to anyone that could have been hit let alone getting one close enough to have them flinch. Stupidity in the name of trying to make a buck.

Maximilionalpha

And how about this one?...This plane was flown by a real,(sit in the cockpit)pilot...http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/3-u...ome/ar-BBguMYr

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

yes, because that has everything to do with AMA.

You're tryin to hard.........

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

So many companies tried to get some airtime with the "drone" technology after Amazon released their videos. Most were in it strictly for the attention (which most of them got either locally/regionally/nationally) but never really did much past a press release.

Can't believe TGIF actually went forward with it, in NYC of all places, but then again they needed to do something to get some press. They got it earlier this year with the endless appetizer promotion, I guess they are going the free nose surgery route now.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

Yes, because that so very similar to a "drone" story.

You're trying to hard.

FLAPHappy

My Feedback: (209)

Hey Max, I am very sorry for the people that had this terrible loss of precious life. The FAA still has to investigate it, see what happened, then publish the results. It is remotely possible, a drone could have been involved, we don't know that yet. I hope not.
By the way, I saw your location in UAE now. In this thread you used my location, Lapine Oregon??? Why is that?? DId you just move to the UAE? Kinda strange.

Maximilionalpha

I had totally, forgotten that I had put that in my location, box...Was just kidding around. No harm meant.

Sport_Pilot

So when they fly their drone with mistletoe over John, he will stop this by calling the FAA.

phlpsfrnk

Mr. Slade's profile puts him in Lewistown, Pa. and I too fail to see the connection between that tragedy and this discussion, unless of course he is suggesting that a drone brought it down. At this point the most likely cause would be birds.

Regards
Frank

JohnShe

I don't eat there anymore.

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

One of the better articles on "drones". Best comments are at the end:

"I'm not saying all drones are bad. I think it would be fun to have one, but it's really not practical for me to have. The real problem with drones is their operators."

http://flightclub.jalopnik.com/drone...60699/+Kyosuke

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

This is pretty funny. Of course this scenario would mean that he was able to get someone to accompany him to the restaurant. I don't think the operator would fly the drone over the " Table for one ". Sorry John, a little harmless fun there. I watched the promo and they are were operating the drone much too close to patrons. Supposedly being operated by a giggly young lady. Obviously we know better but the general public does not and it's the general public that the FAA and NTSB has to answer too. Of course not directly but the general public through media can and does apply pressure. No agency director wants his agency to " Look " poorly in the eyes of the media and general public. Education is the key here. Educate the general public about how we " Recreational hobbyists" operate, educate people buying the quads. IMO most people that would operate in an unsafe and irresponsible manner may not realize they are doing so. I for one did not realize the failsafe's that most of the high end quads have. In light of that I would have to say that we all should educate ourselves about the capabilities of the quads before we take on the viewpoint that all quads and quad pilots are evil and must be stopped.

FLAPHappy

My Feedback: (209)

Not a problem.

FLAPHappy

My Feedback: (209)

Frank, You may be correct. I read the article, and the cause could have been any number of things, but my thought is Pilot error.
The article stated an onlooker said the plane was too low, then turned 90 degrees and belly flopped into the house, I think he panicked , tried to turn, and stalled without the correct airspeed. Just my thought on this article. This article possibly could have been associated with a drone, but I don't think so now.

phlpsfrnk

I read it that he rolled inverted shortly after being cleared to land before going in. In any case tragic.

Frank

JohnShe

You do realize that once one of those things bounces off the ceiling and into someone's face that the resulting flurry of lawsuits would likely shut the restaurant chain down. In any event, reporting anything to FAA would be absurd since the inside of a restaurant is not a part of the NAS. Maybe someone could try local law enforcement but they would d be too confused to handle it properly, unless the drone operator was a black guy, then they could just shoot him.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Drones are like guns it all goes back to the operator, does it not?

JohnShe

Exactly.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

John, go back and read my post, it sounds as if you got the impression that I supported TGIF. To clarify, I do not. I hope that woman went from her dinner to a lawyers office to be honest. You are correct, nothing to report as no crime took place, just poor judgment. A civil case for sure. However back to my point, this is what the general public see's and it's the tag that all R/C enthusiasts get. We need to change the general public's perception of R/C modeling through education. Not sure if that is possible as we really have no tools to do so however as long as all " Drone " operators are grouped together we all share the same fate.

Sport_Pilot

I think one of the FAA statements contradict's your statement.