Originally Posted by mike1974

You can rest easy; I do not fly close to any spaceships. lol. I also do not fly near any commercial airliners. Actually I do not fly around other aircraft at all. A danger to MTR/MOA? What? I'm not even close to restricted airspace where I fly. I fly in Class E airspace off the top of various hills that allow for 10's of miles of visibility. The airlines that fly in the general area are at 20,000+. Closest towered airport is 45 miles away. You can try and make my flying out to be reckless or dangerous all you want, but In the end, words on a piece of paper cannot make it so.

To address your flyaway and helicopter concerns.

We have 1, yes 1 helicopter that occasionally flies in our area. It is a rescue helicopter and I have talked to the pilot about the altitudes they fly and the areas they cover. Yes, I'm so unsafe and reckless that I reached out to the pilot so as to be proactive in making my flights as safe as possible.

As for flyaways, unless there is a malfuntion with my flight controller itself, it won't fly away. If radio link is lost it will return to home at 350ft and circle home GPS position. If battery gets to low, it will RTH at 350ft and circle GPS home position. My max altitude is set for 1500ft, so it will not exceed that. My max distance is set at 2.5 miles, again it will turn around and head the opposite direction if 2.5 miles is exceeded. If my TAS (I have a pitot + GPS)exceeds 65kts it will cut the motor until 65< is achieved (average speed is 18-30kts unless diving). If I have a battery failure and the foam glider goes down, don't worry, there is nothing but trees where I fly.

"Unlawful BLOS jaunts". Dude just stop. I'm not taking a 10lb MR 1000' above State College and cruising around people, buildings, highways, airports, etc. Stop looking at black and white letters and take a look at reality instead of words on paper. Again, how many people have died from FPV?

Originally Posted by mike1974

Yes, I'm so unsafe and reckless that I reached out to the pilot so as to be proactive in making my flights as safe as possible.

Originally Posted by TimJ

Quit feeding the troll guys.

Originally Posted by franklin_m

Struck a nerve so it appears...

For the record, you're violating both CBO safety guidelines and PL112-95 section 336; you know it, and you're doing it anyway because YOU decided it's safe?

Originally Posted by franklin_m

If it's so safe, why don't you also reach out to your local FAA flight standards office and tell them the same thing? Maybe you can tell them how you've appointed yourself as adjudicator of what's safe and what's not in the airspace they regulate. I'll bet they'd be very interested.

Originally Posted by TimJ

Quit feeding the troll guys.

Originally Posted by mike1974

Ummm.......no sir, you did not hit a nerve. lol. I'm in a great mood. Why would I call an FSDO? What is the point of that? If it's so dangerous, why has nothing happened in the 8-10 years FPV has been around? You sir, are the one trying to regulate a problem that does not even exist; i'm just trying to enjoy a hobby and technology.

Originally Posted by franklin_m

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's not me that regulates BLOS, it's the FAA and the AMA - one by law and the other by rule. Both of which you agreed to follow as a condition of registration or membership respectively.

Originally Posted by franklin_m

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's not me that regulates BLOS, it's the FAA and the AMA - one by law and the other by rule. Both of which you agreed to follow as a condition of registration or membership respectively.

Originally Posted by init4fun

Not nice Tim !

Gee , I didn't call you a troll once when you asked me some weird question about my phone and then wouldn't say why you wanted to know ?

So what gives you the right to call anyone here a troll , when just last night you engaged in what I'd call trolling behavior yourself ?

And as to the general theme of a few of the previous posts , yes sir , a bit of just one thing would really spruce things up around here quite nicely ;

Respect for the fact that people's thoughts don't all come from the same cookie cutter ......

Originally Posted by franklin_m

Agree. It also helps FAA justify the actions despite what AMA is saying. Makes it tough for them to say our folks aren't the problem when we have members like this gleefully announcing that they don't follow the guidelines, let alone not follow the law.

Originally Posted by TimJ

Fine. If I must. I understand the difference of views. I respect that tremendously. I don't respect the sky is falling point of view. I will sit quietly in the corner in my high chair and sippy cup. LOL

Originally Posted by TimJ

Fine. If I must. I understand the difference of views. I respect that tremendously. I don't respect the sky is falling point of view. I will sit quietly in the corner in my high chair and sippy cup. LOL

Originally Posted by TimJ

Oh, P.S. I forgot all about the Phone thing. That was actually a serious query in regards to privacy. I don't recall what thread that was in either. Sorry for that.

Originally Posted by mike1974

I understand "you" are not doing it , but you certainly support and lobby for it. Can you please answer my question? If FPV is so dangerous, why has nothing happened in the 8-10 years FPV has been around?

What does hit a nerve is being called a troll (not by you). My opinion might not be popular here, but I am posting what I honestly believe just as you guys are doing and that does not make me a troll. I'm not trying to get anyone worked up or pissed off.

With that said, I hope you all have a great, safe weekend!

Originally Posted by init4fun

Mike , I know by the posts you've made that you live in an area where your activities are not at all likely to cause problems . The problem is , of course , that everyone who flies BLOS thinks the same thing ; "Oh , there's NO WAY my (insert type of FPV vehicle here) is gonna cause any trouble" and so far we've been lucky . You see , for every one of you who do fly in a really rural area , your "city brethren" are out this minute flying BLOS FPV right over folk's heads and it seems almost once a week now we're hearing a "falling drone" story on the 6:00 news ! And yes , folks have been injured (thankfully not badly), , even right here in Boston a month or so back an unrestricted FPV craft fell at a parade and cut a person's head up a bit . Now , to come and admit that you do the very kind of flying that most folks believe is what's bringing the "evil eye" onto our hobby , ya gotta expect folks are going to get angry with the fact that you fly BLOS . Angry at you personally ? No , you seem a polite sort of guy and i have no judgements to cast . But angry at what your type of flying is bringing down on our hobby , even if you personally aren't causing problems ? Hell Yea ! At the end of the day it wasn't pattern or combat or pylon racing or any other sub genre of our hobby that is casting us in such a bad light publicly , it's the Damn unrestricted FPV flying BLOS that's "the problem" and to be honest I'm one of the ones who would be just fine with the AMA dropping #550 , or at the very least going back to the "original #550" that had the PIC being the LOS pilot and the guy wearin the goggles being on the trainer TX ....

Originally Posted by init4fun

Mike , I know by the posts you've made that you live in an area where your activities are not at all likely to cause problems . The problem is , of course , that everyone who flies BLOS thinks the same thing ; "Oh , there's NO WAY my (insert type of FPV vehicle here) is gonna cause any trouble" and so far we've been lucky . You see , for every one of you who do fly in a really rural area , your "city brethren" are out this minute flying BLOS FPV right over folk's heads and it seems almost once a week now we're hearing a "falling drone" story on the 6:00 news ! And yes , folks have been injured (thankfully not badly), , even right here in Boston a month or so back an unrestricted FPV craft fell at a parade and cut a person's head up a bit . Now , to come and admit that you do the very kind of flying that most folks believe is what's bringing the "evil eye" onto our hobby , ya gotta expect folks are going to get angry with the fact that you fly BLOS . Angry at you personally ? No , you seem a polite sort of guy and i have no judgements to cast . But angry at what your type of flying is bringing down on our hobby , even if you personally aren't causing problems ? Hell Yea ! At the end of the day it wasn't pattern or combat or pylon racing or any other sub genre of our hobby that is casting us in such a bad light publicly , it's the Damn unrestricted FPV flying BLOS that's "the problem" and to be honest I'm one of the ones who would be just fine with the AMA dropping #550 , or at the very least going back to the "original #550" that had the PIC being the LOS pilot and the guy wearin the goggles being on the trainer TX ....

Originally Posted by mike1974

Hi init,

I actually agree with you. I understand FPV and MR camera platforms are the cause of all the issues. I'm just trying to show that not all BLOS has to be a safety issue and that not all BLOS pilots are unsafe heathens who care nothing about safety or anyone/thing in general.

I don't want to be seen as a BLOS troublemaker. I just enjoy the crap out of flying FPV and the technology. I have been into RC since I was 13. You can figure out my age by my screen name. I have built many planes and building one currently. BLOS is the smallest amount of time I spend flying all season. The only time I am not in compliance with all the rules and regs is when my spotter cannot see my plane for a few minutes. That's it. I'm not some crazy, lunatic rogue flyer posting videos and pictures all over the interwebz.

I worked my ass off for three years, after my full time day job, at the local airport (4G6) for credit to fly and buy the books and pay for the things I needed to get my private ticket. Unfortunately I'm not making enough to continue to keep flying at 130.00Hr. So flying LOS/BLOS FPV is the closest thing I can do to be able to "fly" and I enjoy the hell out of it!! Sometimes things are not always black and white. FPV flight is not always a safety issue. And hell yes you are correct!! If I lived in the city I wouldn't be on here because I would never fly like that in an area like that. And that is my rub. Flying FPV in a populated is not a smart idea, but that does not mean it is not safe in a very urban area. Most people on here are all or nothing and i'm just trying to show that is simply not the case.

You cannot race 180+mph stock cars on the street, but you can race them in the appropriate place. That's how I feel about the remoteness of where I live and flying FPV LOS or BLOS.

Originally Posted by mike1974

Hi init,

I actually agree with you. I understand FPV and MR camera platforms are the cause of all the issues. I'm just trying to show that not all BLOS has to be a safety issue and that not all BLOS pilots are unsafe heathens who care nothing about safety or anyone/thing in general.

So you've rationalized and self-justified why you're above the law.

I don't want to be seen as a BLOS troublemaker. I just enjoy the crap out of flying FPV and the technology. I have been into RC since I was 13. You can figure out my age by my screen name. I have built many planes and building one currently. BLOS is the smallest amount of time I spend flying all season. The only time I am not in compliance with all the rules and regs is when my spotter cannot see my plane for a few minutes. That's it. I'm not some crazy, lunatic rogue flyer posting videos and pictures all over the interwebz.

I worked my ass off for three years, after my full time day job, at the local airport (4G6) for credit to fly and buy the books and pay for the things I needed to get my private ticket. Unfortunately I'm not making enough to continue to keep flying at 130.00Hr. So flying LOS/BLOS FPV is the closest thing I can do to be able to "fly" and I enjoy the hell out of it!! Sometimes things are not always black and white. FPV flight is not always a safety issue. And hell yes you are correct!! If I lived in the city I wouldn't be on here because I would never fly like that in an area like that. And that is my rub. Flying FPV in a populated area is not a smart idea, but that does not mean it is not safe in a very rural area. Most people on here are all or nothing and i'm just trying to show that is simply not the case.

You cannot race 180+mph stock cars on the street, but you can race them in the appropriate place. That's how I feel about the remoteness of where I live and flying FPV LOS or BLOS.

So then, why not just fulfill the requirements to fly FPV BLOS legally? You just said you cannot race 180+ mph stock cars on the street, but yet that's exactly what you're doing. You've just self-justified that going to the road less traveled makes it "okay".

Originally Posted by cj_rumley

I hear you init, but I do believe what Mike is doing poses little threat when due care is taken. One of the things that leads me to that POV is that FAA has established a drone test range in Rome, NY, just a few miles from where I spent most of my youth. I lived just a few miles from the main runway at the former Griffiss AFB, right in the normal takeoff corridor for B36, B47 and B52 bombers, plus an assortment of fighters over the years that encompasses most of the century series. The area is fairly sparsely populated still, and so it seems a rational decision for having this kind of activity there. What I question (and would like to hear answers to, as I don't know everything) is why is flight test of public and commercial drones okay in such an area, but not anywhere for recreational drone flyers. My feeling is that flying as Mike has described has it's place, but a 'place' that is appropriate is certainly in need of some definition. I think BLOS operation is not appropriate in many areas of the country but non-threatening in some, for example over vast expanses of BLM land near where I live now,and accommodation should be made wherever possible. I should qualify that I mean non-threatening to people on the ground, as the threat posed by an airborne obstruction to navigation of manned aircraft doesn't much differ between populated and bare expanses of the ground. I hate to see somebody's freedom as to avocational choices lost as "collateral damage" when I know it can be done safely. That said, I still don't think it is AMA's place to advocate for operation of drones in general. Drone enthusiasts really need to have an organization of their own, focused on their particular needs and desires. A set of standards designed to accommodate both model airplanes and drones will be unreasonably constraining for both.

Originally Posted by Chris P. Bacon

..

Originally Posted by mike1974

To your #1 in red: So you've rationalized and self-justified why you're above the law. Nope, just showing that BLOS can be accomplished safely. I'm not above the law anymore than you are when you speed. You pose more of a risk speeding than I do flying BLOS.

To your #2 in red: Think NFL. CMO"N MAN!!!!!!! You and I both know there is no way to fly BLOS FPV legally other than military. Here is your quote Crispy: "You just said you cannot race 180+ mph stock cars on the street, but yet that's exactly what you're doing." Really Crispy? That is the exact opposite of what I am doing. I'm flying in the middle of nowhere with basically no air traffic, with a spotter and 10's of miles of visibility. Holy cow, i'm not hiding my location; Google Earth it and check flight paths against it for craps sake! If what you said was true, I would be zooming around pedestrians, scooting around buildings and getting in the way of full scale aircraft near an airport.

Originally Posted by Chris P. Bacon

No need to tell me, you can tell it all to the FAA if/when you get caught.