Interesting article in spite of being a year old. Provides some insight into how the FAA has viewed the whole sUAS mess.

Link

Yes, it was interesting. I often marvel when reading about such people in these positions of authority, of just how daunting some of the tasks that they are assigned to can be. If you are very good at multitasking than the world is definitely your oyster.
I am of the opinion that there can be no distinction between a "drone" and a model aircraft. An unmanned aircraft system is an unmanned aircraft, whether it has 4 propeller blades or 1.
A balsa and ply high wing trainer can be fitted for operation as FPV (First Person View) the same as a quad copter that's ready to fly out of the box. With all of the new technology almost anything is possible. Of course what it all comes down to is safety. Those among us who do harm, whether by intent or through carelessness, ignorance, or both, provide the ultimate challenge for those tasked with trying to prevent or dealing with such instances.
I feel confident that in time these issues will be resolved. I don`t think the big bad FAA wants to take away our privilege of flying model aircraft for pleasure or profit. We`re all realizing the benefits of FPV model aircraft in breathtaking movie scenes and the advantage it gives law enforcement, just to name a couple.
It seems to me that here is a level of hysteria that is making it a lot more difficult for those in charge of trying to keep everyone safe. I don`t have a problem with putting a sticker on my plane. Hopefully it won`t come to this, but if some type of transponder is required for all models, than it won`t be cost prohibitive for low budget balsa bashers like myself.

[QUOTE=Stickslammer;12523171].....A balsa and ply high wing trainer can be fitted for operation as FPV (First Person View) the same as a quad copter that's ready to fly out of the box.

I distilled your post down to it's pertinent part , and here's my belief ;

You want to fly beyond line of sight , with anything remotely controlled or preprogrammed (fixed wing , rotorcraft , etc) , then you should deal with the whole FAA airspace regs thing .

You want to fly TRUE line of sight only , NO fpv or preprogrammed flight , great , slap some ID numbers on it and stay out of the way of commercial BLOS and manned operations .

But that it could be so simple .....

Sorry I bored you with all the rest of the impertinent blather.

Ok , I'll let you off easy this time , but next time , you'll have to pertinent police yourself

This is doing nothing other than proving that AMA clubs must do the same thing everyone else must do. GET PERMISSION! Establishing long term agreements with the local authorities has and continues to be the suggested way of doing things for regularly used flying sites. I have one with my local FBO (no ATC) for my back yard.

It's good sense actually. No big deal.

And this is where so many people screw this up. Where IS the 400 foot the limit? Hint: Class 'G' UNCONTROLLED airspace. i.e. NO ATC or airport.

If you are in CONTROLLED airspace then you need to get clearance. And in doing so you can negotiate the altitude limit with them. So when you're flying in controlled airspace (other than class 'G') and such an agreement is in place, it is quite likely you can fly higher than 400 feet. And if not, well maybe that's a comment on someones negotiation skills. Or their over all knowledge and understanding of the rules.

Why people insist on making this so difficult is beyond me.