Agreed!!!!

Did you watch the video and read the comments?

He is not in the USA...

I even stated that in my own post.

But ok, let's stick to the USA.

If it is not criminal to fly at 900 meters (almost 3000ft) in the USA then can you please explain how 'criminal charges' were filed against two drone pilots for flying above 400ft in Los Angeles?

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...120-story.html

http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/...2_12-02-15.pdf

As if going that high wasn't bad enough, going in and out of the white/grey clouds with his white foamy aircraft. Jeez.....

Are you sure? Do you know the rules in his country regarding height, distance and flying beyond line of sight?

Maybe he broke an actual law in Australia. I'm not familiar with their rc laws.

LA is a local ordinance. I'm talking about federal laws that cover the entire country. I could fly as he did in the video without breaking any laws.

I will watch the video again when I get home. In CT right now with no WiFi access and have limited gigs available to stream video on my phone. I always have access to WiFi at home so don't need much.

It also does not change the fact that any government trying to ban a popular activity is never going to work. Instead they should work WITH the people instead of against. The US has had about 10 years to work with the fpv community. What did they come up with? The ridiculous FAA registration and that happened at the last minute because they dragged their feet for almost 10 years.

"Two men accused of flying drones in the vicinity of a hospital and police heliports will be the first to face criminal charges under Los Angeles' new drone restrictions, the city attorney's office said Wednesday.Michael Ponce, 20, and Arvel Chappel, 35, each could face up to six months in jail for violating the ordinance, City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a news release."

I'm happy to see this and see it as great news stepping up to nail the idiots and the FEDS have charged how many now? I believe the count is up to zero. These morons flying in a unsafe manner need to be stopped and made a example of.

Mike

Did they actually interfere with full scale aircraft or were they just in the vicinity with no air traffic present?

While I believe they should be fined, jail seems insanely extreme and it is very scary some people would be happy about that. Why don't we start throwing people in jail for Jay walking also!!! Fines for texting? Screw that, throw them in jail!! It's more dangerous and happens far more often and has caused many more deaths then the scary fpv aircraft that have caused how many deaths vs texting and driving? Let's throw those bass holes in jail who drive with there little rat dogs on their laps and let them run back and forth on their dashboard WHILE DRIVING 75 down the freakin' interstate! They are way, way, way, way more dangerous!!!

We could build cities of privatized prisons!!!! That would be awesome!!!

The hobby that I and many others participate in has been pretty much unregulated due to that we have followed simple rules for years without a problem. Now it is being regulated due to complete morons that have no respect for anyone or even themselves for that matter. Are you happy about that? I want them slapped hard. It's just that simple.

Mike.

It does vary from country to country. This wasn't in Australia. You can fly like this here if you have a UAV licence with BVLOS approval. Otherwise it is line of sight only.

This video was in Austria (in Europe) where model aircraft are limited to 500 meters radius and line of sight. He is also flying in Controlled Airspace (Class E and D) in many of his other videos and I saw one was up to 7000 ft. If you read his comments, he knows he he is breaking the rules but keeps doing it anyway.

Do you condone drone pilots who do this? I don't.

Sure the pilots in LA were charged under a local Ordinance, but that it is still a law in the US and many similar ordinances exist. Then you have the areas where model aircraft flying is prohibited. (e.g. Disney TRAs, Washington SFRA, National Parks. etc)

If you fly model aircraft in these areas you are breaking the law and these are laws in the US. Don't you agree?

Amen Mike.

Am I happy about that? Nope. Do I think anyone shound go to jail for anything but the most egregious behavior? Basically causing severe damage or death. Nope.

I'm also not one of the people hung up on traditional rc. Been flying for 27 years and have just evolved with the hobby. I remember drooling over the first gas helis that showed up in Towers catalog. Not worried about how they are going to "ruin" the hobby. I remember when arfs started getting popular. Yup, i bought one! They are a great idea! I remember when bnf foamies started coming out and the micros too. I didn't whine or cry about it, I went and bought some!! They are fun!! Fixed wing stabilization add-ons? You bet!! I have 4 ET Guardians. Quads? Of course!! Have a blade fpv nano quad and a blade mqx quad. When 250 fpv quad racers came out of course I built and configured my own. Fixed wing fpv? Well hell yes!!! See, I embrace and enjoy the new emerging modes of flight and enjoy the heck out of all rc aircraft. I don't whine about how the new is going to ruin the old. I embrace the new and enjoy the old.

This was not directed entirely at you Mike, just rolled out of my brain as I started typing. Lol

Rob, I will respond more when I get home. Too much typing on my phone and have places to go soon.

Do I condone this type of flight? Depending on the area, yes I do. There are plenty of safe places on this planet to safely fly fpv.

No worries.

I keep seeing the "heli" reference used when it comes to mutli rotors. Sorry but it's just not the same. Helicopters take a huge amount of time along with a financial investment ( cashing) to earn to fly them (and most are AMA members). Mutli-rotors do not require the same dedication.

Joe Blow can walk into Best Buy plunk down his cash walk out and fly it. Hence the problems the hobby is facing today. If he tried the same with a helicopter the result would be different. Ask me how I know.

Yes some clubs have a issue with them ( helicopters) and the same guys have the same issue with 3D air frames. Neither of these platforms has divided the hobby as the "drones" have. All I know for sure is we are being regulated ( with more coming) the AMA is powerless to stop it. I place the blame squarely on the irresponsible individuals I wrote about earlier.

Mike

Disclaimer: I was not able to watch the entire video, but general blos and cloud surfing depending on location and airtraffic I'm ok with.

Hey Mike, I do agree that the fpv quads have caused the problem. Particularly idiots flying in areas they should not. Key word being areas.

I also fully blame the government for doing nothing for almost 10 in regards to fpv. We could have been MUCH farther ahead with regards to fpv safety if it was not for our do less than nothing government over the last 10 years.

Mike, I will have to disagree that helis are more difficult than quads. Traditionally yes, but now that is not true. Most helis now are flybarless and have a flybarless fc that gives just as much correction and stabilization as quads have. Traditional helis had to have very precise mechanical setup and the heads were complex. The only "stabilization" was the tail gyro. Now the heads are simple, far less mechanical setup and have full stabilization from the flybarless fc.

Also, some quads can be more expensive than a nice 30 or 60 heli.

Try taking your hands off the sticks a flybarless heli and what happens? Try the same with the mutli-rotors I described that Joe Blow buys at Best Buy and what happens? I see it everyday at the LHS. A flybarless heli will not just sit there ( where the multi-rotor will) your constantly moving the sticks to keep the help where you want it. In a nutshell you must fly the heli (I won't even get into a newbe in a nose in situation). Please remember that I'm discussing the RTF mutli's such as the Q500, Chroma or DJI which along with their irresponsible owners are the source of our problems. Also heads along with all linkages on a heli need to be correctly set up mechanically for the system to work. While flybarless is great basic set up practices still apply.
Hope that clears up my thoughts on this.
Mike

No worries Mike, I understand life gets in the way of these forums... (occasionally. ;))

Depending on where and how you do it I am fine with it too. I agree there are plenty of places to fly safely.

Its the guys who knowingly break the law that I don't agree with. Sure, its in Austria, a long way from the both of us, but if a drone actually hits a plane anywhere in the world the consequences will affect us.

Enjoy your weekend.

Yes, you are correct about the rtf stuff. I thought flybarless controllers provided full stabilization? I will have to research that again. Was looking awhile ago at fc's to convert my old trex 450 to flybarless.

Thanks Mike,

I do agree if a drone causes a crash it is going to be bad! You have a great weekend also! :)

No sir they do not. While great they do not fly the heli for you. Might not be cost effective to convert your old 450. Crunch the numbers and see what you get. There are times it's better to just sell it and upgrade to a newer model. There are always great deals in the classifieds on the heli dedicated forums.

Mike

Good info on the fc's. Thanks!. The head is only 25.00 and I would need a fc anyway. :)

Absolutely incorrect. This is the same narrative used over and over by those unwilling or unable to understand the big picture. It's never been one or two errant "drone" pilots that have caused the FAA to be involved with out hobby. It's the influx of commercial interests. But, it seems we always have to have a bad guy to blame.

I have never flown a flybarless chopper (well, not outside of RealFlight,) so I can't really comment about their stability vs. multirotors. However, I do have more concern about irresponsible pilots flying the larger helis, given the increased probability of severe injury and death that these aircraft pose (as compared to multirotors.) Larger multi rotor aircraft can certainly do some significant damage to the human body, but nothing compared to a 30" blade spinning at 4,000rpm. I know of two deaths that have been caused by helis (one of the victims was a very competent 3D pilot), but I don't know of any confirmed deaths, or even severe, life-threatening injures that have been caused by a multirotor.