They are probably already planning on all these things and I'm quite certain that they'll simply pass the expense on to the modeling community in the forms of fees, etc.. Be careful what you wish for..

This crap is just like Gun control, it only affects the people doing it the right way,, The folks doing it wrong, will continue to do it, and we will pay the price,,

I just don't get how an airline pilot would be able to see one of the regular quads. at
10,000 ft..??????????
I think that's a stupid asseveration in order to screw us.

hmarmaizmd717

I think now that they have made it some kinda law in the US it will be much easier for them to hand out fines. In time... Say 5 years from now, they will see that the majority of the fines that are being handed out will be towads the Drone/FPV flyers and NOT the line of site flyers that belong to sanctioned clubs.

The sky is not falling for us who follow the rules.

Vettster I have to aggree with you. They need some kind of regulation to control the FPV/drone dummies. With out it there is no way to stop the insane actions of them. They can act on the ones that do cause the trouble. Yes someone will us the laws for there benefit and create so problems for us.

The sad part is the FPV/Drone is really cool and hopefully we can come to an aggreement so we can use them. I know there are a lot of good uses and fun things to do with them.

It just seems to be a over reaction to them at this time.

FAA and AMA need to work it out.

For the most part I agree with you. My prediction though is that it can have an impact on us. I suspect that 400ft is going to be a real rule for rc flying of all types. "Unsafe" flying will be defined by the FAA inspector at the time of investigation. How many clubs get "that" neighbor that causes a problem. They will now have another branch of government to call on.

A majority of these FAA rules won't ever be able to be enforced and won't be enforced until the FAA wants to. Most clubs out in the middle of no where will continue to fly over 400ft and it will never be a problem until someone decides its a problem and reports it to the FAA.

Dan

This is what I'd say would be the best approach the FAA will choose to address this issue. Getting caught flying without AMA and not at a designated airfield, they get pounded, with the only exception as such as being out in the middle of no where like in a desert or someone who's a rancher who's got hundreds of acre's to fly on, and that type of thing. I get pissed when I observe derelicts flying a drone over neighborhoods, cities, public events, etc.

Do you think flying my 1.5oz Micro Radian powered glider in my neighborhood is unsafe? I do it all the time. Neighbors enjoy it. Where do you set the limit? These questions are the problem the FAA is going to struggle with. They don't have the manpower or desire to write regs for every scenario. They will make it up as they go and then the object of their ire will be the one responsible to defend themselves.

I really think the reason is inforcement. It give law officials a way to control the ones that are the problems. Up until these laws were consider how could you stop these people. There are no traspassing laws for airspace. Now we can use the laws for some dum a** is flying over a fenced in area to video somethng or someone. With todays cameras you could film someone from hundreds of feet above them with out them knowing.

Personally I would have no issue having to take an online test before AMA will issue me a license. I would have no issue agreeing to terms that I will operate my airplane in a safe manner. I would have no issue with ANYONE who operates a remote controlled aircraft having to be an AMA member. If forcing everyone to be an AMA member is the only tool used to educate people then so be it. If any law enforcement person sees an R/C aircraft in use and asks for a license one should be produced, if not a citation gets written.

All's they have to do is say NO unmanned aircraft of any kind, anywhere, anytime, PERIOD... No AMA, no anything. Shut the whole operation down !! NOW. The last few days, weeks, months, years have proven that the Government can do what ever the want, and it appears that nobody is doing anything about it. There was a crap load of tea dumped in Boston Harbor many years ago for a lot less than what's going on around here these days.. Very sad indeed.

How can you force people who buy a legal product, to join a private organization take tests and pay dues to said organization? Kind of the inverse of forcing people to buy health insurance from a private organization and fining them if they don't.

Dan, if they dumped all that tea today, the EPA would have declared the harbor a superfund site costing tens of millions just to help the poor fish wean off their newly found caffeine addiction.

Common sense. Plus according to AMA, up to two pounds is "under the radar" so to speak in regards to required AMA membership and designated airfield operation.

People seem to forget they have been forcing people to buy auto insurance or pay a fine for years and we did not hear much fuss about it. OTH I don't think the
government should force anyone to join the AMA but it may be a good idea to have everyone who fly's RC to register with the FAA.

Well, I don't see too much difference here between having to maintain your drivers license, Hunting License, fishing license, NRA membership etc. It seems like our R/C hobby has been the exception to this up to this point. The root of the issue is a lack of education as it is with most things of this nature. If we educate people then it will lessen the offences. How else would you suggest we educate people who would otherwise buy a drone and unknowingly fly it into controlled airspace?

The bottom line is: You play, you pay. You want to fly r/c? Fly by the rules, use common sense, be responsible. Obviously not too many individuals are going to care until it's their friend's or own family's house that burns down because some jackass miles away crashed a FPV drone into their roof and the battery/ESC fire caused the house to go up in flames.

Another issue besides the mentality that "I can do whatever I want" is, so many individuals don't even have the brains God gave a mule. I've had individuals come up to me while I'm in my driveway running the nitro O.S. Max .65 ax with tuned pipe in my Kougar and they ask me if I can fly it so they can see. Yeah, right down the residential street! ***! It's like if one of you guys were test spooling up one of your turbines in your driveway and some knucklehead comes up and asks you to fly it right off the residential street and over the neighborhood. I make one attempt to help them understand the risks but they always say stupid s$%t like "I saw a guy fly a drone the other day, so why not your plane?". Yep, they don't have the brains God gave a mule.

Sushi, reminds me of the guys who walk up to me with a lit cigarette in their hand while I am fueling my gasoline powered airplane and then get butt hurt when asked to stand back.

LOL. BTW, Nice avatar, SCCMAS right? I'm a member there. Love that airfield, nicest one I've been a member of so far, hands down. Great bunch of guys, great management, great layout.

I dont know how much money this guy (Pirker) has to spend on defense attorneys. The FAA has all they need (care of the tax payers)... I would say he'll wind up paying at least what the potential fine is (10K) in legal fees... Here is another acrobat stunt in the news regarding drones.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-inve...s-jfk-airport/

Pirker's defense was gratis....didn't cost him a dime. The fines on the other hand...ain't gonna be cheap, or free.

Sushi, yes SCCMAS has to be one of the most recognizable fields in the US. Brown hills 90% of the time. Like all fields it has its issues from time to time but overall I am glad to have it and it's only 20 min drive. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out. We have a continuing issue with a single full scale aircraft. It's contracted by the CHP and likes to overfly the flying site without warning at 500 ft. He comes from behind the tree line at low power so he is pretty much in our face before we know it. This has been happening for years. At one time he dispatched ground units and reported a near miss to the FAA. The worst part of all that was all our club members becoming a bunch of John Waynes and trying to dictate to everyone else how to fly. I showed up at the field once with an IMAC airplane and was told by another club member ( not club officer ) to " not even unload, we are not going to,let you fly that. All you big airplane guys and going to loose the field for us all". I fear that once the FAA releases new regulations there are going to be a buch of guys running around trying to enforce these regulations before the clubs can establish policies in a proper manner.

LOL,

Some people will decry the death of freedom at the drop a hat whenever ANY kind of legislation is mentioned. It helps none of us to oversimplify this stuff down to the lowest common bumper sticker slogan. Dan, I'm not aware of anyone killing anyone with a credit card, so silly false equivalencies are good for a chuckle, but hardly applicable. Many of us are FS pilots and DO NOT want some numbskull [who just came back from the swap meet with his quadcopter] creating a lethal hazard for us when we're taking our wife and kids for a nice flight on Sunday. Just last weekend, my friend and I had to chase off some guy with a drone from our club field. He was totally unaware of the club rules regarding takeoffs from the pit, which is what alerted us that maybe he wasn't a member. When we approached him, his defense was, "I'm not flying. I'm just testing it out." I basically said that it left the ground and that was my definition of flying. I was diplomatic and 'nice' and gave him the application, but the fact is that our field is literally 100 yards from the border fence and is under CONSTANT surveillance from CBP. We don't need some eBay pilot ruining things for our club anymore than we need some schmuck flying an RC vehicle into a FS plane and killing people. If that takes regulation to give teeth to enforcement, then I'll deal with it with the attitude that the life it saves might be mine--or my family's while they're flying with me.

Getting tired of all the people out there moaning and crying about government intrusion and loss of freedom when what they really mean is a minor inconvenience that probably won't ever even effect them personally. Take a look around the world and get an eyeful of people who REALLY have something to complain about. I have a feeling that toy airplanes are low on their list....

Well said however most modelers view this as a freedom issue not one of safety.

Here's a new one. Can't see this possibly going wrong

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014...oliday-season/