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FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

reuters.com

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Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#131

Post by souprock »

chrisdalke wrote: post #77
iso947 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People do not need educating not to spy on teenage girls with drones, they do not need training to not do it.

But that's not why the FAA is regulating it, and these regulations won't stop that. They're regulating because people are flying recklessly above 400ft, above roadways, and in restricted airspace.

Flying above 400 feet is only a problem because aircraft can fly down at 500 feet. Do we really want aircraft at only 500 feet? I wouldn't want even a typical general aviation aircraft going over my house at that height. Make it an Airbus 380 and it might be entertaining.

The solution is to raise the height for normal aircraft. That makes room for drones. We could give the drones from 500 to 1900 feet, putting normal aircraft at 2000 feet and above.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#132

Post by 8note »

rkagerer wrote: post #78

Even though I don't fly over people, I retrofitted a parachute onto my DJI drone just in case. It automatically deploys if the drone loses power or control. It doesn't impact flight characteristics or battery life by much. I feel like a basic safety like this would be a prudent and more effective measure for overhead flights than self-transmitting "license plates" (which I agree are at least better than the silly int…

How do you keep the propellers from cutting people up? Does the parachute also tangle up the prop?

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#133

Post by RandallBrown »

SoSoRoCoCo wrote: post #4

This is odd: night would be the time when I would think people don't want to hear "whirrrrrrr...' of drones flying over their houses.

I've never heard a drone even close to as loud as my neighbor's motorcycle but it's legal to drive that any time.

I have a small DJI Mini 2 drone and it's pretty much impossible to hear over the street noise in my neighborhood if it's more than about 50 feet up in the air.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#134

Post by curryst »

lolc wrote: post #113
xnx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the crazy thought that drones ladden with deliveries could dispatch from the top of a central tall structure (like a skyscraper or antenna), take advantage of the height differential to efficiently glide toward their delivery destination, and then make their return with less weight to carry. Probably very few locales where this could make sense compared to automated sidewalk deliveries like Starship. The speed…

So what if instead of being on a hill, we accelerate the drones on launch straight up? Make them bullet-shaped so they don't lose too much momentum. If we lose the requirement of them returning on their own we could also simplify the shell quite a bit. Small wings, guidance electronics and a parachute. Then do curbside collection of the shells once a week. In summary: Rain the deliveries onto the neighborhood with a…

My packages already show up looking like they were dragged behind the truck. I can't imagine what they'd look like if they got fired out of a rail gun.

In real terms, I'm doubtful that the majority of people's goods would withstand that kind of rapid acceleration. Consumer electronics frequently break from hitting the floor, a rail gun would probably shred them. You could accelerate more slowly, but then you need more runway, and you might end up building a skyscraper anyways to get a delivery radius that's more than half a mile.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#135

Post by stevehawk »

clamprecht wrote: post #65
phkahler wrote: post #61

Does the broadcast ID include location like ADS-B? Also, is it in the clear? If so, I see both fun and trouble ahead.

I wish drones could, at least optionally, transmit on ADS-B, with some "drone" flag. That could help pilots with ADS-B IN a lot, as long as it was clearly indicated as a drone.

but then Garmin couldn't charge you $5000 for another radio.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#136

Post by stevehawk »

augustt wrote: post #127
Sodman wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as there are no rules against a Harley Davidson which can be heard by anyone within a mile radius cruising down the street at 10pm (same goes for loud muscle cars, trucks etc), it seems like we shouldn't go arbitrarily restricting drone noise. With regards to cameras in public places, I'd be far more worried about somebody hiding in the bushes quietly with a DSLR that nobody knows about. At least with a drone…

It is already illegal to modify the exhaust to make your vehicle louder. Does't seem to bother cops though.

illegal where? that's not the case anywhere in the US that I'm aware. Most any legislation about exists is limiting modification to environmental parts like catalytic converters.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#137

Post by ghaff »

scrose wrote: post #80
jmercouris wrote: post #2

This will revolutionize the delivery industry. I imagine trucks will become mobile drone carriers with drones landing and taking off with packages as they travel through the city.

Cities feel like the last place that would be a good fit for airborne delivery, at least in the US. Take NYC for example: Delivery people on e-bikes are still harassed incessantly by the NYPD and community boards by people being scared of the possibility of being hit by them. Factor in our paranoia about terrorism and a single accidentally dropped package would likely result in counter terrorism and bomb squads being…

And presumably, even with detached single family homes in more spread out cities, delivery people don't just drop a package on the sidewalk. I live in a fairly rural location and packages are mostly left in my mailbox or wherever against the house. But I assume in busier areas, delivery people actually make a minimal effort to not make packages completely obvious from the sidewalk.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#138

Post by Sodman »

augustt wrote: post #127
Sodman wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as there are no rules against a Harley Davidson which can be heard by anyone within a mile radius cruising down the street at 10pm (same goes for loud muscle cars, trucks etc), it seems like we shouldn't go arbitrarily restricting drone noise. With regards to cameras in public places, I'd be far more worried about somebody hiding in the bushes quietly with a DSLR that nobody knows about. At least with a drone…

It is already illegal to modify the exhaust to make your vehicle louder. Does't seem to bother cops though.

Right, I should have specified "Enforced laws". Considering how easy this one is to enforce, and how rarely it's actually enforced, it basically doesn't exist.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#139

Post by ohmaigad »

frisco wrote: post #18
coder543 wrote: post #6

What about changing the rules around commercial use of drone photography / videography? I don't understand why it's fine to use drones to take photos and videos for personal use, and why it's perfectly fine to use the smartphone in your hand for commercially-usable photos and videos, but combine the two and you suddenly have to get an FAA license? That requirement feels very arbitrary, and it feels like a requirement…

As a pilot, the dynamics of flying for money are very different than flying for fun or personal reasons. The pressure to make the flight in marginal conditions, or push separation to get the shot, or otherwise just generally fly closer to the limits is real and significant. Adding money (and presumably third parties) totally changes the nature of the operation.

You can fly for fun while putting the video on your monetized youtube channel = commercial flight.

Re: FAA issuing new rules to allow drones to fly over people and at night

#140

Post by 1024core »

scld wrote: post #111
lemonspat wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have write up of this retrofit? How is it triggered?

Not OP but you could probably hook the parachute to constantly NOT be deployed, like a deadman's switch, so that if you lose power it just deploys automatically.

So... when you unplug the battery to replace it, you're greeted by a popping parachute?
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