US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
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US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
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Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#2Notably absent from the "Statements of support for DOT's approach to UAS registration" [1] is the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics)
Congress (and Obama) asked the FAA to write rules integrating UAS into the national airspace by September 2015, back in February 2012. [2] By all accounts, the section 333 exception policy does not meet that request... and now they expect to develop a full-blown registration process ready before the end of December? Please, don't make me laugh. They couldn't even answer at the press conference what the benefit of registration will be, arguing that it would be used to track down owners of drones flaunting the rules, but seemingly having forgotten that they already can't identify airborne drones properly.
I think Motherboard says it best. "It's clear that the agency, which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration, wants to crack down on the unsafe use of drones, and it's looking like it's going to try to bypass as much of the traditional rulemaking process as is possible... The short answer is, the FAA will probably cut corners and perhaps 'reinterpret' existing manned aircraft regulations" [3]
[1] https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/statements-of-s...
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/faa-regulation-of-dr...
[3] http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/8-questions-raised-by...
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#3Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for.
"Drone ranch" here we come.
I am a private pilot, so I appreciate how nuanced the airspace can be. Also I think drones are super cool and access to them should be easy. But not free. Drone operators should be required to take at least a brief ground school covering airspace (take it online!) and pass a quiz (also online!)
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#4Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for. "Drone ranch" here we come. I am a private pilot, so I appreciat…
The one big ask I have is to learn to understand airspace, including reading charts, and be required to do a preflight including airspace and NOTAM checks. If that were done before a UAV/drone/multicopter/FPV/etc flight, everyone could easily coexist.
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#5I'm actually a big fan of this idea. As a private pilot, I'm excited about a lot of cool possibilities enabled by drones that aren't possible in manned aircraft (high speed, low-level FPV racing!) or are made better (package delivery with relatively high power aircraft). But I'm anxious about touching drones at all right now because the rules are either undefined or unfriendly and I theoretically have a certificate on the line.
I hope that we're able to get to a sane regulatory environment here that gives me well-defined, positive rules for flying progressively more powerful and sophisticated UAVs, including in controlled airspace. Those won't be toys, and it's debatable now whether many drones in the hands of consumers are already. The FAA is already stretched way too thin with existing manned aviation and there's no way the local FSDO is going to bother going after a kid with a small electric drone, registered or otherwise, unless they do something really stupid.
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#6Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for. "Drone ranch" here we come. I am a private pilot, so I appreciat…
I am not a pilot (although the right $$ would have me there in a an instant... wishful thinking), but I have been flying various remote control aircraft (including so-called "drones", now) for nearly 20 years.
A sensible system seems like it would be three tiered:
Very small stuff would remain unregulated - obviously there is no concern with things like the CX-10, right? I can't imagine a "drone" of anything near that size causing any size of full-scale aircraft problems.
Mid-tier stuff would be a world like Amateur Radio - modernized to be online or something as you've suggested. You are free to participate in the big boy's airspace within the rules, but some education and proof-of-knowledge about those rules is required.
... and of course large things should not be any different than a full-sized aircraft, with the same regulations.
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#7Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for. "Drone ranch" here we come. I am a private pilot, so I appreciat…
I am not a pilot (although the right $$ would have me there in a an instant... wishful thinking), but I have been flying various remote control aircraft (including so-called "drones", now) for nearly 20 years. A sensible system seems like it would be three tiered: Very small stuff would remain unregulated - obviously there is no concern with things like the CX-10, right? I can't imagine a "drone" of anything near tha…
Also, about the proposed registration, they fully acknowledged during the press conference that the trouble is tracking down the owners. You aren't going to be able to read the markings on a Phantom at any useful distance when you're trying to track down a violator.
I'd propose instead a requirement for ADS-B for the mid and large classes below... Micro ~100g transponders exist, fully integrate with the existing aviation infrastructure, etc. [1] ... and most importantly would enable identification of the UAV, which is apparently the most pressing concern at the moment.
Do the pilots here see any problems with this?
[1] http://www.sagetechcorp.com/unmanned-solutions/unmanned-solu...
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#8Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for. "Drone ranch" here we come. I am a private pilot, so I appreciat…
I would assume that registration would be free, but now that I think about it I wonder if it will be that way (or stay that way). It seems like this may be less about the "protection" of people and just another revenue source for the government.
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#9Drones should be licensed and/or registered, much the same way as cars are. There are places where you can drive an unregistered car without a driver's license. And that will be true of drones as well. There will be places where you can fly them unlimited. Just not in the common space defined by the government as such. That's what the government is for. "Drone ranch" here we come. I am a private pilot, so I appreciat…
I would assume that registration would be free, but now that I think about it I wonder if it will be that way (or stay that way). It seems like this may be less about the "protection" of people and just another revenue source for the government.
Registration might be free, but the cost of insurance if required would probably depend on the capabilities of the drone. I might imagine an insurance market in which there is a discount for flying under the control of open source software.
Re: US transportation secretary announces drone registration requirement
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not a pilot (although the right $$ would have me there in a an instant... wishful thinking), but I have been flying various remote control aircraft (including so-called "drones", now) for nearly 20 years. A sensible system seems like it would be three tiered: Very small stuff would remain unregulated - obviously there is no concern with things like the CX-10, right? I can't imagine a "drone" of anything near tha…
Also, about the proposed registration, they fully acknowledged during the press conference that the trouble is tracking down the owners. You aren't going to be able to read the markings on a Phantom at any useful distance when you're trying to track down a violator. I'd propose instead a requirement for ADS-B for the mid and large classes below... Micro ~100g transponders exist, fully integrate with the existing avia…
I think it's a great idea. If anything the FAA (and the curmudgeon pilots) may have seriously underestimated the utility of ADS-B.
Also, thanks for the link to the low power transponder. Some paraglider friends of mine might like to see those adapted for ultralight use.