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New title: Person alleged to have flown model aircraft above legal limit, following a complaint that the activity interfered with a manned flight. New subtitle

New title: Person alleged to have flown model aircraft above legal limit, following a complaint that the activity interfered with a manned flight. New subtitle: Alleged offender may face prosecution for the standard charges associated with this activity. This aircraft could only loosely be considered a drone to begin with.

mikeash 11y ago
What about a Phantom 3 makes it "only loosely be considered a drone"? Looks pretty drone-y to me. Fits both the traditional definition of "vehicle with no people on board" and the emerging modern definition of "electric multirotor helicopter." I don't see why your proposed title/subtitle are better. The most interesting thing here is not the violation of regulations, but the near miss with a manned aircraft.
- bigiain 11y ago
  If that's your definition of "drone" then have all RC aircraft have magically become "drones" since the media started using the word? What about kites? Model rockets? Birthday balloons?Frisbees? Boomerangs? I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but it's clear that right now there's no community consensus on the technical definition of "drone" anything more rigorous than the "I don't know what obscenity is, but know it when I see it" argument. Does a "drone" need to be autonomous? Does it need to carry a camera? Does it need to be a multirotor? Is there a size limit? Is my 1.5oz CX10 a "drone"? My ~1kg GPS guided autonomous quadrotor? Where's the line? How about my 450g non-autonomous FPV one? Or my 320g one that doesn't even have a camera? Was the heli pilot any more at-risk that if it's been a buzzard or a goose? (Note: I think the guy was a jerk for being up at 7-800 feet with a chopper nearby, but nobody died - there's no suggestion that anybody even came close to dying. Is the situation and it's outcome any worse than it he'd been somewhat recklessly driving at 90mph on the highway rather than somewhat recklessly flying at 800 feet over it? If you do 90 in your car and hit someone, they hold you accountable. If you do 90 in your car and don't hit anyone else but happen to be observed by the police, they don't penalise you as though you just killed someone, they write you a ticket. Should this guy be treated any differently?)
  - mikeash 11y ago
    RC aircraft have been "drones" since long before anybody in the media cared about the word. Probably the most common use of the word before the current quadcopter craze was in the phrase "target drone," which is typically a large remote-controlled aircraft that military pilots can shoot at for training. I think the word implies some kind of guidance, whether automatic or remote-piloted, so model rockets and such would not qualify. Kites aren't really aircraft. Does a "drone" need to be autonomous? I see no use, past or present, that implies autonomy. Camera? Again, no. Multirotor? Historically no, current media usage maybe. Size limit? Don't think so. A large hobby drone is definitely more of a risk than a buzzard or goose. Birds can dodge. They're not always successful, but the instinct for self-preservation usually gets them out of the way, at least for slow aircraft like a typical helicopter. Helicopters make a ton of noise too, which probably helps a lot. Going 90MPH on the highway is a pretty major offense in many places. Here in Virginia that's an automatic reckless driving misdemeanor charge that's likely to result in jail time. No, they don't punish you the same as they would if you actually kill somebody, but then there's no indication they'll punish this guy as if he killed somebody, so I have no idea why you'd mention that.
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  >...the emerging modern definition... IOW, people want to feel special so they are calling their toys by a name the feel is better.
mirimir 11y ago
DJI Phantom 3 Professional http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-pro http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-pro Looks like a drone to me. But a big and expensive drone, I admit. Weight is 1.3 Kg, about the same as a duck. Aren't helicopter windows able to resist duck hits?
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Ducks don't typically have bits of metal in them (at least, live ducks).
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  No. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/24/helicopter.crash.cause/ http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/24/helicopter.crash.cause/ On January 4, 2009, a dual-engine Sikorsky S-76C helicopter crashed into marshy terrain near Morgan City, Louisiana, about seven minutes after takeoff from Amelie, Louisiana. The copter was on a charter flight to a Gulf of Mexico oil rig. Both pilots were killed, along with six of the seven passengers, according to the NTSB. Heard on the helicopter's cockpit voice recorder was a "loud bang, followed by sounds consistent with rushing wind and a power reduction on both engines," according to the statement. "The aircraft crashed several seconds later." Feathers and other debris, identified as belonging to a red-tailed hawk, were collected from the helicopter's canopy and windshield, the NTSB said.
  - mirimir 11y ago
    > "Contributing to the accident, the board said, were the lack of [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations and guidance requiring helicopter windshields to be resistant to bird strikes," among other factors, the NTSB said in a news release. So why aren't windows typically polycarbonate? A few layers of that can stop bullets.
    - thrownaway2424 11y ago
      No idea. You might as well ask why general aviation is still using leaded gas. General aviation is a bit of a shitshow.
r00fus 11y ago
A Phantom3 was the same model that was shot down by neighbor: http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9625468/drone-slayer-kentucky-cleared-charges http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9625468/drone-slayer-kent... Fine, call it a UAV if you want, but it's a drone to me.

mikeash 11y ago

What about a Phantom 3 makes it "only loosely be considered a drone"? Looks pretty drone-y to me. Fits both the traditional definition of "vehicle with no people on board" and the emerging modern definition of "electric multirotor helicopter." I don't see why your proposed title/subtitle are better. The most interesting thing here is not the violation of regulations, but the near miss with a manned aircraft.

bigiain 11y ago
If that's your definition of "drone" then have all RC aircraft have magically become "drones" since the media started using the word? What about kites? Model rockets? Birthday balloons?Frisbees? Boomerangs? I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but it's clear that right now there's no community consensus on the technical definition of "drone" anything more rigorous than the "I don't know what obscenity is, but know it when I see it" argument. Does a "drone" need to be autonomous? Does it need to carry a camera? Does it need to be a multirotor? Is there a size limit? Is my 1.5oz CX10 a "drone"? My ~1kg GPS guided autonomous quadrotor? Where's the line? How about my 450g non-autonomous FPV one? Or my 320g one that doesn't even have a camera? Was the heli pilot any more at-risk that if it's been a buzzard or a goose? (Note: I think the guy was a jerk for being up at 7-800 feet with a chopper nearby, but nobody died - there's no suggestion that anybody even came close to dying. Is the situation and it's outcome any worse than it he'd been somewhat recklessly driving at 90mph on the highway rather than somewhat recklessly flying at 800 feet over it? If you do 90 in your car and hit someone, they hold you accountable. If you do 90 in your car and don't hit anyone else but happen to be observed by the police, they don't penalise you as though you just killed someone, they write you a ticket. Should this guy be treated any differently?)
- mikeash 11y ago
  RC aircraft have been "drones" since long before anybody in the media cared about the word. Probably the most common use of the word before the current quadcopter craze was in the phrase "target drone," which is typically a large remote-controlled aircraft that military pilots can shoot at for training. I think the word implies some kind of guidance, whether automatic or remote-piloted, so model rockets and such would not qualify. Kites aren't really aircraft. Does a "drone" need to be autonomous? I see no use, past or present, that implies autonomy. Camera? Again, no. Multirotor? Historically no, current media usage maybe. Size limit? Don't think so. A large hobby drone is definitely more of a risk than a buzzard or goose. Birds can dodge. They're not always successful, but the instinct for self-preservation usually gets them out of the way, at least for slow aircraft like a typical helicopter. Helicopters make a ton of noise too, which probably helps a lot. Going 90MPH on the highway is a pretty major offense in many places. Here in Virginia that's an automatic reckless driving misdemeanor charge that's likely to result in jail time. No, they don't punish you the same as they would if you actually kill somebody, but then there's no indication they'll punish this guy as if he killed somebody, so I have no idea why you'd mention that.
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
>...the emerging modern definition... IOW, people want to feel special so they are calling their toys by a name the feel is better.

mirimir 11y ago

DJI Phantom 3 Professional http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-pro http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-pro Looks like a drone to me. But a big and expensive drone, I admit. Weight is 1.3 Kg, about the same as a duck. Aren't helicopter windows able to resist duck hits?

jacquesm 11y ago
Ducks don't typically have bits of metal in them (at least, live ducks).
thrownaway2424 11y ago
No. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/24/helicopter.crash.cause/ http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/24/helicopter.crash.cause/ On January 4, 2009, a dual-engine Sikorsky S-76C helicopter crashed into marshy terrain near Morgan City, Louisiana, about seven minutes after takeoff from Amelie, Louisiana. The copter was on a charter flight to a Gulf of Mexico oil rig. Both pilots were killed, along with six of the seven passengers, according to the NTSB. Heard on the helicopter's cockpit voice recorder was a "loud bang, followed by sounds consistent with rushing wind and a power reduction on both engines," according to the statement. "The aircraft crashed several seconds later." Feathers and other debris, identified as belonging to a red-tailed hawk, were collected from the helicopter's canopy and windshield, the NTSB said.
- mirimir 11y ago
  > "Contributing to the accident, the board said, were the lack of [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations and guidance requiring helicopter windshields to be resistant to bird strikes," among other factors, the NTSB said in a news release. So why aren't windows typically polycarbonate? A few layers of that can stop bullets.
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    No idea. You might as well ask why general aviation is still using leaded gas. General aviation is a bit of a shitshow.

r00fus 11y ago

A Phantom3 was the same model that was shot down by neighbor: http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9625468/drone-slayer-kentucky-cleared-charges http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9625468/drone-slayer-kent... Fine, call it a UAV if you want, but it's a drone to me.