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Chris is a brave man. The good people over at DIYDrones have to skirt the boundaries of legality, as they can only operate under the FAA's "model airplane" defi
by AretNCarlsen 16y ago
Chris is a brave man. The good people over at DIYDrones have to skirt the boundaries of legality, as they can only operate under the FAA's "model airplane" definition (very lightweight, in sight and control of human operator, etc). I wonder where UAV development would be today if we allowed them to run free over private land, as we allow for autonomous ground vehicles.
I, for one, have reluctantly chosen not to develop UAVs specifically due to the legal dangers under current regulation. I sometimes think of my counterparts in other countries, who have reached the same fork in the road and were able to continue in this field. [This is why "brain drain" happens.]
- younata 16y agowell, if you decide to drop the money to get a pilot's license, you can do a whole lot more, as you can now operate it under a different class of aircraft.
- rdl 16y agoA pilot's license is $5-10k and maybe 400 total hours of time (50+ flight hours, maybe setup and commute to/from, ground school and study). Most of the good/cheap flight schools are in Florida (since the weather is consistent, land/fuel/etc. is cheap -- one of the main issues with doing VFR training in a place with variable weather is that VFR conditions aren't always met). I think Arizona and Texas are popular too.