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I wish all these rules just said: does not apply when flying below 200’ AGL. Very frustrating to see that this industry is likely going to get stopped before i

by blhack 7y ago

I wish all these rules just said: does not apply when flying below 200’ AGL. Very frustrating to see that this industry is likely going to get stopped before it even gets started.

userbinator 7y ago
Except around places like airports, of course.
janoc 7y ago
Well, the entire problem is that in the current situation the "below 200' AGL" is completely unenforceable. The same with the line of sight restrictions, not flying around airports, etc. That's why they are creating regulations because the current softball rules are simply being ignored and the law enforcement and regulators have no means to catch the violators nor to prove their guilt. The result is this heavy-handed nonsense, but the drone owners have only themselves to blame here. E.g. RC plane/heli pilots were never this kind of nuisance requiring such heavy handed regulation. The other aspect is that this regulation isn't being made just for hobby pilots. It is likely meant to cover the upcoming commercial services (e.g. goods delivery by a drone, TV crew drone usage, etc.) that are impossible today without waivers issued on a case by case basis. A transponder on a large 10-20kg drone is nothing.
godelski 7y ago
Why not just limit drones to class G air space? Even in dense locations this gives plenty of room to fly in. This also restricts drones from flying too close to airports. This is unrestricted air space anyway.
- NovemberWhiskey 7y ago
  sUAS (flown either as either hobbyist flights or under Part 107) are already restricted to Class G airspace without a LAANC authorization.
burfog 7y ago
It's long past time to raise the altitudes. Aircraft typically need to stay above 500, and toys below 400. We could move aircraft up to a minimum of 2000, move the toys up to a maximum of 1000, and let the serious fancy big drones have 1200 to 1800.
- cesarb 7y ago
  > Aircraft typically need to stay above 500 [...] We could move aircraft up to a minimum of 2000 Moving aircraft to a minimum of 2000 might mean not being able to stay below the clouds. I randomly looked up the METAR for the nearest airport, and at the moment, it has clouds at 1500.
  - burfog 7y ago
    If the clouds are only at 1500, it seems really unwise to fly without an instrument rating. It wouldn't take much of a weather change to get a VFR-only pilot in deep trouble. The clouds could quickly go right down to ground level. Once an emergency develops, violating altitude rules is quite alright. Changes to the rules could be an incentive for many pilots to become instrument rated. That isn't a bad thing.
    - heelix 7y ago
      An instrument rating is likely to cost as much as the original private pilot rating - and things are already stupid expensive. Over most congested areas, planes are suppose to maintain 1000' vertical separation. Over water (not boats/people/etc) and other non-congested area, that can drop to 500'. Just because a hobbyist drone is capable of flying higher does not mean it should. If someone wants to fly under part 107... they are already working within the system. https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_...
    - sokoloff 7y ago
      There are many stable weather patterns where the bases will stay steady at 1200-2000 feet AGL for many hours. Lots of airport pattern work and short cross countries are safely flown in conditions like that. Rotary wing aircraft are flying even lower than that fairly frequently.

by blhack 7y ago

I wish all these rules just said: does not apply when flying below 200’ AGL. Very frustrating to see that this industry is likely going to get stopped before it even gets started.

userbinator 7y ago

Except around places like airports, of course.

janoc 7y ago

Well, the entire problem is that in the current situation the "below 200' AGL" is completely unenforceable. The same with the line of sight restrictions, not flying around airports, etc. That's why they are creating regulations because the current softball rules are simply being ignored and the law enforcement and regulators have no means to catch the violators nor to prove their guilt. The result is this heavy-handed nonsense, but the drone owners have only themselves to blame here. E.g. RC plane/heli pilots were never this kind of nuisance requiring such heavy handed regulation. The other aspect is that this regulation isn't being made just for hobby pilots. It is likely meant to cover the upcoming commercial services (e.g. goods delivery by a drone, TV crew drone usage, etc.) that are impossible today without waivers issued on a case by case basis. A transponder on a large 10-20kg drone is nothing.

godelski 7y ago

Why not just limit drones to class G air space? Even in dense locations this gives plenty of room to fly in. This also restricts drones from flying too close to airports. This is unrestricted air space anyway.

NovemberWhiskey 7y ago
sUAS (flown either as either hobbyist flights or under Part 107) are already restricted to Class G airspace without a LAANC authorization.

burfog 7y ago

It's long past time to raise the altitudes. Aircraft typically need to stay above 500, and toys below 400. We could move aircraft up to a minimum of 2000, move the toys up to a maximum of 1000, and let the serious fancy big drones have 1200 to 1800.

cesarb 7y ago
> Aircraft typically need to stay above 500 [...] We could move aircraft up to a minimum of 2000 Moving aircraft to a minimum of 2000 might mean not being able to stay below the clouds. I randomly looked up the METAR for the nearest airport, and at the moment, it has clouds at 1500.
- burfog 7y ago
  If the clouds are only at 1500, it seems really unwise to fly without an instrument rating. It wouldn't take much of a weather change to get a VFR-only pilot in deep trouble. The clouds could quickly go right down to ground level. Once an emergency develops, violating altitude rules is quite alright. Changes to the rules could be an incentive for many pilots to become instrument rated. That isn't a bad thing.
  - heelix 7y ago
    An instrument rating is likely to cost as much as the original private pilot rating - and things are already stupid expensive. Over most congested areas, planes are suppose to maintain 1000' vertical separation. Over water (not boats/people/etc) and other non-congested area, that can drop to 500'. Just because a hobbyist drone is capable of flying higher does not mean it should. If someone wants to fly under part 107... they are already working within the system. https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot/ https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_...
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    There are many stable weather patterns where the bases will stay steady at 1200-2000 feet AGL for many hours. Lots of airport pattern work and short cross countries are safely flown in conditions like that. Rotary wing aircraft are flying even lower than that fairly frequently.