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Hot air balloons are easy to see, and one of the very first forms of aviation. They’re also hard to maneuver. Drones are incredibly difficult to see and last I

Hot air balloons are easy to see, and one of the very first forms of aviation. They’re also hard to maneuver. Drones are incredibly difficult to see and last I checked FAA was proposing right of way and the burden of detect and avoid (and blame, if collision) on the balloonist. Basically anyone without adsb. And fixed wing pilots love to forget the entire forms of aviation exist outside part 91. I’m a paramotor pilot and my entire flights are under 400 AGL around populated areas, and this also affects me. I think it’s pretty fucked up for drones to have right of way over any manned flight. I think there are ways to bring forward innovation with drones without this strange proposal that essentially shifts liability away from large corporations. Some old info on this: https://usppa.org/faa/bvlos/ https://usppa.org/faa/bvlos/

theflyingelvis 3y ago
It’s the very inability of the hot air balloons to maneuver that makes them unsafe. There are countless balloon accidents where the craft are dragged along the ground, blown into power lines and other obstructions because the pilots have no real control of the flight path (other than limited control of altitude). So, again, it’s my opinion that balloons are the real danger, not UAV’s.
- looping__lui 3y ago
  No fixed wing pilot I know would ever state and claim that hot air balloons are a risk. Claiming that “balloons are a risk, not UAVs” is almost so bizarre that I mentally flag your posts as trolling. Giving UAVs the right of way is bogus and will cost many human lives in General Aviation. There are already countless accidents reported with UAVs nearly taking down planes. They are impossible to see. Edit: Your comment almost sounds like out of some bad communication workbook for lobbyists from the 70s - “pedestrians are the real danger on the street, cars are safe. Jay walking needs to be punished severely” ; “Public transportation is a communist idea threatening the very ideals of our society - every person should instead buy his OWN car”. Man, Balloons are the neatest and most harmless most easy to avoid objects in the sky. Don’t try to make them look bad. Everyone loves em.
  - theflyingelvis 3y ago
    I never stated that UAV’s are not a ‘risk’. Edited: “It was never…” to “I never…” Didn’t realize that @looping__lui was referring to a different comment. And, I’m not trolling e_e.
    - looping__lui 3y ago
      I directly quoted his statement. Are you like his trolling friend? He literally wrote: “balloons are a risk, not UAVs”
      - saurik 3y ago
        Your comment is very confusing and in fact you do seem to be replying to the person you are claiming you are not responding to even now. Maybe you can go back through the thread and verify the names on all the posts?
        looping__lui 3y ago
        Cut me some slack, it was 6 am in the morning for not keeping track of user names. Who goes after balloons with “balloons are a risk, not UAVs”!? In General Aviation thats like kicking puppies. And this direct quote to me very much sounded like “UAVs are not a risk”.
  - echelon 3y ago
    Whatever form of aviation brings society the most value is the optimal one and should be given preference. If I had to place my bets, I think that drone-operated aviation, delivery, etc. will become a trillion dollar market. If that's the case, then obviously it takes precedence.
    - looping__lui 3y ago
      Playgrounds and sidewalks also add little economic value to society.
looping__lui 3y ago
I 100% agree with you.
ryandrake 3y ago
The general rule is that less maneuverable/controllable aircraft have right of way over more maneuverable aircraft. So balloons > gliders > airships > airplanes. By that logic, I’d want drones to be lowest priority on the totem pole. They should have to give way to everyone.
cameldrv 3y ago
IMO drones should yield to manned aircraft. Currently, there are defined rules about rights of way for manned aircraft. However, even a manned aircraft that has the right of way is going to do everything they can to avoid a collision, because it's their ass on the line. Since both aircraft have a strong incentive to avoid collision, there are fairly few mid-air collisions. Now they want to give drones the right of way with no skin in the game. They can just go from waypoint to waypoint, never looking for anything, and if they hit something, they won't die, and they won't even get sued. If they're feeling particularly callous, they could even sue the other pilot's estate for the cost of their crashed drone.
vdqtp3 3y ago
> I’m a paramotor pilot and my entire flights are under 400 AGL I was shocked when a couple months ago I flew by a paraglider at the edge of my local D airspace, 1000' above the D and 1000' under the B shelf. You guys get crazy but it looks fun

theflyingelvis 3y ago

It’s the very inability of the hot air balloons to maneuver that makes them unsafe. There are countless balloon accidents where the craft are dragged along the ground, blown into power lines and other obstructions because the pilots have no real control of the flight path (other than limited control of altitude). So, again, it’s my opinion that balloons are the real danger, not UAV’s.

looping__lui 3y ago
No fixed wing pilot I know would ever state and claim that hot air balloons are a risk. Claiming that “balloons are a risk, not UAVs” is almost so bizarre that I mentally flag your posts as trolling. Giving UAVs the right of way is bogus and will cost many human lives in General Aviation. There are already countless accidents reported with UAVs nearly taking down planes. They are impossible to see. Edit: Your comment almost sounds like out of some bad communication workbook for lobbyists from the 70s - “pedestrians are the real danger on the street, cars are safe. Jay walking needs to be punished severely” ; “Public transportation is a communist idea threatening the very ideals of our society - every person should instead buy his OWN car”. Man, Balloons are the neatest and most harmless most easy to avoid objects in the sky. Don’t try to make them look bad. Everyone loves em.
- theflyingelvis 3y ago
  I never stated that UAV’s are not a ‘risk’. Edited: “It was never…” to “I never…” Didn’t realize that @looping__lui was referring to a different comment. And, I’m not trolling e_e.
  - looping__lui 3y ago
    I directly quoted his statement. Are you like his trolling friend? He literally wrote: “balloons are a risk, not UAVs”
    - saurik 3y ago
      Your comment is very confusing and in fact you do seem to be replying to the person you are claiming you are not responding to even now. Maybe you can go back through the thread and verify the names on all the posts?
      - looping__lui 3y ago
        Cut me some slack, it was 6 am in the morning for not keeping track of user names. Who goes after balloons with “balloons are a risk, not UAVs”!? In General Aviation thats like kicking puppies. And this direct quote to me very much sounded like “UAVs are not a risk”.
- echelon 3y ago
  Whatever form of aviation brings society the most value is the optimal one and should be given preference. If I had to place my bets, I think that drone-operated aviation, delivery, etc. will become a trillion dollar market. If that's the case, then obviously it takes precedence.
  - looping__lui 3y ago
    Playgrounds and sidewalks also add little economic value to society.

looping__lui 3y ago

I 100% agree with you.

ryandrake 3y ago

The general rule is that less maneuverable/controllable aircraft have right of way over more maneuverable aircraft. So balloons > gliders > airships > airplanes. By that logic, I’d want drones to be lowest priority on the totem pole. They should have to give way to everyone.

cameldrv 3y ago

IMO drones should yield to manned aircraft. Currently, there are defined rules about rights of way for manned aircraft. However, even a manned aircraft that has the right of way is going to do everything they can to avoid a collision, because it's their ass on the line. Since both aircraft have a strong incentive to avoid collision, there are fairly few mid-air collisions. Now they want to give drones the right of way with no skin in the game. They can just go from waypoint to waypoint, never looking for anything, and if they hit something, they won't die, and they won't even get sued. If they're feeling particularly callous, they could even sue the other pilot's estate for the cost of their crashed drone.

vdqtp3 3y ago

> I’m a paramotor pilot and my entire flights are under 400 AGL I was shocked when a couple months ago I flew by a paraglider at the edge of my local D airspace, 1000' above the D and 1000' under the B shelf. You guys get crazy but it looks fun