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In the same vein, the only reason you need a license is because you use publicly owned space. For a mundane example, consider your driver's license. You only n

In the same vein, the only reason you need a license is because you use publicly owned space. For a mundane example, consider your driver's license. You only need it because you drive on public roads and highways; a driver's license is a license stating you are competent enough to not ruin the shared public roads and highways. Likewise, a pilot's license is a license stating you are competent enough to not ruin the skies shared by all. Commercial equivalents for those licenses also detail how you are competent enough to be entrusted with other peoples' lives or things, but I digress. So if you take your car on a drive on your own, private land, you don't need a driver's license. Hell, you probably don't even need to register that car. Likewise, if you own a chunk of airspace and fly strictly within it, you don't need a license and you probably don't need to register the plane either. Of course, nobody's going to be owning chunks of airspace like that so this is all theoretical. Also IANAL, please don't do shit based off what some random hooligan spews on the intertubez.

8note 3y ago
It's kinda silly though, compared to driving, there's very little public space that somebody else would be using
- all2 3y ago
  You also need to consider what ground you're over. If you do this (and you definitely shouldn't) stick to airspace above uninhabited areas like national parks, BLM areas, etc.
amluto 3y ago
> Hell, you probably don't even need to register that car. In California at least, you are required to file for “planned non-operation”, which is inexpensive but not free.
- taneq 3y ago
  Is that the same as de-registering the car? In Australia if you have a car that you don't intend to drive on the road, you can just hand the number plates back. They refund the remainder of your licensing fees and you're done. The car can still be driven (even without a driver's license) on private land, just not public roads. If you want to drive it on the road again, you have to re-register it and get it inspected.
  - inconceivable 3y ago
    it's not the same. un-registering and re-registering a car in california is a giant bureaucratic pain in the ass.
    - jjav 3y ago
      > it's not the same. un-registering and re-registering a car in california is a giant bureaucratic pain in the ass. Have you done this? I have, multiple times. Not a big deal. There is no process for "un-registering" a car in California that I know of. Just stop paying annual registration. To re-register it, if you did not pay NO-OP fees, in theory you need to pay for the years you didn't pay to get up to date but aside from the cost, it's easy. I say in theory because having done this three times, I've never been asked to pay the back fees. One time the agent waived all the fees, the other two times they waived all the past years except one. But if you get an angry agent having a bad day, you might have to pay more.
  - oceanplexian 3y ago
    The California DMV hates people who own cars with a passion. I moved out of California and forgot to inform them, so 2 years later they levied my bank account for $500 of unpaid vehicle registration fees. Oh yeah, registering a car costs several hundred dollars per year.
    - jjav 3y ago
      No reason you should have to pay that. As I mentioned in a peer comment, I've owned many cars (and still own two) where I simply stopped paying registration (California). As long as I don't drive them on the street in CA, the CA DMV doesn't care.
    - civilitty 3y ago
      You’re lying. California DMV doesn’t have that power. It never did.
- jjav 3y ago
  > In California at least, you are required to file for “planned non-operation”, which is inexpensive but not free. Nothing requires you to do that. In theory (sometimes in practice) a NOOP registration makes it easier to re-register it back to street use later. If you have no interest in driving it on the street, no need for any kind of registration or payment. I've had race cars where I've left registration lapse, since I'm not driving them on the street it doesn't matter. I own (in CA) two cars right now for which I haven't paid registration in a very long time, as they are not street cars.
kotaKat 3y ago
> So if you take your car on a drive on your own, private land, you don't need a driver's license This is actually one of the reasons that Phantom Auto [phantom.auto] started with remote controlling cars - and while they still do, they pivoted a lot of their work towards industry driving forklifts and terminal tractors that live on private property and don't need regulation on remote operation.

8note 3y ago

It's kinda silly though, compared to driving, there's very little public space that somebody else would be using

all2 3y ago
You also need to consider what ground you're over. If you do this (and you definitely shouldn't) stick to airspace above uninhabited areas like national parks, BLM areas, etc.

amluto 3y ago

> Hell, you probably don't even need to register that car. In California at least, you are required to file for “planned non-operation”, which is inexpensive but not free.

taneq 3y ago
Is that the same as de-registering the car? In Australia if you have a car that you don't intend to drive on the road, you can just hand the number plates back. They refund the remainder of your licensing fees and you're done. The car can still be driven (even without a driver's license) on private land, just not public roads. If you want to drive it on the road again, you have to re-register it and get it inspected.
- inconceivable 3y ago
  it's not the same. un-registering and re-registering a car in california is a giant bureaucratic pain in the ass.
  - jjav 3y ago
    > it's not the same. un-registering and re-registering a car in california is a giant bureaucratic pain in the ass. Have you done this? I have, multiple times. Not a big deal. There is no process for "un-registering" a car in California that I know of. Just stop paying annual registration. To re-register it, if you did not pay NO-OP fees, in theory you need to pay for the years you didn't pay to get up to date but aside from the cost, it's easy. I say in theory because having done this three times, I've never been asked to pay the back fees. One time the agent waived all the fees, the other two times they waived all the past years except one. But if you get an angry agent having a bad day, you might have to pay more.
- oceanplexian 3y ago
  The California DMV hates people who own cars with a passion. I moved out of California and forgot to inform them, so 2 years later they levied my bank account for $500 of unpaid vehicle registration fees. Oh yeah, registering a car costs several hundred dollars per year.
  - jjav 3y ago
    No reason you should have to pay that. As I mentioned in a peer comment, I've owned many cars (and still own two) where I simply stopped paying registration (California). As long as I don't drive them on the street in CA, the CA DMV doesn't care.
  - civilitty 3y ago
    You’re lying. California DMV doesn’t have that power. It never did.
jjav 3y ago
> In California at least, you are required to file for “planned non-operation”, which is inexpensive but not free. Nothing requires you to do that. In theory (sometimes in practice) a NOOP registration makes it easier to re-register it back to street use later. If you have no interest in driving it on the street, no need for any kind of registration or payment. I've had race cars where I've left registration lapse, since I'm not driving them on the street it doesn't matter. I own (in CA) two cars right now for which I haven't paid registration in a very long time, as they are not street cars.

kotaKat 3y ago

> So if you take your car on a drive on your own, private land, you don't need a driver's license This is actually one of the reasons that Phantom Auto [phantom.auto] started with remote controlling cars - and while they still do, they pivoted a lot of their work towards industry driving forklifts and terminal tractors that live on private property and don't need regulation on remote operation.