Its Simple !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! back in real RC A/C days you had to be loaded to get any toys of any deacent size .....
I see these flying weed-whackers at FRYS here and they are so cheap every one and there mom has one . its pure stats that we have these accdents ......
I have done RC A/C ...... I started with a .049 controll line . and then in to a NiCd 3 Chan park flyer and I did this on my parents 5 acre plot in fairfax VA . then on to a .10 OS nitro 4 chan AM futaba system ,,,
These days we have people doing this in parks and its not safe !
the AMA agrees ! ........
License NO ....... I say have the AMA do a better job ....... the NAR and TRIPOLI do a good job at model rockets ,,,, we need the AMA to do there job just as the ARRL does for ham radio .......
consumers are never gonna RTFM . how many of YOU own a GMRS/FRS radio for under 50 bucks and did NOT pay the GRMS license fee to the FCC and just used the high power channels out of the box?
At least the parallax quad is not dirt cheap and Ill bet the people here( at parallax ) have done all they can to inform the end user .
I'm seeing trends towards foam-enclosed systems, smaller and more capable multirotors. Yet I also see new bigger and impressive systems all the time. Difficult to see if there's a clear trend one way or another as this industry progresses.
I like Peter's comments about the AMA, and I wish their policies could extend beyond AMA-sanctioned fields.
I am very concerned about safety issues. The accidents are becoming more frequent and seem to get viral attention when they occur. Don't want to be part of that press.
Insurance considerations are significant in this business, by the way. Special policies are being written for companies like Parallax, often putting these "drones" into aircraft policies that cost factors more than standard product liability insurance.
These things don't glide, and they cut like weed eaters.
Copters draw way too much negative attention. What we need is to spotlight the good more often, and nobody is doing that (maybe some .edu are). Take your copter and do something good with it and get on the news. Flood the uninformed with positive stuff and the isolated incidents that have happened so far won't be the only thing people think of.
Great. The US can add a few more pages to the never-ending list of felonies. I have to ask.... is "drone" now like high-cap magazines. I mean, are RC helicopters in the local mall now "DDRRRROOOOONNNNEEEESSSSS" for the purpose of the hysteria or is that only applied to RC craft they think are extra bad? Are < 3 rotors just toys but > 3 are DRONES?
I do believe there need to be some ground rules on this because getting slammed in the head by a few pounds of falling 'copter in the park isn't really acceptable and people seem to think they are fine to operate these over public places which is not really OK. I do bristle at the notion that it should be made prohibitively expensive or mire everyone in mountains of government ministry paperwork so they can go off as clearly safe as the average driver and nothing more than a few hundred poorer.
I also think there could be some industry agreement on shrouding the blades and nerf-ing the exterior a bit to mitigate the damage when, not if, they crash.
I like Peter's comments about the AMA, and I wish their policies could extend beyond AMA-sanctioned fields.
These things don't glide, and they cut like weed eaters.
Your very right Ken . the issue is that they like a helo can vector in any direction .... and FWIW the when it Does fail tends to just Fall out of the sky ..... not go as bat crazy as a quad .
a stunt RC A/C can glide and has a somewhat one direction flight pattern .... at the very least you know the diretion it is going in .and the RC of yore Niro was so loud that NO one would dare get near one !
they Sound scary ! .
Like model rockets there needs to be a line in the sand for weight/ lift/ and speed / and size /
call me nuts . NO one whom is a noob with cash to blow needs a quad that can lift a full SLR out of the box .... you want to play with big toys ,,,,,, get trained and REQUIRE insurance ! ..........
I have a simple Idea l.
first . If its your own property and OR you have the permission of the property owner you can fly anything there ..
I never want to ever have a law get in the way of some people being respnsable and forming a club to buy land and fly there .
this should be encouraged ! no law shuld ever stop some one to buy there own land ( or have some allreaddy ) to expermint with ....... ( case in point the "Gracy ranch" where If I remember a few years ago Ken you flew your quad . this is good ! .
but public spaces and airspace is Not yours and I want to see there be some limits in place to prevent danger to others .
and Really the citys Need to put on there big boy pants and connect with people to plan days where its OK to fly . Unless you have a permit or are a REAL pilot ....... Lets be honist If I was in to quads and wanted to play with one that has KWs of power to it I feel its my Job to go and seek proper training .
Heck ! do any of you remember Training cables for the RC industry and your buddy was your trainer !
this is how for decades RC was done! ;. very few I know of ever tauht them selves ,,,,,,,,,,and the One whom did ,,, wrecked a ton of planes to learn ............... not all of us can toss 4 grand in blasa to learn ......
training is how it needs to be done !
Like VEs are and Elmers for ham radio !
the old farts need to for the sake of there hobbie to exist need to offer up time to train others ! else Mr GOV will lock this down soo fast.
I took my SCUBA test and passed ..........yes you can dive with out a C card . but unless you are a PHD in gas physics you need to have some proper training..
WE here Yes US need to see if Hey ! is there any AMA in the area! is there a way to help that 16 YO with his HS quad project to make it safe to fly ..
If WE dont step up to the plate and do what is right to have OUR hobblie be self regulated then the mindless nuts in Wash DC Will . and then its game over for ALL of us ! .......
In the 1920s, one could just go to a hardware store to purchase a Thompson machine gun, and many a person did. The results of free enterprise can be a rather painful learning curve.
Drones are fun and interesting, but I'd rather not have one hovering outside my window or falling out of the sky in the midst of me just enjoying my day.
I guess if you are a manufacturer, the next step is an association that promotes education and safe use. Such an associatiion will be able to negotiate insurance that is much more reasonalble as a group.
But I suspect that one has to admit that the quadcopter may be a passing fad as people begin to demand the operators to be more responsible. Of course, there will always be some legitimate commercial and industrial users and a market to supply them.
Even if you build a larger rugged kite, you are suppose to file a flight plan for it if it poses an hazard to aviation. If your market is for youth and family, I suppose you have to stick with smaller models for the sake of protecting the new learner from themselves.
ctwardell
Posts: 1,716
Comments
In a marginally related story, there are new shipping restrictions on lithium-based batteries from HK. Doesn't affect the US yet.
http://p6trc.emv2.com/HM?a=FtX7Cqkj9WSs8SA9MKJHnALnGHxKLJ3yKwjtS5kGaPGr0bBhOG5mpqVsje_HhdApYkmh
I see these flying weed-whackers at FRYS here and they are so cheap every one and there mom has one . its pure stats that we have these accdents ......
I have done RC A/C ...... I started with a .049 controll line . and then in to a NiCd 3 Chan park flyer and I did this on my parents 5 acre plot in fairfax VA . then on to a .10 OS nitro 4 chan AM futaba system ,,,
These days we have people doing this in parks and its not safe !
the AMA agrees ! ........
License NO ....... I say have the AMA do a better job ....... the NAR and TRIPOLI do a good job at model rockets ,,,, we need the AMA to do there job just as the ARRL does for ham radio .......
consumers are never gonna RTFM . how many of YOU own a GMRS/FRS radio for under 50 bucks and did NOT pay the GRMS license fee to the FCC and just used the high power channels out of the box?
At least the parallax quad is not dirt cheap and Ill bet the people here( at parallax ) have done all they can to inform the end user .
Its not ready to fly and make some one die .
I like Peter's comments about the AMA, and I wish their policies could extend beyond AMA-sanctioned fields.
I am very concerned about safety issues. The accidents are becoming more frequent and seem to get viral attention when they occur. Don't want to be part of that press.
Insurance considerations are significant in this business, by the way. Special policies are being written for companies like Parallax, often putting these "drones" into aircraft policies that cost factors more than standard product liability insurance.
These things don't glide, and they cut like weed eaters.
Copters draw way too much negative attention. What we need is to spotlight the good more often, and nobody is doing that (maybe some .edu are). Take your copter and do something good with it and get on the news. Flood the uninformed with positive stuff and the isolated incidents that have happened so far won't be the only thing people think of.
I do believe there need to be some ground rules on this because getting slammed in the head by a few pounds of falling 'copter in the park isn't really acceptable and people seem to think they are fine to operate these over public places which is not really OK. I do bristle at the notion that it should be made prohibitively expensive or mire everyone in mountains of government ministry paperwork so they can go off as clearly safe as the average driver and nothing more than a few hundred poorer.
I also think there could be some industry agreement on shrouding the blades and nerf-ing the exterior a bit to mitigate the damage when, not if, they crash.
Your very right Ken . the issue is that they like a helo can vector in any direction .... and FWIW the when it Does fail tends to just Fall out of the sky ..... not go as bat crazy as a quad .
a stunt RC A/C can glide and has a somewhat one direction flight pattern .... at the very least you know the diretion it is going in .and the RC of yore Niro was so loud that NO one would dare get near one !
they Sound scary ! .
Like model rockets there needs to be a line in the sand for weight/ lift/ and speed / and size /
call me nuts . NO one whom is a noob with cash to blow needs a quad that can lift a full SLR out of the box .... you want to play with big toys ,,,,,, get trained and REQUIRE insurance ! ..........
I have a simple Idea l.
first . If its your own property and OR you have the permission of the property owner you can fly anything there ..
I never want to ever have a law get in the way of some people being respnsable and forming a club to buy land and fly there .
this should be encouraged ! no law shuld ever stop some one to buy there own land ( or have some allreaddy ) to expermint with ....... ( case in point the "Gracy ranch" where If I remember a few years ago Ken you flew your quad . this is good ! .
but public spaces and airspace is Not yours and I want to see there be some limits in place to prevent danger to others .
and Really the citys Need to put on there big boy pants and connect with people to plan days where its OK to fly . Unless you have a permit or are a REAL pilot ....... Lets be honist If I was in to quads and wanted to play with one that has KWs of power to it I feel its my Job to go and seek proper training .
Heck ! do any of you remember Training cables for the RC industry and your buddy was your trainer !
this is how for decades RC was done! ;. very few I know of ever tauht them selves ,,,,,,,,,,and the One whom did ,,, wrecked a ton of planes to learn ............... not all of us can toss 4 grand in blasa to learn ......
training is how it needs to be done !
Like VEs are and Elmers for ham radio !
the old farts need to for the sake of there hobbie to exist need to offer up time to train others ! else Mr GOV will lock this down soo fast.
I took my SCUBA test and passed ..........yes you can dive with out a C card . but unless you are a PHD in gas physics you need to have some proper training..
WE here Yes US need to see if Hey ! is there any AMA in the area! is there a way to help that 16 YO with his HS quad project to make it safe to fly ..
If WE dont step up to the plate and do what is right to have OUR hobblie be self regulated then the mindless nuts in Wash DC Will . and then its game over for ALL of us ! .......
Peter ......
Drones are fun and interesting, but I'd rather not have one hovering outside my window or falling out of the sky in the midst of me just enjoying my day.
I guess if you are a manufacturer, the next step is an association that promotes education and safe use. Such an associatiion will be able to negotiate insurance that is much more reasonalble as a group.
But I suspect that one has to admit that the quadcopter may be a passing fad as people begin to demand the operators to be more responsible. Of course, there will always be some legitimate commercial and industrial users and a market to supply them.
Even if you build a larger rugged kite, you are suppose to file a flight plan for it if it poses an hazard to aviation. If your market is for youth and family, I suppose you have to stick with smaller models for the sake of protecting the new learner from themselves.