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Amazon's Desire for Drone Control and more $$

Bear in mind Amazon sits on the committee that formulated the remote ID NPRM. As they will profit from it the NPRM could well be unconstitutional as it would be a national law specifically intended to benefit private corporations.
 
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"For additional safety, drones will fly at low altitudes (for example, below 400 feet) so it would be very unlikely for them to be in the same airspace as aeroplanes or helicopters.“
That is to say, model aircraft makers, UAV Pro and leisure users, freed up our airspace.
In a way ...................
 
Aside from the elephant in the room: “who will actually benefit from tighter regulations and a low level [altitude] management system”...

I can see said system working in class b,c,d,e airspace, given those locations are likely to have the “network” available for the needed aircraft location communications.

What I do not see is the same system working in class g airspace, due to spotty availability of the same communications network.

I also cannot see an aircraft delivering medicine for a sick child, at night, (or in daylight, for that matter) without a heck of a lot more technology involved to avoid power lines, cables, masts, oh... and trees, to name just a few. Maybe it can succeed out in the desert, but not in high density locations, whether urban or forest.

I am hopeful @PatR is correct, among other opinions and facts presented in these pages and elsewhere, as to the legality of all proposed.

Jeff
 
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The technology is already there. The surface of the earth has been accurately mapped, updated frequently, down to 1/2m accuracy. For the right customers, highly detailed aerial maps with elevations are available that make flight planning pretty easy. I’ve used one of the military versions. Good stuff and you won’t miss your mark. Drop a target on the grid and an aircraft can self navigate right to it.
 
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The technology is already there. The surface of the earth has been accurately mapped, updated frequently, down to 1/2m accuracy. For the right customers, highly detailed aerial maps with elevations are available that make flight planning pretty easy. I’ve used one of the military versions. Good stuff and you won’t miss your mark. Drop a target on the grid and an aircraft can self navigate right to it.

I stand enlightened!
 
I've read a few articles which claim the Amazon delivery system may not work in the UK, they have a test facility in Cambridgeshire, but will see.
Carl Roche, Temple’s colleague at Osborne Clark, points out one “fly in the ointment”, with property law providing that a home owner actually owns the airspace above their property “up to the height which is ‘necessary’ for the ordinary use and enjoyment of that property.” But as Roche notes, it doesn’t say what that height is, and there’s little help from the Civil Aviation Act. “This creates a situation where it is unclear whether drone deliveries are compatible with existing property law,” Roche noted, and the government may need to step in.

All of that may sound like the boring piece of the drone puzzle, but it’s regulation, rather than technology, that’s actually holding back airborne deliveries. “If we had regulatory permission, we’d be delivering to your house right now,”
 
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It might be said that “private” airspace access is provided in an unspoken agreement when an order is placed that requires delivery. I haven’t seen a purchase agreement that specifically lists how package delivery is to be made.
 
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It might be said that “private” airspace access is provided in an unspoken agreement when an order is placed that requires delivery. I haven’t seen a purchase agreement that specifically lists how package delivery is to be made.

A good point. Trying to press charges of trespass against UPS for entering your property and leaving a package on your front porch isn’t likely to succeed. By agreeing to and paying Shipping Fees you’ve entered into an implied agreement allowing the shipper access to your property.

I don’t see how this helps the property overflight issue @Mrgs1 brings up though. Just because my neighbor ordered something does not give UPS the right to enter my property. (I’m thinking UK)
 
What will deemed an economic delivery? Which isn't delivered in a van by self employed cheap labour, working up to a 17 hour shift? I'm talking UK here, not sure how Amazon delivers in US? I suspect it will still be the vast majority of deliveries will be on the road, it's only a specific, weight restricted delivery possibly? Last minute, same day delivery operation. Everything is distributed from a main central warehouses here then sometimes has to travel hundreds of miles to get to a depot which will finally deliver, of course deliveries within the main depot coverage are perfect, not sure if no fly zones will be waived if it's in a restricted area, I think for the vast majority on the fringes outside the delivery area, it's still going to be a van.
 
A good point. Trying to press charges of trespass against UPS for entering your property and leaving a package on your front porch isn’t likely to succeed. By agreeing to and paying Shipping Fees you’ve entered into an implied agreement allowing the shipper access to your property.

I don’t see how this helps the property overflight issue @Mrgs1 brings up though. Just because my neighbor ordered something does not give UPS the right to enter my property. (I’m thinking UK)

I’m fairly sure drone flights over private property will be “grandfathered” with flights of full scale. At least in the U.S. part of the reason our Supreme Court didn’t create a “hard deck” or create an altitude referencing ownership of private airspace was to limit/prevent private property owners filing suit to prevent over flight of full scale aircraft, which would severely limit private and commercial air traffic and bring the court system to an immediate halt with a back up of airspace suits.

We also might consider many U.S. police departments employ a hard deck of 200’ above private property for flights of their helicopters and other aerial assets, viewing 200' as the upper limit of private property rights. The FAA could, at their whim, arbitrarily establish a height limit for private airspace rights as they have already deemed they own all the airspace above ground level to 60,000’ or so.

Any way we look at it we are dealing with a government agency. Government is controlled by whomever is putting the most cash in their pockets. It’s quite evident with the remote ID NPRM that big business is using the DOT/FAA as a “front” to mandate new regulations for the express financial benefit of select corporate entities. It’s entirely possible the regulatory bill was written by corporations and handed to the FAA for publication and incorporation into law.

We must not be naive and believe governments are looking at the best interests of the public. The only reason governments consider the public at all is because the general public is the source of a constant revenue stream, extortion in the form of taxes intended to exempt a privledged few from the law, a source that can be tapped at will whenever governments want more money.
 
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The NPRM is poorly written and based on assumptions that low ball its cost, complexity of execution, and privacy implications. Hobbyists and small businesses will be harmed if the NPRM is implemented as presently written. For example, off-loading flight record tracking and flight records keeping to the private sector without requiring accountability when these records are shared with law enforcement as is the plan, puts all of our personal information at risk with each aircraft that we register with the FAA. That is the gist of the privacy issue, but privacy is only one of the many problems with the NPRM. Do more than read the executive summary. Read the NPRM and comment to the FAA and your elected representatives or forget about flying, because its intention is to ground everyone except the big commercial interests who wrote it.
 
I read the NPRM, well at least the parts that effect consumer drone flyers. Pat is right that the proposal smacks of heavy commercial influence without much consideration of the rest of us. First of all, I think it's ridiculous that the FAA lumps all UAS from 0.55 to 55 lbs. (250g to 25,000g) into one regulatory category. Virtually all consumer drones weigh under 4.4 lbs. (2000g). I think UAS that weigh 4.4 lbs. or less should be handled differently than the larger drones required for package delivery and other commercial work. Also, these larger UAS that need to fly beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) for package delivery should bear the burden of proof that they will not run into other drones as well as people, structures, trees, cars, etc. Applying their remote ID regulations to all UAS will increase the cost of buying and flying consumer drones and make it very difficult for hobbists who like to build from kits. BE SURE TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO THE FAA.
 

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