Avionics Certifications

[PatR]

Here resides the beginning of the end.

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[Phaedrus]

Won't be long and you'll need an A&P to change your battery.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Won't be long and you'll need an A&P to change your battery.

If a new class of drones comes out....BVLOS, much, much longer range & duration, cargo lift capacity, filed flight plans and assigned N-Numbers.....inspections and Airworthiness Certificates....a new level of pilot license....

Quite possibly so....although, you don’t need any special license to fuel your aircraft....but these probably won’t be these tiny handheld batteries we use now.

ADS-B micro transponders doesn’t surprise me at all.....I’ve been expecting them.

 

[Phaedrus]

FAA has indicated that ADS-B is not going to be used for remote ID of sUAS. They issues a call for ideas earlier this year. But regardless, we are on the sleigh ride to **** as far as FAA oversight and intrusion is concerned.

 

[PatR]

Mini Mode C altitude encoding transponders have been around since 2008 but not certified by the FAA. They have been used in drones extensively in overseas work though, as has TCAS. ADS-B in miniaturized versions has been available since late 2015.

Until today I was not aware how far along the certification path they were. I expect at least one more may soon or has already been certified since a major aerospace outfit is utilizing it.

 

[Phaedrus]

The latest I've seen from the FAA on Remote ID is this:

https://faaco.faa.gov/index.cfm/attachment/download/96167

https://faaco.faa.gov/index.cfm/attachment/download/96166

 

[RPR]

These changes inevitable, and there is little to nothing that we can do about it, but to accept them, and work around them.

I’m certain that the next generation will figure out a way to beat the system as we did. Since we are still kicking and breathing let’s enjoy our end of days... As dinosaurs. [emoji23]

 

[FlushVision]

I received this email from the CAA a couple of weeks ago. Won't be too long before we have it in the U.K.

Email from the CAA

Electronic Conspicuity Solutions: A call for evidence The widespread adoption of Electronic conspicuity (EC), where everything flying sends out an electronic signal identifying it, will be key in achieving safe and sustainable airspace for the UK in the future. The government recognises this and asked us to develop proposals for its UK-wide roll out as part of its Aviation Strategy Green Paper. We have done this via our Airspace Modernisation Strategy that sets out the main initiatives required to upgrade the UK’s airspace structure. Now we have launched a call for evidence about some of our key proposals for the wider roll out of EC in the UK. The output of the call will directly influence the way forward. This call for evidence is open to 25 May 2019. Please submit your response online: https://consultations.caa.co.uk/corporate-communications/e-conspicuity-solutions

 

[Ren57]

I received this email from the CAA a couple of weeks ago. Won't be too long before we have it in the U.K.

I got the same e-mail. When I went into it, the call for 'evidence' is anything but that. It's exactly like the DOT's consultation document last year. In other words the decision has already been made. All that the 'call for evidence' pertains to, is which method will be adopted.

I find it hard to believe, that what started out as a nice little hobby/pastime for me just a few short years ago has come to this. It all started out with just a few common sense guidelines to follow and then suddenly, a few years down the line we are up to our eyes in rules and regulations! And it's not as if drones are actually causing death and destruction on any scale whatsoever. Still not a single death or even life threatening injury (as far as I am aware) caused by a drone. A media driven campaign and nothing but outright scare stories has led to this. Is all this really necessary? I mean really, is it?

 

[FlushVision]

I got the same e-mail. When I went into it, the call for 'evidence' is anything but that. It's exactly like the DOT's consultation document last year. In other words the decision has already been made. All that the 'call for evidence' pertains to, is which method will be adopted.

I find it hard to believe, that what started out as a nice little hobby/pastime for me just a few short years ago has come to this. It all started out with just a few common sense guidelines to follow and then suddenly, a few years down the line we are up to our eyes in rules and regulations! And it's not as if drones are actually causing death and destruction on any scale whatsoever. Still not a single death or even life threatening injury (as far as I am aware) caused by a drone. A media driven campaign and nothing but outright scare stories has led to this. Is all this really necessary? I mean really, is it?

Gotta agree.
I started flying drones at the start of 2015 and went on to get my PfCO once I'd got the hang of it. When I started over 4 years ago it was all fairly relaxed rules wise. Not now.

When I got my PfCO my Ops manual was approved first time I submitted it. The cost for the CAA approval was only a fraction of the cost it is now and if other posts in this forum is anything to go by, people now are far more likely to have their Ops Manuals rejected.

Like you, as far as I'm aware drones have not directly caused death or serious injury. As far as I'm aware I don't believe there has been a single incident of a drone colliding with any manned aviation in the U.K. Contrast that with the number of fatalities on our roads through traffic accidents, train accidents, shipping accidents, etc, etc. The list goes on. Yep, drones have had a bad press from bad journalism which seems to be ****-bent on painting our hobby with crimson death scare stories: The instance, for example, where it was reported that a drone had crashed into a commercial airliner that later turned out to be a plastic bag. The newspaper that reported it (I forget which one) made it front page news but when it later emerged that it was a plastic bag...nothing.

The Gatwick incident late last year is another example. Loads of drone sightings, people wrongly arrested, airport shut down for days...but where is the evidence that a drone had been flown anywhere near that airport at that time? Turned out that even the police put out a comment that they had doubts there was a drone. No images have been produced apart from a highly suspect low quality picture that could have been taken anywhere despite everyone and their dogs having cameras to hand in the shape of mobile 'phones.

I agree with sensible rules so long as they are sensible and proportional. But really, these rules coming through now seem a bit over the top. You are far more likely to be struck by lightening several times over than coming into contact with an errant drone.

 

[Ren57]

Now we have launched a call for evidence about some of our key proposals for the wider roll out of EC in the UK. The output of the call will directly influence the way forward.

Whilst the call for evidence has already been decided. I decided to fill in the consultation document for the proposed charge for drone registration. My response is below.

Online Response
1 What is your name?

Name:
XXXX XXXXXXX
2 What is your email address?
Email:
[email protected]
3 Which option best describes your interest in responding to this consultation?
Drone flying as a hobby
If other please specify:

4 Do you already own a drone?
Yes

5 What is your view on the CAA’s proposed charge, in terms of the level and structure of the charge?
Please add your comments here::

I have many friends that work in the I.T. industry. They have informed me that there already exist off-the-shelf I.T platforms that can perform this function, very cheaply indeed. The charge should be no more than £5 every 3-5 years.

6 Do you have alternative ideas about how the CAA could cover the costs of running the registration scheme?

Yes
If Yes, please add your comments here::

I believe that the charge should not be levied at the drone pilot or operator but should either be levied at the manufacturer at the point of sale or by the parties that feel drone registration is really necessary. For example the union of airline pilots or the CAA itself. Anyone that feels drones are such a threat, despite the fact that there has never been a death or even a life threatening injury caused by a recreational drone ever, anywhere in the world! Or maybe the media should cover the cost, as they are responsible for all the unfounded scare stories regarding drones.

Or the most sensible and obvious option. Which would be to scrap the registration scheme completely, as it is completely unnecessary. Because all the people that fly drones illegally, well they will be the first one's to rush to register won't they?

7 Are the CAA’s estimated volumes appropriate for the make-up of drone operators in the UK, based on existing sources of data and
your own observations?

No
Please add your comments here::

I think the CAA have over estimated the number of drones operated in the UK. In the 5 years that I have been flying drones, including attaining a PFCO (now no
longer operational) I have only ever come across one other person flying a drone.

 

[NorWiscPilot]

Others have stated the following in a few different ways. The bottom line is “the bottom line”:

Using the numbers from this article, Consumer Drones By the Numbers in 2018 and Beyond | News Ledge,

Just for the U.S., can anyone argue the real reason for registration, with regulation actually secondary?

3.55 million units by 2021 x registration fee = “the rest of the story”

Jeff

P.S. don’t forget the renewals!

 

[AH-1G]

MONEY? it makes government feel good for the moment! What other reason is needed?

 

[PatR]

Power and control. Money falls behind those in importance. Only the power of life and death is greater than knowing you have the power to control people and force them to your will.

 

[FlushVision]

Turns out that the proposed charges for registration in the U.K. is likely to be £16.50. A far cry from the estimated cost proposed last year of just £5.00.

OK. £16.50 isn't a lot. It ain't gonna break my bank, but it's still over three times the amount suggested when registration was first muted last year.

 

[AH-1G]

More money, no surprise, inflation!

 

[Ren57]

Turns out that the proposed charges for registration in the U.K. is likely to be £16.50. A far cry from the estimated cost proposed last year of just £5.00.

OK. £16.50 isn't a lot. It ain't gonna break my bank, but it's still over three times the amount suggested when registration was first muted last year.

Yeah, and it'll likely go up up every year. Grrrrr!

 

[AH-1G]

So does my property tax, food and gas, and ............. ?