Preaching fear rather than seeking information and becoming educated.

[kellyjdrummer]

I hope this is in the appropriate board of this forum.

Hey gang. I live just a few miles south of Chattanooga, TN. across the state line in Ringgold, GA. Today, I was online searching for information possibly to lead me to a UAV flying park or preferred area in this locale, 50 miles +/-, if driving is part of the trip.
I ran across this jewel and considered that I should share it here. We see in this Opinion piece that the low information and lack of desire to seek answers is a pall we all, UAV pilots, are stuck with for now. Hopefully things and attitudes will change soon, but I think not here in the south.

Roy Exum: It’s A Drone! Cover Up!

 

[Wingshooter]

I noticed a few things in that Article like restrictions for flying in National Parks. Flying in all National Parks is prohibited now. Then I realized the date of that Article was in June 2014. I believe the level we are at with this now is that people are more informed about drones than they were two years ago.

 

[kellyjdrummer]

I noticed a few things in that Article like restrictions for flying in National Parks. Flying in all National Parks is prohibited now. Then I realized the date of that Article was in June 2014. I believe the level we are at with this now is that people are more informed about drones than they were two years ago.

Yes, I agree and saw the same. I checked the publish date, and there is another date, presumably the paper is running it again, that stated today's date.

I was just amazed at the fear. This is one of the major incentives for me to follow any laws or regulations I know of.

 

[John K. Fitzgerald]

I hope this is in the appropriate board of this forum.

Hey gang. I live just a few miles south of Chattanooga, TN. across the state line in Ringgold, GA. Today, I was online searching for information possibly to lead me to a UAV flying park or preferred area in this local, 50 miles +/-, if driving is part of the trip.
I ran across this jewel and considered that I should share it here. We see in this Opinion piece that the low information and lack of desire to seek answers is a pall we all, UAV pilots, are stuck with for now.Hopefully things and attitudes will change soon, but I think not here in the south.

Roy Exum: It’s A Drone! Cover Up!

Yes this kind of B.S. is in fact the norm. It's a big problem for just about everything in the news these days. it seems that the media is no longer interested in the facts, but rather ratings! The article was just a "fear" piece, no research whatsoever! There are plenty of rules set by the FAA in regards to hobbyist drones. They also didnt mention that removing a drone from the sky carries serious penalties of upto $250,000 fine and 25 years in prison. The FAA sees any flying device over .55 pounds as an aircraft.

It looks like it is up to us to educate the public on the facts. We need to contact our local media and invite them out to see for themselves what these things are really all about. That being said you will find that's easier said than done, as the media is looking for shock value instead of facts. Write an article for the local paper, contact media, do whatever you can to get some positive attention for our sport.

Best of luck to everyone as this will no doubt be an uphill battle!

 

[john*thomas]

I recall the clip of the drone getting knocked out of the air. The guy flying it was flying stupid. If you do that you are going to get negative reactions. He was flying just barely over the heads of a large crowd of people.

I'm not a stickler for rules either.......I point out all the time that the 400 foot recommendation is indeed just a recommendation, not a law. No way I'd fly a couple feet over a crowd and not expect a negative reaction.

 

[John K. Fitzgerald]

I recall the clip of the drone getting knocked out of the air. The guy flying it was flying stupid. If you do that you are going to get negative reactions. He was flying just barely over the heads of a large crowd of people.

I'm not a stickler for rules either.......I point out all the time that the 400 foot recommendation is indeed just a recommendation, not a law. No way I'd fly a couple feet over a crowd and not expect a negative reaction.

No doubt the pilot was an idiot by flying over a crowd in the first place, and flying so low makes it even worse, but the idiot with the t-shirt created an even bigger safety issue when he knocked the drone out of the air, there is no way to know where that drone will end up. It could have easily been deflected right into to someones face. imagine what spinning blades can do to your eyes. which is why the FAA takes that position. And for the record I am a stickler for rules, when it comes to UAV's I think we should have clear cut rules ( coming this June) and we should have to go thru training, testing and earn a drone pilots license. And yes there will always be the idiots that wont follow the rules, but the more people who are trained, the fewer incidents of stupidity there will be. The sky's will be safer!