Flying a drone.

[Steve Kennedy]

An observation. Flying a drone requires responsibility. Not everyone is comfortable with an airborne camera hanging around and you must respect that - privacy is important. Before I "take off" I check for other aircraft and listen for engines - if I see or hear, I ground myself. We live in a warning zone here due to a nearby aerodrome and my drone knows it. The developers were wise enough to provide the software to know this anywhere in North America (perhaps the World?) and constant updates are added and I load them. Here, I am limited to 100-120 metres altitude but the drone is capable of 500 metres elsewhere. In fact I saw a video of the same model (DJI Spark) taken to 1 km but he was "assaulted" by other drone "pilots" for being irresponsible for modifying the software and reaching that altitude and rightly so, be responsible. If you plan to buy one of these, follow the rules. Transport Canada and the U.S. FAA is watching us. There are many more considerations using one of these toys and tools so use your head.

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[notime4fun]

Unfortunately there are a few who do not get it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530AZ using Tapatalk

 

[lmel2005]

An observation. Flying a drone requires responsibility. Not everyone is comfortable with an airborne camera hanging around and you must respect that - privacy is important. Before I "take off" I check for other aircraft and listen for engines - if I see or hear, I ground myself. We live in a warning zone here due to a nearby aerodrome and my drone knows it. The developers were wise enough to provide the software to know this anywhere in North America (perhaps the World?) and constant updates are added and I load them. Here, I am limited to 100-120 metres altitude but the drone is capable of 500 metres elsewhere. In fact I saw a video of the same model (DJI Spark) taken to 1 km but he was "assaulted" by other drone "pilots" for being irresponsible for modifying the software and reaching that altitude and rightly so, be responsible. If you plan to buy one of these, follow the rules. Transport Canada and the U.S. FAA is watching us. There are many more considerations using one of these toys and tools so use your head.

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This is a good point.

We must use our brain, for every activity. The task is to keep safe ourselves and the others.

 

[Steve Kennedy]

Absolutely right. Use your brain and stay "on your toes". All too often there are those that put aircraft and thus, our "sport" in a bad light. I do not know where you are but here, Transport Canada has turned a watchful eye on us and like the United States, is considering licencing and mandatory liability insurance. This could be very costly.

 

[John Harvey]

Fly safely and be responsible,,,,

 

[alekaras]

Don't do anything stoopid.

 

[Miket]

I have great difficulty understanding what all the fuss is about. How is our hobby so dangerous and pose such a great threat to the safety and privacy of the public.
The safety of manned aircraft is a valid concern. This is taken care of by imposing a maximum flying height. This is currently advised, if not regulated by law, to be 400ft, with sensible no fly zones Let's assume that if these rules are complied with there will be no problems.
We have a responsibility to fly sensibly and to not put any other persons safety at risk and not to intentionally invade anyone's privacy. If any of us do stupid things that affect other people or property there are enough laws and penalties available already.
Simple isn't it.
The technology in our aircraft is quite advanced at the moment, and manufacturers like dji are continually working towards advancing the safety and efficiency of them.
Come on people, get off our backs and please don't look for problems and threats that do not exist.
Sensible regulations are to our benefit, and we should be thankful to have guidelines that we can see the need for, and that protect us from the reckless minority among us, that if left to their own devices, could give us all a bad name.

 

[TimmyG]

I have great difficulty understanding what all the fuss is about. How is our hobby so dangerous and pose such a great threat to the safety and privacy of the public.
The safety of manned aircraft is a valid concern. This is taken care of by imposing a maximum flying height. This is currently advised, if not regulated by law, to be 400ft, with sensible no fly zones Let's assume that if these rules are complied with there will be no problems.
We have a responsibility to fly sensibly and to not put any other persons safety at risk and not to intentionally invade anyone's privacy. If any of us do stupid things that affect other people or property there are enough laws and penalties available already.
Simple isn't it.
The technology in our aircraft is quite advanced at the moment, and manufacturers like dji are continually working towards advancing the safety and efficiency of them.
Come on people, get off our backs and please don't look for problems and threats that do not exist.
Sensible regulations are to our benefit, and we should be thankful to have guidelines that we can see the need for, and that protect us from the reckless minority among us, that if left to their own devices, could give us all a bad name.

The problem is that any fool can fly a drone. You don't see rc heli pilots maxing out their range and fly beyond line of sight or 400ft in the air. Heli and fixed wing pilots just don't do this. Drone pilots do

 

[suprPHREAK]

Once upon a time, to get into RC, required building your plane nearly from scratch, from a kit you bought at a local hobby shop. Then you had to go to a local hobby field (towns long since had bans on RC in parks), where you would need to demonstrate you were capable of flying and earn your wings, then you could fly there. Along the way you were given safety tips, schooled in rules and regulations. AMA hobbyists were operating like a mini-aviation sector, behaving like pilots in their regard for safety. They actually understand aeronautics and how planes work.

You didn't have automatic RTH, so you didn't fly beyond your control link. Some put cameras, but FPV is pretty new in the timeline. Just took pics on a timer, but even then, you were at a hobby field nowhere near people.

Now you walk into Best Buy and walk out with a drone and fly it over someone's pool a mile away and perv on their daughter sunbathing in full HD. Or something.

When access becomes for the masses, people start to realize the masses are full of idiots.

 

[Spark 317]

Once upon a time, to get into RC, required building your plane nearly from scratch, from a kit you bought at a local hobby shop.

So true.

A buddy of mine has always liked aviation and built his first RC plane in high school.

It took him about a month with the glueing of balsa wood, doping the skin, installations of servos and painting it to his liking.

He then practiced taxiing it around his driveway for a week getting used to the controls.

On his first flight in the country, it lasted about 30 seconds due to a crash.
Rather than getting mad, he commented that he should have spent a little more time and money to install aileron's for better control.

This was his first (and last) beacase it's a pricey hobby on a high school budget back in the day.

 

[lmel2005]

The problem is that any fool can fly a drone. You don't see rc heli pilots maxing out their range and fly beyond line of sight or 400ft in the air. Heli and fixed wing pilots just don't do this. Drone pilots do

And any fool can drive a bicycle. Are bicycles a threat?

Drones are not a threat. They are pieces of technology, and in a few years they will fly all over the sky, and none will pay attention.

As every activity, when it becomes common to the masses, authorities run to regulate it, and usually regulations are stupid and without logic at the beginning. As technology is getting mature, things go better.

Until now, drones are pretty safe, and they will become safer.

The paranoia about "idiots who destroy our hobby" must stop. There are laws for those who put life and safety in danger.

RC "pilots" who could build a GPS flying machine, with capability to return home, of course are doing range tests. Also, some of those "fools" who fly long distance and higher than 120m, are RC hobbyists and very responsible and capable. I know some of them.

 

[notime4fun]

Those laws became about because idiots put others in danger, and therefore we all suffer the increasing regulations. Its real not paranoia.

 

[lmel2005]

Danger of drones, is already regulated.
Everyone who flies dangerously, violates some existing law and rule.

There's no danger not been regulated already.

 

[Miket]

Danger of drones, is already regulated.
Everyone who flies dangerously, violates some existing law and rule.

There's no danger not been regulated already.

There are many reasons why regulating our quads to death WILL happen. We are a society that is controlled in everything we do or would like to do. Risk assessment is an idiotic practice born initially out of fear of being sued for compensation, for people who should have known better, than to carry out practices under circumstances that had probable bad consequences. In other words stupid people. This has been taken way over the top to the point where the limits are only governed by the 'imagination' of the people making the rules. Driving a car, motorcycle, bicycle etc. etc. etc. carries risks. Everything we do in life carries risks. This does not mean we should not do anything! We should just do them in a way that minimises risk to ourselves and others. We have to be allowed to be responsible for the consequences of our actions, not stopped doing things 'just in case!'
Our problem is that we are going to be regulated by people who are earning a living doing it, and do not fly drones, do not know anything about drones and the safety technologies that are evolving, and because of this only have the power of their imagination to come to conclusions.
I will be flying as much as possible in the near future, just in case new regulations cause me to be grounded due to all the pleasure being taken out of our sport.

 

[Driverman930]

To bad we are not like the NRA people abuse guns everyday they have regulations yet anyone can just go to Walmart and buy one. They have the power to lobby. I think big business wants are air space. And we not going to be able stop them.

 

[Putz]

To bad we are not like the NRA people abuse guns everyday they have regulations yet anyone can just go to Walmart and buy one. They have the power to lobby. I think big business wants are air space. And we not going to be able stop them.

Since you were the one who decided to bring up the NRA in a drone forum, I'll let you explain to me how you feel that I personally abuse guns everyday? Also please explain your comment about how anyone can go into Walmart and buy a gun? Walmart like every other retailer has to follow background checks. Finally please explain how this even remotely fits into a dji spark forum?

 

[Driverman930]

Since you were the one who decided to bring up the NRA in a drone forum, I'll let you explain to me how you feel that I personally abuse guns everyday? Also please explain your comment about how anyone can go into Walmart and buy a gun? Walmart like every other retailer has to follow background checks. Finally please explain how this even remotely fits into a dji spark forum?

people abuse guns everyday where is YOUR name in that statement general statement not met anything personal! And the NRA is well organized thats what I am saying not endorsing them don't read something into this that was not met.