Anyone into R/C?

Nice! you're gonna love it.

 

So the FAA is now appealing it to the full board, which puts the dismissal on hold... so floodgates closed again.

 

Notice the quotes? I'm fully aware it's not official. All I'll be paying for is the money to join the AMA so I can get some insurance in case I cut a kid's head off or crash into somebody's car.

Mainly an excuse to go out and play with some of DJI's bigger multi-rotors - S800 and S1000 and then a few FPV setups that I'm too cheap to buy myself.

I'll be anxiously awaiting to see how the FAA handles the consumer side of UAV as well as the commercial stuff - like Amazon's Prime Air pipe-dream.

Who you calling kid, kid?

Embry-Riddle up in Daytona seems to have some legit stuff going on with UAV, but until it's recognized by the Fed, it won't mean shit. I'm sure as hell not getting a degree in it. I hated school back when I was in it and I would sure as shit hate it now.

Fink

 

I hear you on the front fender. . I didn't put them on. But I did put on the 3 piece panel kit

 

Forgot to multi-quote this one. I think it depends on the definition of "Commercial UAV" and/or the context in which it is used.

There are lots of Universities and independent contractors that are using UAVs to assist with various things already. University of Canterbury in New Zealand used a fleet of Draganflyer X4-Ps to aid in post earthquake recovery in Christchurch.

Several fire departments in the southeast are looking at using them to survey for hot spots in large, brush/wild fires where firefighters on foot/in brush trucks wouldn't be able to easily navigate.

Orange County Fire Rescue is researching them for use with their SAR teams.

Everglades National Park is also researching (and may be testing) them for use in aiding conservation efforts. I read an article in a local newspaper saying that NASA, due to their proximity, may also be assisting. Relating to NASA, specifically KSC, they provide a ton of assistance to various conservatories in and near their property. Playalinda, a small area of beach directly adjacent to KSC's waterfront, is a heavily regulated conservatory. Same article about NASA assisting the Everglades National Park mentioned Playalinda's efforts and how whatever research on UAVs NASA does for the Everglades could also help Playalinda and surrounding conservatories.

Pretty cool stuff, I think, at least. I mean, listen, we're not talking about Predators here and I think anybody on the consumer/commercial side that makes themselves out to be professionals are just bowing up. I just think the overall technology is badass and it's fun to read about and even more fun to have a quad or two of your own to go out and fly on the weekends. If at some point I could get involved with the aforementioned uses of UAVs, even cooler.

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Took the Phantom out again today - first flight was a few nights ago.

Man...this thing is crazy stable. Shockingly so, actually. Will be taking it out of GPS mode after a few more flights so I can get a feel for that also.

Highly recommend this thing for those wanting to do aerial photography - insanely stable and once you get a feel for it, I imagine you could get some really neat shots when flown right. If you have the balls for it, taking it over water would be cool. I don't trust myself with it enough to do that just yet.

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Keep in mind, AMA insurance only pays if your flying at an AMA sanctioned field and club... if you're flying anywhere else and you file a claim, they will not cover you.

 

Definitely a good point! Here lately I've been flying at random soccer fields and other parks at off-peak times. I'm too new to the Phantom to feel safe around people or cars so I just stay away from it.

So what are your predictions on the consumer/commercial side of UAVs? Do you ever see it becoming a true niche in the aviation world, or will it always sort of be a gray area that never actually takes off (unintended pun)? I'm really interested to see where it goes and how it evolves.

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Picked this up today, just a plain old brushed slash. Local hobby shop is closing and everything was on sale. Got the truck, aluminum wheel hexes, full set of GTR threaded shocks and springs and a few other do-dad's for $320 otd.

 

As you states yourself, researching/looking into. None of that will be legitimate until the FAA figures out how to approach this. Which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. But only time will tell.

 

There are some agencies that are indeed using them, but it's few and far between in the US - Europe is whole different story.

I'm sure it will be an entirely different thing once the FAA makes up their mind.

Fink

 

It will become a niche in aviation, but if believe it will be vastly over regulated as it is the nature of the FAA. I wouldn't be surprised if commercial ops are regulated in the same manner as manned aviation to be honest. I've been flying unmanned for 10+ years and have dealt with the FAA since 2007 when they started actually paying attention to what we were doing.

In the old days, we could simply file a NOTAM and in some cases get a TFR in place... Those days are unfortunately long gone. I've found recently that local FAA folks are willing to work with UAS but the guys in DC who retain control of the UAS office are difficult at best.

 

I completely agree with you and appreciate the perspective.

You have any predictions on what kinds of things the FAA may require of a regular ole' civilian like myself in order to get "certified" or "licensed" to fly them? Do you think there's going to be a cap on the altitude of consumer UAVs? Like the quads I fly, with the exception of the DJI, are just "toy-grade" or "hobby-grade", so we're looking at 100m or less in altitude. This would go for any remote control aircraft, really - fixed-wind, gas-powered, helicopters, etc. - not just what people perceive as "drones".

Thanks again for the perspective.

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The weather in SC was fantastic today. Did some rock crawling with Jeff (Tigerfan00) and another friend. Ran my AX10 and they both ran Wraiths. Began working on a dedicated course today as well.

 

Pics?

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