Drones and airplanes

[Martin-O2]

Hey guys, 

The collision between a drone and an Airbus A320 on April 17th is now thought not to be a drone but something else. The investigation has been closed as no evidence of a drone or any other UAV has been found, however the object that collided with the plane is currently unknown and speculation is that it was "floating debris".

This incident along with several other near misses over the past few years has opened up the wider question of drone regulation and licencing. 

What are peoples thoughts on this? Do you think drones are just an extension of the long established hobby of flying remote controlled aircraft or are they a new kind of problem that need governmental regulation to prevent potential disasters?  

Full story here

[Cleoriff]

I think @viridis has or had a drone in the past....

The implications are endless though. Weren't Amazon considering drones at one point to assist with deliveries?

Yes I thought so...

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/exclusive-amazon-reveals-details-about-1343951725436982.html

[gmarkj]

I think that drones are just a more widespread version of the aircraft hobby.
That they are more accessible and cheaper to buy/maintain, and can include things like cameras and be programmed to follow an object or a path just means that they are more useful to the general public.
I would imagine that the rules around flying replicas already exists but is not widely known (haven't done any research into this as you might have guessed) but is also out of date due to advances in technology.
Until the use starts to go through courts (either criminal or civil) there is likely to continue to be an black hole around the allowed use.
That being said, it should be obvious that flying these in or around airports or airfields is a big no, with both a H&S impact and the risk of prosecution in the event of an incident.
Even using one with a camera in your back garden is dodgy...

edit - the bbc have a link in the article to the rules for flying (Dronecode article on BBC)

In summary - not within 50m of buildings or public, in sight of operator and no more than 500m away, max height of 122m.

[viridis]

Always a few moronic idiots ruining something great and fun.
I can take wonderful images from the sky of fields and tree canopies with sunset hitting the horizon....
...why some absolute prize prat needs to film aircraft landing at Heathrow is beyond me.

[Bambino]

There have been incidences in the US with people shooting them down, which, although you may not believe it, is actually against the law. Even though the incident at Heathrow was proved to not be a drone, it's only a matter of time before it really does happen. As per usual, it will take a major disaster before more stringent laws about where you can and cannot fly them are brought in.

[Cleoriff]

Thing is it hit the headlines as 'a drone hit the plane'...It has been proved now that it wasn't a drone....

I doubt the media will issue a retraction though...

[jonsie]

As well as the danger of morons potentially risking airplanes, I'm very concerned about privacy issues. There is a guy in the next avenue continually flying drones over peoples gardens with the obvious intent of filming people and activities. I can understand people in the US shooting them down in fairness.

[Martin-O2]

I think you guys have nailed it here. They hobby craft as been going for years without any issue but was always a small community of dedicated people. Once these things get in the hands of the wider public there will always be a few idiots to spoil the fun for others. 

I'm sure even if the private use is heavily regulated we will still be seeing a sky full of drones in the near future. As mentioned above Amazon and other big firms are looking at using drones for deliveries. 

We might be seeing one two of these pop up in big cities as a hub for commercial drones! 

Source

[gmarkj]

the bbc article I linked to does say you are not allowed to fly it within 50m of the public. a small word before calling the professionals may be in order...

[Martin-O2]

@gmarkj An interesting read!  If people would be considerate with there use then we would see far less objections to general use by the public.