I don’t see much of a difference between a drone and a RC car or plane. Nothing to my knowledge except endangering the ppl around stops you. Why should drones be different?
They are classified differently (drones vs RC planes). I’m sure a lot of the same restrictions apply, but they are differentiated. One big thing seemed to be RC planes being flown at designated places for that and within those confines.
The more restrictive and lower as you get close is the same, the “upside down wedding cake” analogy is used a lot. That’s why it’s controlled airspace to the ground where I am, I am within something like 4 miles of a towered general aviation airport
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Always best to get a map with the flight radius around the tower. I was also taught to use the upside down birthday cake. That’s the good thing about the internet, you can checkout any restrictions where you are or are planning to go. Some Atlases have those areas defined.
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I used to fly my hang glider under that was an approach to SeaTac airport. Didn’t have to worry much because Seatac was over 25 miles away.
I think the difference is the vertical takeoff from an RC plane.
My daughter who lives off grid had a drone follow her as she was herding some sheep back to their pens. The police had a warrant for some people close by that were occupying a house and doing drugs in. Anytime the LEO drove up they would already be gone. So apparently, they sent in a drone to look around before they drove up/ The place is now cleaned up and vagrants are long gone.
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We’ve shot down 2 of them from deer stands at deer camp. They were trying to harass us because we were hunting. Then they got all balled up because we ruined their toys. Oh well.
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What’s funny is I was talking to some paragliders who had a secret place to fly. They launched on private property and they would then often fly over a wildlife sanctuary. Ppl would yell and scream at them because often they weren’t over 75-100 ft over the ridge line.
Makes you wonder what the Gov. has in mind with drones all of the sudden? The People’s Republik of Illinois just passed a bill through the State House and Senate to let the police use drones.
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Okay, so how is it different than a model RC airplane? When I was a kid I was into modeling and built a 2 channel RC Piper Cub. I’d fly with a local club. Some of the guys had built really sophisticated aircraft capable of hundreds of feet of altitude with four and five channel RC systems. All we ever needed was an FCC license for the radio transmitters.
Has all that changed, and are model airplane hobbyists required to get FAA licenses?
They fly differently, are used differently, and are regulated differently.
I don’t know enough about the models to comment as they are different and all I had to test on was the ‘drones’. But, like, for example, even if you were flying an RC and not a ‘drone’, it would not be legal to just take off on the street in front of my house and fly over our trees/houses as it’s controlled airspace here, so if you go flying anything anywhere, you are going to want to know what airspace you are in because I know even an RC plane can’t fly in controlled airspace whenever it wants (and controlled airspace is not an intuitive thing)
I believe that used in certain locations and within certain restrictions, they don’t need an FAA license.
MIKE ONE-SIXTY-FOUR:
“The cops that showed up pretty much said it’s not illegal for someone to fly a drone around a high rise and look in the windows”…
They would say that wouldn’t they?
Worked for them on 9/11 …and they didn’t have to worry about landing either!
Shouldn’t the Fickle Aeronutical Azzhatz raised a RED FLAG on that one also?
Just sayin’
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They would say that because they are correct.
thats what I did.
had one flying around my house and looking in windows. a well place shot took it down, I have the drone, card and a copy of all the footage. the dummies’ filmed themselves so we are on alert for any strangers around snooping . also the local sheriff is keeping an eye out.
