They're allowed to fly below 10,000 feet. If you're in a military flight path I doubt you're allowed to fly drones. We have a public use airport, MOA and Coast Guard station around here. So we get Coast Guard choppers, military fighter jets and general aviation aircraft. The military pilots have managed to cause a forest fire that burned down dozens of homes and strafed my niece and nephew's grammar school by mistake. And now we'll get drone testing too. Fun times.

Here's a good article and show on drone use.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/the-age-of-the-drone

i warmly welcome very strict laws against as-s holes running drones.

That's easy for people to say when they're not small video producers like myself that can't afford to get a pilot's license for something no more dangerous than the thousands of gas-powered radio control airplanes already out there.

The beauty of the DJI Phantom, etc. is that their low cost allows producers like me to provide a great service to our clients at an affordable rate.

We are seeing a knee-jerk reaction to some technology. I pointed out to a friend that we have had model airplanes, radio controlled, with cameras, for fifty years. He started shouting, "but they aren't armed! People will put weapons in these drones..."

They are model airplanes and helicopters. They have nice cameras, and limited lift capabilities. Taking photos from the air, would be fun, but I can't afford a plane (see above) heck I can't even afford a "Drone".

People are going overboard with the dangers and getting all excited about a toy. UAVs are not drones.

Now if citizen had armed drones, yes I'd get quite upset. Also as people have pointed out back on other pages, if I had them buzzing my back yard, or invading my privacy, I'd be tempted to shoot one down. (probably illegal on my part) The laws say you can't fly within five miles of a commercial airport. The electronics is being programmed to prevent the UAVs from flying in restricted airspace.

Like anything else in this world, most people are responsible and the news will stir up interest using the exceptions. This is the same with "drones" and sensationalism about incidents. Come on , they have been around for 50 years!

I'll add this: Automobiles were so alarming to livestock that Vermont passed a state law requiring a person to walk in front of a car carrying a red warning flag, and some rural counties banned them altogether.

Pennsylvania 1896, when legislators unanimously passed a bill through both houses of the state legislature, which would require all motorists piloting their "horseless carriages", upon chance encounters with cattle or livestock to (1) immediately stop the vehicle, (2) "immediately and as rapidly as possible... disassemble the automobile," and (3) "conceal the various components out of sight, behind nearby bushes" until equestrian or livestock is sufficiently pacified. (it was fortunately vetoed by the Governor)

Technology and toys. These things are hardly able to lift themselves and a GoPro. That's a personal UAV.

Now if someone is asking about something that can fly a DSLR, which starts to get large and powerful, I'd say there need to be regulations on who can fly them and where.

But lets not lump everything that flies a little camera into the same class as an armed drone that carries a rocket!

We are seeing a knee-jerk reaction to some technology. I pointed out to a friend that we have had model airplanes, radio controlled, with cameras, for fifty years. He started shouting, "but they aren't armed! People will put weapons in these drones..."

YES they will ... because this tech is not cumbersome as the old radio-controlled cr-ap sold in toy stores in the past, drones work out of the box, they're a turn-key solution unlike the old kits requiring hacks and a technical background.

the octo-copters on sale now (3-4000$) can pull up as much as 5-6kg of load and they've 15-30 minutes of battery ... that's way more than enough to carry small bombs or remote-controlled weapons.

It seems to me that people using UAVs commercially (like myself) are more likely to be responsible and to have insurance than hobbyists. It feels like the FAA is focusing the regulation in the wrong direction.

Yeah big difference between Drones which are primarily Military armed 1/2 scale unmanned aircraft compared to the general public's tiny little model aircraft!

That's what I was trying to say before. Also I did write that the little ones will barely carry a GoPro or extra battery pack. The big expensive ones are a different problem.

Commercial use, units with heavy lifting or larger mass themselves, should be regulated. Hobby use, even one of us shooting with a sport camera, is just having some fun.

The commercial label just confuses things terribly.

Lets say "Professional Photography" and now I want people to explain who's a professional or not. Then go back to "Commercial" and tell me, someone making 28 cents is a professional doing commercial work?

Let me straighten out what I'm writing. The size of the craft and the weight, is more important than labeling someone who makes a photo for sale as commercial. That's not the same as a TV camera flying over some news scene. Defining the USE, doesn't change the person at the controls, or make them more responsible or less responsible.

Don't prejudge.

Quote from: elvinstar on February 22, 2015, 19:22

It seems to me that people using UAVs commercially (like myself) are more likely to be responsible and to have insurance than hobbyists. It feels like the FAA is focusing the regulation in the wrong direction.

http://dailycaller.com/dc_polls/dcpoll2-2-poll-craft/?utm_campaign=DCEmailAcquisition&utm_source=Facebook_CRAFT&utm_medium=CNWS_DRNS1a

And I am among 12 %  NO voters.

RC forever

Here's a cheap way to get a decent (from the reviews that I've read) UAV:

http://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_113550.html

World's first Drone Film Festival kicks off in NYC

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/28292835/worlds-first-drone-film-festival-kicks-off-in-nyc

They are coming ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcV71liAMwc