Martin3977

Hi guys,
I am an airplane enthusiast as well as a 107 licensed drone pilot. I fly responsibly and by the FAA rules and use common sense. I realize that a lot of you have concerns on the safety over drones and how they are being used . The latest Rash of drones shutting down airports has me concerned and really questioning the validity of all the claims and if there isn’t some sort of hidden agenda. Also what more of a perfect way to get something eliminated then to claim seeing a threat and shutting down an airport. As with most of the sightings, nothing has been proven nor no evidence other than hearsay. All this paranoia over drones need to be stopped and the fact that when a pilot sees something floating in the air ,now it’s automatically a drone, for instance the last sighting over Teterburo, seeing two drones at 3500ft 30 ft off the wing?? Come on guys, let’s get real. This blame drones has gotten out of hand. All it takes is one person to say it looked like a drone , induce paranoia and shut down an airport. But yet it’s amazing that no proof ever comes to light, just hearsay.

JamesNoBrakes

Pilots have better things to do than file drone reports if they don't have to. This is a real threat, when you look at the number of sightings, substantiated sightings, and impacts, this is actually happening. You can also plot out a catastrophic/critical situation from those data, looking at probabilities of occurrences (like mid-air collisions between aircraft).

It used to be that putting together a model airplane and learning to fly it was a big barrier that ensured only fairly responsible people operated them. One time, I found one in my traffic pattern at my altitude, just off my wing, but the frequency of those kinds of occurrences were exceptionally rare. Now, the economy of scale and technology allows anyone to go buy and fly, very few controls (like some other industries these days, but I digress). I have talked to pilots that have had encounters and I have no reason to dispute them. The evidence may be hard to get, as it would require radar, some way to pinpoint origin sites, video surveillance, etc., but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I've done outreach on this myself, to UAS pilots. I've also found situations where they were being operated unsafely, such as over people, in the vicinity of airports, etc.

It's similar to the laser pointer issue. It's a real problem. There aren't enough barriers anymore to keep irresponsible people from gaining this technology. The best thing you can do is advocate within your community, report those that are using them against the rules, outreach to commercial pilots and airports, etc. It is clear to most pilots that if better barriers aren't enacted, there will eventually be a critical event where one goes into an engine, structurally compromises an aircraft, etc. That's just a matter of time given the data that already exists.

Martin3977

James
While I agree with what you are saying, it doesn't take much nowadays , especially with the latest reports of drone sightings and with all the news reports , having the thought in the back of your head when something is sighted from an aircraft. That would be the first thing to think of logically when something is seen. It may have been two drones (not likely) or it could of been some kids birthday balloons.
No doubt the technology is there, but that doesn't mean that everything that is seen from an aircraft is a drone either. Pilots make mistakes, especially in a busy cockpit. Thats what makes us human.
I certainly don't want anything major to happen because of a drone. Almost Everytime there is a reported sighting, and nothing is proven, no evidence is found, it gives all of us legal and moral fliers who are following the rules a big black eye and more regulation, all in the interest of public safety and Paranoia.

JamesNoBrakes

Maybe some of the time, but I do this for a living and I can assure you that these events are happening. Again, just because we aren't finding a drone sticking out of an airplane doesn't encounters are not happening, heck we have footage from the drones themselves showing they are in approach paths, proximity of airports, etc. What are all these examples you have of it "not happening"?

EasternATC

Well, it does appear that the Gatwick closures were much ado about nothing.

Martin3977

James,
Thats the problem. Right now there is no way to prove either or, right now , when a pilot states he seen a drone close , 30ft to the wing, thats what its is , weather on not it was ,Case closed, all because of the negative views on them, and the perceived risk, and everyone runs with it and the damage is done. There is no doubt that some are factual, but no way in every case. I don't blame you guys at all for being concerned, I would be too, but before that drone word is casted across the evening news started by some pilot that thought he saw one, they need to be 100% positive thats what it was.
Eastern,
You are completely right, someone reported seeing drones and the airport was shut down, nothing was found , police even interrogated an innocent couple , just because they new they had interest in the hobby. Probably just another person afraid of drones.
I just find it interesting how the shutdowns across the pond are spreading just like the Paranoia against drones. I guess its the guilty until proven innocent world we live in.

Excargodog

What it is is a LIABILITY and RISK MANAGEMENT issue.

Now personally, I would be willing to bet that I could survive hitting the average drone with a Piper Cub and emerge with less than a thousand dollars damage and no personal injury, but it isn’t about me
and it isn’t necessarily about an average drone either, it’s about both the safety AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF THAT RISK BY THE PASSENGERS IN BACK.

Our carriage agreement doesn’t say that we are going to fly the aircraft in a situation where we might be hit by a small kamikaze doing something the FAA has already deemed both illegal and unsafe. If we were to voluntarily do that, even if no damage whatever occurred, we buy the liability of “psychological trauma” by every white knuckle passenger aboard as well as any that really don’t give a damn but see a chanc3 to make a fast buck. And if we really do hit something, both the equipment cost and the PTSD claims are going to skyrocket, and that’s just the TYPICAL drone.

Drones are getting bigger

https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-t...git-180963214/

And although illegal without a waiver from the FAA, some of these puppies can go up to 18,000 feet.

https://www.dronethusiast.com/high-a...ones-for-sale/

So no, this isn’t much ado about nothing and the damn things need to be reined in.

And yeah, while your at it, get off of my lawn and out of my airspace.

Martin3977

Lol, they are working on reigning them in, Well DJI is anyway. Mine won't go any higher than 1600ft Period. I personally won't go any higher than 400.
Yes I get they are a risk and a liability to all aircraft, hence my thinking that it wouldn't take much influence to start causing false claims of seeing some and getting airports shut down to expedite more regulation and possible banning to eliminate the said risk. And with the fear people would believe it. There are alot of pilots out there , and alot of them would like to get rid of drones altogether. As well as alot of government that wants to see more regulation.

rickair7777

What's going to end up happening, is they are all going to have built-in hard boundaries to keep them out of controlled airspace. Updated daily before flight to account for TFR's. Access to controlled airspace by prearranged exception.

It's too easy for just about anybody to obtain and use one of these things. By far the lowest common denominator in the skies. Too low, and it's going to get fixed. Unless the entire drone community can demonstrate remarkable collective self-restraint and avoid any incidents which scare the 121 community. Or even the 91 community. Good luck with that.

We'll know soon enough.

JamesNoBrakes

What do you mean, in that it didn't happen?, or they just never found the people responsible? There's a big difference there. One example isn't going to prove much either...There are numerous examples where it did happen, including video footage from the drone itself. Unfortunately, that doesn't often lead to prosecution by itself, because there's no proof necessarily that the person that posted the video is the one that operated the drone, but this is absolutely happening. I've been "fortunate" enough to have been lasered a couple times and I know many other commercial pilots have been as well. Not believing that these things are happening is naive. To all the drone pilots that are making sure to operate as to not create a hazard, who have gone through all the right channels and hoops, thank you.