Yes. Exactly this.

 

The old community self-policed to a large extent and as GarvyRobber says - did it well. It was small, it was responsbile, and they self-policed exactly because they didn't want to be regulated bu the big bad gov't.
The *new* generation of people getting into this hobby - in all forms - aren't as **responsible** as many of the old hats. The availability, the cost, the ease of operation, etc...have all opened up to a whole new segment of the population and now that explosion has gotten out of hand.

Laws/regulations always affect those that play by the rules more so than those who operate outside of the rules.

But the laws/rules are still there to have something on which to hang offenders when they are caught. GR - you are actually not arguing against any type of regulation of this vehicles are you?

What law (take JNB's example of drunk driving laws) is any different?

Full disclosure - I'm not into this hobby and have never been a RC modeler or am I currently interested in operating any type of vechicle which is currently making the news; but I work with quite a few that are involved and do currently operate such vechicles and I am expressing opinions shared by them during conversations.

 

This is an order to register all R/C (unmanned) aircraft operators not their specific aircraft.
This will make it easy to pull up a list of all registered operators in the area if something bad happens or has been reported. Much easier then going out and doing actual investigations.
Knock-knock, may we come in and see your drones?
How long until the media has the list of evil "drone operators" in the local area?
That would make great splashy headlines.

To think we used to hot-glue up flying wings made out of insulation board and throw a receiver into them for hours of fun, under age 13 now it's illegal. The horror. Maybe dad will register with the FAA for you?

It's a sad day for R/C modelers and another nail in the coffin for freedoms.

 

What he said. The problem is developing regulatory language which accurately differentiates between grizzled old skool RC modelers vs. punks with 40lb quadcopters. Kind of like porn...you know it when you see it but it's awful hard to write an accurate legal description that exempts artwork.

 

https://youtu.be/NciePa8sY_U

https://youtu.be/akoJ2zBwX1o

 

I'm really not sure what the above videos are supposed to prove.

The problem is that the media, the public, and now the FAA seem to be unable to differentiate "traditional" R/C model aircraft from "drones". Drones are capable of flying autonomously, require little-to-no pilot skill to fly, have GPS receivers and transmitters, and can even be flow "first person view" via a video transmitter/ground station. These are the things to be concerned about. There no doubt needs to be some regulation and accountability here. For that reason, I'm completely okay with the registration idea.

With that said, the self-governing of traditional model aircraft has worked fine for 80+ years. Of course there are crashes, but with extremely limited exceptions, they harm nobody but the pilot's ego. There is no need for additional regulation on the "traditional" sect of the hobby. What is needed is a way to differentiate the 2 groups, and apply the rules where needed, not "punish" everybody.

I am an avid R/C flyer myself of nearly 20 years, and personally, I have no issue with paying $5 every 3 years to keep the FAA happy. What I am worried about is future regulations which will hamper my ability to legally enjoy my models as I currently (and **SAFELY**) do.

 

I don't represent the FAA and the office doing this is a different branch than mine, but my guess is this isn't so much to regulate, stop malicious operators or punish violators (which is secondary), but to have a way to educate probably the vast majority who have no idea about how our airspace is used and might innocently think there isn't a problem flying at 1,000 feet in a park a few miles from a busy airport. I think this is really about getting contact information so they can send out educational emails.

This explosion of new "drones" is a big unknown and I think they're just acting out of caution until the effects and actual dangers are found out over time. Birds are equally as dangerous and obviously unregulated, but we know their behaviors. Once we've seen the effects of these hobby drones on our airspace, I'm sure the FAA will let up if it's not a problem (like R/C planes and model rockets turned out not to be).

Remember we government workers don't like regulation any more than you, because it means more work for us but the same pay.

 

Very well said!

I've been thinking about it a lot today (day off, spent it at the flying field) and I think I have to give the FAA some credit here. The media has caused public hysteria about these evil flying machines. The FAA, under lots of outside pressure is forced to "do something" to make it look like they are in control, and are keeping the public safe. Voila, mandatory registration. Now, the news can run a bunch of sensational stories about how the FAA has begun to regulate the evil drones, and the public can sleep soundly once again.

I'm beginning to think they are actually doing us a favor here. Other than costing me $5 every 3 years, I am otherwise unaffected (for now). I know that the FAA reauthorization bill in 2012 included a handy little snippet about the FAA not having the authority to regulate recreational model aircraft, hopefully that will keep some sanity in this, going forward.

 

There's definitely some unanswered questions about the new drone registration that I haven't found answers to anywhere:

Pilot information is public record, online, and easily downloadable.
Will drone-registration info also be public record?

If a drone-operator is also a certificated pilot, how do the two relate?
Would an action against a pilot affect his status as a drone-operator? Would an incident when flying a drone impact his status as a pilot?

 

Valid questions. And what is the definition of a catch?

Regulations of this nature regardless of intent, just seem to keep on spiraling into twisted paths of unknowns with repercussions that take their own further twisted paths. Meanwhile, the primary issue is never addressed or resolved in a satisfactory manner. The regulation game is thus played on further and further.