March 16, 2014 Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304914904579441052310129582-lMyQjAxMTA0MDEwNzExNDcyWj
It appears we are cleared for take off.
It appears we are cleared for take off.
Federal Judge Grounds FAA's Regulation of Drones
- Thread starter mediaguru
- Start date
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Thats an opinion piece.
Its also incorrect in several regards.
Its a political opinion.
The fact remains that the FAA, as mandated by Congress, has authority over U.S. airspace. The holding in the Pirker case is stayed while on appeal.
If in fact the holding is upheld on appeal, then the FAA will in all likelihood put in place an emergency rule clearly defining UAV as aircraft. If there arent clear designations on weight/size, then this will ground many many hobbyists.
Many people are thrilled over the Judge's holding, but they fail to see that its forcing the FAA into a position that will likely only hurt many hobbyists and commercial venture users. In the past the FAA looked the other way and had their 1981 advisory on model aircraft giving recommended voluntary limitations on their usage. This worked rather well for several decades. But now we are faced with having many more of these vehicles, which are more accessible and easier to operate, and also represent a greater threat to commercial aviation. There is simply no way the FAA can look the other way and ignore under 50lb UAV's as model aircraft and therefore have no applicable regulations on their use. To do so would not only violate their mandate to safely operate our airspace, but would endanger countless lives.
Its also incorrect in several regards.
Its a political opinion.
The fact remains that the FAA, as mandated by Congress, has authority over U.S. airspace. The holding in the Pirker case is stayed while on appeal.
If in fact the holding is upheld on appeal, then the FAA will in all likelihood put in place an emergency rule clearly defining UAV as aircraft. If there arent clear designations on weight/size, then this will ground many many hobbyists.
Many people are thrilled over the Judge's holding, but they fail to see that its forcing the FAA into a position that will likely only hurt many hobbyists and commercial venture users. In the past the FAA looked the other way and had their 1981 advisory on model aircraft giving recommended voluntary limitations on their usage. This worked rather well for several decades. But now we are faced with having many more of these vehicles, which are more accessible and easier to operate, and also represent a greater threat to commercial aviation. There is simply no way the FAA can look the other way and ignore under 50lb UAV's as model aircraft and therefore have no applicable regulations on their use. To do so would not only violate their mandate to safely operate our airspace, but would endanger countless lives.
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