Sigh..yet more high altitude..

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...bad judgement.

This appears to be from the Tampa/St. Pete metro area (FAA Class B airspace). At the top of the ascent (about 4300 feet AGL), the vehicle rotates to what appears to the north and you can plainly see Whitted Airfield (Class D airspace). I'm having a bit of a time discerning which airspace he is in, with no telemetry, but using visual markers (as all good VFR private pilots do), this guy broke pretty much every FAA rule regarding Class B and Class D airspace (class D is restricted 0 to 2500 feet AGL). The Class B ring he was operating in if not in the Class D either had a floor of 3000 feet AGL (broken) or 1200 feet AGL (once again, broken).

Now, I know I'm going to get a reputation around here of being a killjoy, but this isn't any different than what the gentleman from Alabama had happen to him. If someone picks this video out and decides to send it to the FAA, this is going to be all over the news. We really do not need this and should be actively discouraging doing things such as this.

It's also not far from Madill AFB. That's a whole other can of worms that we don't want opened.

EDIT: I also note that in the author's description, he says he discourages altitude tests. That's fine and dandy, but doesn't change the fact that it was done.

OK, my 'get off my lawn rant' is over for the day. :D

Second edit: decided some of my wording was a bit harsh, so toned it a little. Sorry, I don't want to see this hobby regulated into illegality.

Third edit: removed the youtube embed, as the owner removed the video. Probably a smart move. And doing some further looking last night, the person evidently has an account here. I'll stop at that and assume he saw this post.

While that''s a good thing, it doesn't remove the fact that it was done.
 
I don't know what is so fascinating and enticing about flying up high and or out of range of view with FPV equipment. I personally don't like flying up high and I just use my FPV equipment to make sure I'm flying the right path and capturing the video look I want. So many people are ruining this for the few that choose to follow the rules. Going to stuck when it becomes illegal to fly these little machines and or post video from them.
 
Obviously, this was done in Japan. I can tell by the music.

But seriously, I a'm with Freelanceshots. I don't get the whole altitude thing, either.

At that altitude, FPV or not, the pilot lacks the situational awareness to fly safely. Things can happen quickly around 200mph aircraft with souls on board.

When we fly responsibly, our machines are called Phantoms or quadcopters or RC or multirotors. When we make it to the news media, we're flying "drones."
 
video was removed by the user....but i agree. I dont get the whole "super high altitude" thing. I have gone to ~400ft and that is really more than enough. It might be nice to go slightly higher (maybe in the 600 feet range) but its not worth worrying about or getting in trouble over. I am still in the process of getting a FPV set up together but the only reason i want it is so i can ACTUALLY SEE what i am videoing because i feel like i have missed many shots i wanted to get simply because i thought i got them and then found out that i actually didnt. People are idiots. The problem is you have people posting this stuff because these quads are meant to carry a camera. You dont see alot of the stupid stuff other people do because they dont mount a camera. Also you dont see alot of pilots do stupid things because their butt is strapped on the dangerous side of their decision. with quads your safely on the ground and the worst thing that happens to you is that you destroy a giant toy and lose some money.
 
I own quads... and I own guns. Pretty soon my guns will be far less restricted than my quads.

Why?

My guns are very clearly regulated by federal, state and city laws.
(The FAA can't get their cumulative heads out of their cumulative asses.)

One needs to go through a process in order to receive a license to legally own a gun.
(Any dipshit with cash can buy a quad over the InterWeb.)

One needs to be a certain age to own a gun...
(Nope... You got the cash? You got the quad)

My guns are registered and are very easily traced back to me.
(I never saw that nasty drone in my life, officer... Honest!!!)

Most gun owners treat their weapons in a very responsible manner, due to their inherent danger factor.
(see the subject of this topic. Just one case of many. Those two assholes flying their quads over the GW bridge in NY and spotted by a cop copter, is a great case in point. "These are only toys." "We were just havin' fun." )

Guns are clearly far more lethal than quads, but there are far more immature morons flying quads than there are carrying guns. There are more people killed by gunfire per day than may EVER be killed by quads, but quad owners don't have an NRA to keep the wolf from the door.

Quad owners don't have an NRA standing in the way of politicians who are out to make a name for themselves by backing whatever popular topic comes up. Wait... There'll be some ******* with backing coming out strong against quads and it'll be an integral part of his/her platform. Remember that. It's going to happen.

Okay... I'm hopping off the soap box, now... This kind of thing just totally and thoroughly pisses me right the f*** off...

Sad state of affairs...

-slinger
 
gunslinger said:
I own quads... and I own guns.

-slinger

And I don't see anyone arguing with you, so it must be working! :lol:
 
BigTulsa said:
Now, I know I'm going to get a reputation around here of being a killjoy

Welcome to the club! You'll find the opposition groups down the hall and to the extreme right and left. Please wipe your feet before coming in, and make yourself at home.
 

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