Unmanned aircrafts, drones take to the sky

By: Art Garcia for The Telegraph

Seen any drones flying overhead lately? Not likely, despite media headlines predicting drones will spark a revolution in commercial aviation in the United States.

Before that can happen, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must complete an expected lengthy period of public review and comment that’s likely to stretch into early 2017.

FAA estimates are that more than 7,000 businesses will obtain drone permits within three years. Meanwhile, what the agency calls small unmanned aircraft systems flying today mostly aren’t drones at all.

They’re quadcopters, remote-controlled craft that resemble miniature multi-rotor helicopters. Drones are flown by the military and used to target and kill enemy insurgents and for surveillance operations.

Some police agencies use camera-equipped quadcopters for security surveillance, but not in Folsom and El Dorado County.

“We have no drones and no conversations have ever taken place to purchase any,” said Sharon Blackburn, spokesperson for the Folsom Police Department.

Sergeant Chris Felton, media contact for the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, said that “at this point, we don’t have any drones, but that’s not to say that in the future that might be something we explore. But at this point, no.”

Properly equipped quadcopters are used for checking agricultural crops, power transmission lines, dam inspections, showing aerial views of homes and property for real estate sales and other occasions in which a bird’s eye view offers a fresh perspective.

While drones can cost tens of thousands of dollars, already assembled quadcopters range in price from about $30 and at the higher end can also reach tens of thousands of dollars, said Mike Orom, hobby department manager at Gold Country Ace Hardware in Cameron Park.

Quadcopters are the hobby shop’s biggest sellers. “What we carry on our shelves run from about $29.99 on up to about $1,000,” he said. The store can order more expensive models from distributors. The shop also carries motion picture cameras for quadcopters.

Some of his quadcopters come with motion picture or still cameras.

“I have one at $59.99 that has a small high-definition video camera built into its body,” Orom said. “I have others that carry a GoPro style camera or whatever kind of camera you want to put on it.”

Brandon, the manager at Fast Track Hobbies in Rocklin, who preferred not to give his last name, makes it clear he doesn’t sell drones.

“I sell quadcopters,” he said. “A drone is something you can program and fly from your computer. A quadcopter is something you actually fly, like a model airplane.”

He said he sells four to five quadcopters a week, priced from $50 to $1,700.

Mike Pham, manager at the HobbyTown USA store in Folsom, a franchise outlet owned by Steve and Karen Romito of El Dorado Hills, also rings up steady sales of quadcopters carrying price tags of $40 to $300 for entry level models and “nicer ones” that go for $1,000 to $4,000.

Quadcopter sales have been “pretty steady,” he said. “Interest is really growing. They’re fun. You should try it.”

http://www.folsomtelegraph.com/article/3/03/15/unmanned-aircrafts-drones-take-sky