What Are We Gonna Do Now?
Well, I guess the toy company cabal got what it wanted with the repeal of
Sec. 336 STE(A)M, and innovation in the U.S. of A. be damned. Early in 2019,
I heard (and read via blogs) a gaggle of cabal “experts” saying that flying over people without a “golden parachute” is coming in the summer of 2019. File and fly BVLOS is only days behind with RID; the industry is ready to flourish. Tough break for the drone consultants, since that was probably a cue from the universe to get the hell out with only a half a dozen eggs on your face.
The drone Judas is braying, “I’m an R.C. hobbyist too!”–all the while posing for pictures with an “aircraft” that looks like it was the prize in a box of sugary breakfast cereal got his way. That guy literally lobbied the nails in the AMA’s Expo coffin; but who cares, they got the KnowB4UFly app!
However, I thought about it again, and you know what, he was right; the hobby has changed for the better, and it is much safer than it used to be. No, not because of regulation, but because of technology– i.e., better radios, lighter construction materials, and electric propulsion.
All cocked-up –
The FAA has undoubtedly made itself out to be foolish again. This is not just my opinion. As Acting Administrator, Dan “revolving door” Elwell’s (and good old Michael “golden-parachute” Huerta’s) agency actually publicly stated, “The Federal Aviation Administration is handing off certification work to aircraft manufacturers like Boeing because of pressure on the agency to keep up with the rapidly growing drone industry.”
FAA Turned Over More Safety Work to Boeing Under Pressure to Regulate Drones
Are we supposed to assume that 346 people lost their lives because the Obama administration’s FAA and DOT put their eggs in the wrong NAS-integration regulatory basket?
“Make no mistake: unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators, and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
“Registration gives us an opportunity to work with these users to operate their unmanned aircraft safely. I’m excited to welcome these new aviators into the culture of safety and responsibility that defines American innovation.”
FAA Announces Small UAS Registration Rule
Mall toys too?! I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a scientist or mathematician, but let’s take a look at the safety of the NAS scoreboard:
Should we be asking the FAA how many fatalities the droners need to cause before they meet the equivalent level of safety as manned aviation?
The good old U.S.of A. put men on the moon and safely returned them to earth 50 years ago, and as stakeholders, we are supposed to believe we can’t integrate a 251-gram drone into the NAS? and the blame apple didn’t fall too far from the fault tree, since the FAA has spent almost 30 years working on this issue.
This, and the straight story on the rest of the goods: @TheDroneDealer on Twitter, daily!
