Private drones are a growing menace

[Paratus]

Its weird because we've had RC planes and cars and helicopters and rockets for decades.

Why all of a sudden is this a "problem"?

Because RC airplanes and helicopters take a lot of skill to build and fly, not to mention money.

Now for $400 bucks you can buy a GPS gyro and compass enabled quad that:

• Has 1km range
• Fly 2000ft straight up
• 20+ mph
• Self Stabilizes
• Hovers with no user inputs.
• Will hold it's position in the wind
• Can fly itself home if it loses com with the controller

They're no harder to setup than a new smartphone.

Hell the newest one have one button launch and landing and you can give them waypoints on a map and the quad will fly itself. It's so easy, some people do stupid things with them.

These are like cell phones or laptops from 20 years ago. They suddenly get the price and design right and suddenly sales increase exponentially.

 

[Blanky]

While I agree it's unlikely you wouldn't know if one of these was flying by your window, (I basically posted the same thing you did earlier), there is a privacy concerns for folks in their backyards. The teen girl by her pool problem.

Unfortunately blown out of proportion, because the wide angle lens on these things picks up pretty poor detail at typical heights anyway. What I'm saying is: if you're worried about your neighbors looking at your daughter by the pool, the guy with the drone is not being discreet; the guy with the telephoto lens on his DSLR is, and he's getting much better shots.

Actual provable cases of these flying, say, 30' above somebody's pool (as if anybody is going to sit their in their bikini as it does this) are so rare I can't even think of one. The kentucky shooter's story was shot to hell by telemetry and video cache data of the flight, for example.

You are right why these are so prevalent. Until very recently it was impossible to get an outdoor-capable RC vehicle that didn't require some basic degree of skill to keep in the air, and even then they didn't feed back HD video like a Phantom can.

 

[Paratus]

Unfortunately blown out of proportion, because the wide angle lens on these things picks up pretty poor detail at typical heights anyway. What I'm saying is: if you're worried about your neighbors looking at your daughter by the pool, the guy with the drone is not being discreet; the guy with the telephoto lens on his DSLR is, and he's getting much better shots.

Actual provable cases of these flying, say, 30' above somebody's pool (as if anybody is going to sit their in their bikini as it does this) are so rare I can't even think of one. The kentucky shooter's story was shot to hell by telemetry and video cache data of the flight, for example.

You are right why these are so prevalent. Until very recently it was impossible to get an outdoor-capable RC vehicle that didn't require some basic degree of skill to keep in the air, and even then they didn't feed back HD video like a Phantom can.

I know. The privacy concern is blown out of proportion.

It's the idiots flying around airports, interfering with forest fires, etc that are the real problem. They're going to get some significantly draconian laws brought down us by being stupid.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I'm getting a real reefer madness vibe from all of this drone hysteria. With all the guns freely floating around this country it's hard for me to see noisy bits of flying plastic as some sort of existential threat. Yes they can be annoying, and probably dangerous, but so can a million other things people aren't clutching their pearls over.

This post, it is good. IOW, I agree.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

They're going to get some significantly draconian laws brought down on us by being stupid.

So organize. An NRA type org. and lobby group is the only way to ensure a small group of idiots do not completely ruin it for the vast majority that are responsible owners.

 

[Paratus]

So organize. An NRA type org. and lobby group is the only way to ensure a small group of idiots do not completely ruin it for the vast majority that are responsible owners.

That's what the Academy of Model Aircraft is for.

Some of the manufacturers like DJI are also starting to lobby.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

That's what the Academy of Model Aircraft is for.

Some of the manufacturers like DJI are also starting to lobby.

Excellent

 

[Bock]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O_xwxZW538

Draconian Laws will be the least of your worries.