KevinM Wrote:
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> Dan Robirds Wrote:
> ==================================================
> =====
> I wonder how the RC plane/glider hobby
> > that has existed for years has dealt with these
> > issues?
>
> Hi Dan,
>
> As I noted in my post in another thread, the
> modern "drone" technology is very different from
> the RC Airplanes of old. Those really did require
> a fair amount of skill to fly. They also required
> a sort of "airport" with close-cut, rolled grass
> runways. The only way in which the average owner
> could get access to the facilities and the expert
> instruction was to join a club that had such
> assets. The sport was really nicely self-policed.
> Those who chose to go it on their own generally
> crashed and burned their investment.
> Unfortunately, flying is not as intuitive as the
> movies would have you believe. Whether a real
> airplane or a model, most people would crash on
> their first flight unless an instructor were
> present to save them. Modern "drones" are
> different. They have internal stablization
> systems and GPS. They really don't require
> traditional flying skills. They still require
> "air sense" however, and that is something that
> requires both instruction and experience.
As a person in said hobby for 15+ years, I can tell you that the hobby is struggling to deal with these issues. There is a great influx of drone operators who fly under the regulations that have protected traditional RC flying, but who show no regard for the knowledge, airmanship, and community that has self-policed itself since the 1930s. Additionally, the population at large is having issues distinguishing between drones and recreational RC airplanes. At times, the two can be one and the same.
Years ago, when GPS guidance and stabilization was prohibitively expensive for the masses, I was involved in a Park Service funded program that used "drones" - actual sUAS airplanes - to survey archeaologic sites. We would fly out of site at low altitudes and never had any issues because we all had "air sense" and planned our operations to avoid full scale traffic. All that stopped when the FAA and feds started having problems with drones.
I sadly predict that RC flying WILL go away someday, due to irresponsible users and poor public perception. There have already been some close calls. Easy-access drones are just the last nail in the coffin.