Re: Drones at Chama

Jim Grigsby Wrote:
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> A large, hot fire is presently burning in Idaho,
> not too far from Boise. The news last night
> reported that they had to ground the fire
> suppression aircraft working the fire because
> someone was flying a drone in the area. This
> meant that there was no air support during a
> critical time in the attempt to slow the fire
> spread. No lives were lost, at least not yet,
> because of this, but it was a major setback in the
> suppression efforts.

That's a serious issue. Air tankers often fly below 400 ft, because they can't accurately place their loads and lose too much to evaporation if they drop higher. Some guy with a UAV who thinks he is legal at 400 ft is still a threat in that scenario. A big tanker like a DC-10 is really hanging it out on the edge flying low and slow with a heavy load. The last thing he needs is to have an engine ingest someone's DJI under those conditions.

Unfortunately, some of the folks with UAVs really need adult supervision.

/Kevin Madore