Comment Re:How did this go to trial? (Score 1) 236
He is the worst possible example of someone doing business in this area.
He didn't get in trouble because he was flying recklessly, but because he was trying to earn a living.
No. This was specifically because he was being reckless. His videos showing him flying at street level through traffic, buzzing the hospital heliport, etc.
The reason the FAA became aware of his asshattery is that he uses his jerky stunt flying to promote his business (he sells multirotor hardware, among other things). He's an attention whore, and puts together his videos with a deliberately provocative tone, and it caught up with him. The issue of commercial vs. hobby was incidental, and the administrative judge's ruling didn't speak to that directly anyway.
Regardless, this isn't even a "final" ruling. For now, he's had his fine dropped. Heavy, onerous regulations are coming for RC/FPV operators, and it will be ugly (licensing, air worthiness certificates, medical exams, etc).
Why should buzzing a crowd be okay, but buzzing a crowd FOR PROFIT be illegal?
Buzzing a crowd isn't OK either way. Regardless of the state of the FAA's pending new regs, plenty of local laws against reckless endangerment can be brought to bear, and this sort of ruling is going to pour gas on the fire of a thousand local jurisdictions throwing together a patchwork nightmare of laws against Evil Drones. This ruling is actually a bad thing.
Someone should look up the meaning of interstellar, this trip although close wouldn't even be interplanetary.
Maybe someone ELSE should re-read the words and note the difference between "inter" and "intra."
It's here as a reminder that Facebook is a REALLY dumb idea and that people should realize it's not private.
Facebook doesn't make stupid posts, people make stupid posts.
Are kitchen knives a really dumb idea after you cut off your finger while making dinner?
The human brain doesn't fully develop until 25. We don't even hold teenagers responsible for their actions until they're 17-18.
Exactly. And so this (her actions) are her parent's responsibility. And so the fact that the information they agreed to keep private was out in public is the fault of the parents, and they are suffering exactly the consequences that they agreed to suffer for doing that exact thing.
How many times do we get to "discover" that bears actually do shit in the woods?
The point in this case is that they're suggesting that we're seeing evidence not just of water, but of biological activity. You are able to see the difference, right? It's like discovering that bears not only shit in the woods, but that they also have toilet paper and elaborate sewage treatment facilities hidden in their caves. Or would be, if this evidence actually points to more-than-just-water conclusion.
It's not like we don't have what are essentially remote science laboratories that we've sent there which should theoretically be able to find this sort of stuff in the samples they collect.
Actually it is like that. Because nothing we've sent there can look inside a good-sized rock with that degree of non-destructive precision and delicacy.
This is one of the central issues in the ongoing case regarding Raphael Pirker ("Trappy")
Well, really, that case is about his reckless operations in Virginia (flying past a hospital helipad, flying through traffic at street level, etc). And that's taken in the context of his frequent flaunting of anything resembling good manners when he does his stunts to try to drum up eyeballs for his videos and promote what he's selling.
I don't think that case will have much of anything to do with resolving the question of whether or not the FAA's smack-down on commercial operators is viable.
Here's the real issue: most insurance underwriters have clauses requiring their insured parties to operate in keeping with the GUIDELINES of that agency. Law or regulation doesn't matter. If the FAA guidelines are that recreational RC pilots staying under 400 ft, in line of sight, away from people and airports and the like are OK, but people conducting business using RC are, for now, NOT OK... then operating commercially anyway will put most insurance policy holders in violation of the fine print, and they'll be on the hook in the event of a mishap, injury, or damage. It's very hard for most photographers, videographers, event promoters and such to secure liability insurance to cover doing something that a federal agency says is not allowed. That expectation of compliance with those guidelines is something that the insured and insurer mutually agree to, and that really makes things difficult for someone who wants to fly a camera drone over very expensive commercial property or a crowd of people for money.
Yes, the matter of the FAA's plenary authority in this area, and the way they apply it (or don't) has to be clarified. But in the meantime, there are real, practical reasons why their position is an impediment to commercial RC use. Lawyers for very big commercial entities have been telling their clients to stay away from the tremendous possibilities in this area. Which sucks. But large, expensive legal teams, on retainer for companies that want to use RC commercially, have concluded that the FAA's position is - in practical terms - as good as law for now.
I know it's not real, (the drone hunting license part), but do the folks around Deer Trail know it?
Yes. Which is why their city council won't even entertain the idea, and it's just one guy there who's selling cheesy certificates online.
Do not underestimate the value of print statements for debugging.