Just saw video of a drone crash at a ski race in Italy . Missed skier by about 6 inches . Don't know how to imbed a link but I know somebody else can . Those things are a menace . Put a real heli up there for crying out loud !

Yikes! Talk about a close call.


http://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-sports/35164700

Yeah, I saw that too. At first I thought the top of an evergreen tree fell but they kept replaying and I figured it out. Might make people start thinking.

I liked the reaction of the skier who almost got hit. I think in the US people would have demanded a government registration, instead this guy said "whoever is responsible, please be more careful next time". Classy!

For the life of me I don't understand the drone attitude around here.

These things are a menace. They will soon blacken the skies like millions of blind, ariel mines waiting to be hit by one of our light planes. Very soon there will be a serious loss of life collision with one of these things. I sincerely hope it is none of you or none of your friends or family that are killed.

I don't just get it.

Those production drones are pretty big as well. We have done a couple of whitewater commercials for I Love NY and also taken several governors & assorted dignitaries down the river for promotions and the drones have done some of the filming where a normal crew couldn't get. It's kind of freaky to see those things buzzing just a few feet over your head. It's also freaky knowing that the "Driver" can't see the thing at all times and you have no clue how much training they have..A little scary, but I have to admit the footage they get is amazing.

Just found this on the FIS (International Ski federation, the sanctioning body for world cup racing) web site. Pretty interesting.
http://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/news-multimedia/news/article=infront-sports-media-follow-statement-drone-accident.html

Av8r3400 wrote:For the life of me I don't understand the drone attitude around here.

...

I don't just get it.

Huh? Perhaps read more of the drone threads?

Zzz wrote:Huh? Perhaps read more of the drone threads?

I have. Have you, Zane? There should be universal condemnation of these things, especially in a population like BCP. Unfortunately the truth is far from it.

By definition, a drone is an autonomous flying vehicle designed to function with minimal input from the operator. IMO, a recipe for disaster when in the presence of real aircraft.

I was appalled to see them being operated in close proximity to real aircraft at a receint BCP sanctioned event, which was the site of a tragic accident the previous year. A collision could easily have sent one or both aircraft into the crowd of "drag racing" on lookers. I'll bet no one was carrying any insurance for such a happening. Who would be a named defendant in that lawsuit?

Before you say "That would never happen.", I'll bet the skier and drone operator didn't expect a near collision either.

My takeaway from reading the threads is general wariness and concern from pilots here. I think your wet bulb is poorly calibrated, sorry I don't recall your real name. In my interpretation, the OP of this very thread did so due to the general sentiment of concern, just like the many news stories posted to the "Today in Drone News" thread, which tend toward the negative confidence in hobbyist drone pilots.

As for HSF, those are probably the few operators we can actually trust with the technology around airplanes.

Your outburst is a little late to the party and poorly directed, in my opinion. I'm not sure how we've interpreted the consensus here so differently other than your sample set is smaller.

Av8r3400 wrote:For the life of me I don't understand the drone attitude around here.

These things are a menace. They will soon blacken the skies like millions of blind, ariel mines waiting to be hit by one of our light planes. Very soon there will be a serious loss of life collision with one of these things. I sincerely hope it is none of you or none of your friends or family that are killed.

I don't just get it.

"As you may well know, Mr. President, "railroad" carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of fifteen miles per hour by "engines" which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed."
Martin Van Buren
Government of New York

Ribbing you about your doomsday prophecy. I have my own concerns, but am interested in flying them, so I read all the drone comments with keen interest. I think there's enough intelligent people around to come up with reasonable airspace sharing solutions. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that any of these type work for the FAA.

Whenever I hear about another potential threat to my precious American life and it possibly coming to an untimely early end I go back to statistics. There's roughly 30 deaths each year in this country due to lightning strike, so until we're up into the 100 plus deaths per year category I'm not going to give it more than a passing thought, life's too short you know? Heck, by that metric terrorism is barely a blip, I feel better already.

OK, Here are a few work photos. Tell me how I would get these without using my Drone? Just 135 miles NE of Nome AK Wonder what it would take to get a chopper out there to take a few pix?

Job site pics , good use of a drone . Remember that guy who landed his para motor in the boxing ring ? Not a good use of a para motor . As previously stated there are people out there who don't have their heads up their ass and can responsibly fly a drone . Unfortunately for them is the fact that most of the world does have their heads up their ass and are not getting any smarter .

Remember the good old days when you could sit in the crowd and relax without worrying about getting hit with a damn drone?.

low rider wrote:Job site pics , good use of a drone . Remember that guy who landed his para motor in the boxing ring ? Not a good use of a para motor . As previously stated there are people out there who don't have their heads up their ass and can responsibly fly a drone . Unfortunately for them is the fact that most of the world does have their heads up their ass and are not getting any smarter .

Yep. That could be said of most things that require some level of common sense and responsibility: Airplanes, guns, cars, et al. Drones are a very cool technology that have taken good old radio control flying to an entirely new level, but one that is unfortunately also available to utterly unskilled and uninvested individuals.

And for the record I deplore the misnomer "drone" as well but unfortunately that term has been used by the general public more than any other and has stuck. People will look at you funny if you use '"UAV" or "multirotor."

Zzz wrote:

low rider wrote:Job site pics , good use of a drone . Remember that guy who landed his para motor in the boxing ring ? Not a good use of a para motor . As previously stated there are people out there who don't have their heads up their ass and can responsibly fly a drone . Unfortunately for them is the fact that most of the world does have their heads up their ass and are not getting any smarter .

Yep. That could be said of most things that require some level of common sense and responsibility: Airplanes, guns, cars, et al. Drones are a very cool technology that have taken good old radio control flying to an entirely new level, but one that is unfortunately also available to utterly unskilled and uninvested individuals.

And for the record I deplore the misnomer "drone" as well but unfortunately that term has been used by the general public more than any other and has stuck. People will look at you funny if you use '"UAV" or "multirotor."

Yep, Self Flying QuadCaopter makes them scratch there head and then ask is that a Drone!!
Real kick to have it follow you all by itself, or the other thing is to set the altitude and the radius and watch it fly circles al by itself!!

Just one personal experience:

I was having dinner with a young lady and her four year old who was playing the living room of a second floor apartment. Suddenly a window exploded in the other room as a fairly large RC (#60 motor) model came through scattering glass on the kid and stuck in Sheetrock on the other side of the room. The kid cleaned up rather easily. Cops made a report. It was/is my opinion that the "pilot's" transmitter went belly up. Late 70s

No one ever came to ask for the plane, er the pieces that is.

If they obey the long standing FAA regs. of 400 ft. and in sight, then ok.
Some folks could have gotten burned or hurt in attempting to escape a fire this summer in Ca. when a water chopper had to delay a drop as we watched it live on the tube. Could have been a real mess.

It only takes one, and of course no one will get uptight and demand a fix till one of them actually does bring down a plane of any size - and it could be a BIG one - as easily ingested as a goose.

Trim
sometimes referred to as a Wannabe
Often called Chris C

Trimtab wrote:
Trim
sometimes referred to as a Wannabe
Often called Chris C

So you're outing your alias?

Zzzz

Somewhere above ya mentioned you could not remember someones name.
SOO - Just wanted to leave you a dark, vague clue, just in case.

Cheers to ya for an EXCELLENT job - just my opinion of course.

?!?