What do you think of drones?

[The Pandector]

@ForestGumpett --
I am flummoxed. I am not a Ma'am, never subject to menopause, indeed born and raised in the United States. I also flatter myself that I am significantly more aware of my country's legal structure than the average bear. What really worries me is that you say I have been 'terribly rude to some.' I would be very sincerely sorry IF I have done so, but I wish you had said who or how or something--anything--concrete so I'd know what you mean. Unless you and whoever else I offended are perpetrators of restricted airspace violations, in which case go ahead and be offended.

The only laws I've discussed on this thread are the new United States Federal Aviation Administration UAV regulations. They were issued to take effect before now, but the FAA stumbled in terms of effective dates and required technology and so it's a bit unclear just what LEAs would do in terms of enforcement at the current moment. However, airspace regulation in every state is under the jurisdiction of the FAA; any state or local regulation would be quashed in the face of clear federal regulation.

Thank you, but I've been in an unusually fine mood for days, don't see it improving later.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Thanks for that, @Neonatal RRT. Wasn't aware they were actually doing this. But if this idea really takes off (so to speak) we know it's going to be electric powered, right? Where in the world are we going to get the electricity to charge these air taxis and electric cars?

There is a horrible amount of misinformation/disinformation regarding the grid and its capacity. Actually, it is the fossil fuel industry that uses a tremendous amount of electricity for those 10s of thousands of pump jacks that pull it out of the ground, as well as during the refining process,...enough to run millions of electric vehicles. Once the transportation sector transitions to electric, fossil fuel operations will slow down, and they will use less electricity. Furthermore, with incentives for utility-level, commercial, and residential solar, as well as, battery/energy storage,...installations are already happening. This transition is not going to happen overnight. Plans are already in place. I run my two electric cars off the panels on my roof, and my house, have enough to store for the night, and still push out to the grid. Tesla is, right now, transitioning their new and older Supercharger stations to run off of renewable energy,...things are happening. Other charging stations are following Tesla's lead with renewable energy sources. Right now, today, all it would take is about 50 square miles of solar panels to completely meet the needs of the entire US,...that's it! The sun alone hits the Earth with enough energy per hour to meet all the needs of the world for a year! We are just tapping into the tiniest fraction of a percent right now. Keep in mind, we still have wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, and fossil fuels at this time. Rooftops, ground mounts, even agricultural land is being used for solar energy farming (they mount the panels up high enough to get the tractors underneath). It's completely within our grasp. No worries.

Furthermore, not all vehicles will run off of batteries and need charging to use electricity. Long-haul trucks, cargo ships, and aircraft will likely use hydrogen fuel cells. Many of the hi-lows that load things in warehouses and on loading docks have already converted to hydrogen fuel cell.

It will all work out. It took us about 10 years to convert from horse-and-buggy to automobiles, and install its infrastructure in most metropolitan areas,...another 10-20 years for the rural and highway system to convert. I think this will be on a similar timeline. 2030 for the cities and suburbs,...2040-2050 for rural areas.

Myself having solar, battery storage, and driving electric cars it is quite amusing when people drive right on past a charging station and they don't even know it's there. Reality,...Tesla has 10s of thousands of these charging stations all over the world,...and that's just Tesla. Throw in the dozen or so other companies putting in charging stations,...the infrastructure is happening quickly,...but if you still drive a gasoline/diesel powered vehicle, it's probably not on your radar to even look.

 

[The Pandector]

@Magna -- Yeah, .55 pounds/250 grams. They have mandated a system based on the force that a particular drone might deliver. It's a sensible system, but not based on figures the pilot can reliably produce. The manufacturers will have to supply those numbers and I don't think that any of them have done so to date.

Just another point, about the data base. While the identity of the drone is open to anyone who has the equipment to read it, the general public will not have access to the identity or location of the pilot; that info will only be available to LEAs. I've heard they were concerned about enabling vigilantism.

 

[The Pandector]

Leaving this to only the most capitalized corporate interests rather than individuals.

I appreciate your post. I think I hear you saying that only large corporations should be allowed to pilot drones. That's an interesting solution, which I think would appeal more to large corporate interests than to citizens of a free country.

I mentioned that I flew sailplanes way back when. Although it wasn't legally mandated, I never flew without insurance, nor without that insurance information as well as personal contact information mounted in the aircraft. The policy maxed out at $100,000, certainly ample for any reasonably foreseeable event, but nowhere near enough for a crashed jumbo jet. You're right about that; only the most powerful of corporations could hope to absorb such a catastrophe. But then, we don't insure against things a prudent person knows are so extremely unlikely.

I stand by my use of likelihood indicators. If the airline industry is looking for 100% guarantees of never-a-mishap, then they will have to relinquish their own right to operate. Because, guaranteed, airline personnel in total have caused waaay more airline deaths than UAV operators (which is zero, according to the Congressional Research Service.) There are something like 2 million drones operating in the US at this time. Which means there will be many idiots with controllers in their sweaty palms. Just as we too often hear of airline pilots flying under the influence.

I hope this doesn't come across as disrespect for your position, Judge. I'm glad you stated it, and honestly I hadn't thought of it from an airline shareholder's view. All stakeholders need to be heard.

 

[Judge]

I appreciate your post. I think I hear you saying that only large corporations should be allowed to pilot drones.

Not necessarily large corporations exclusively, but entities heavily capitalized who can show assets comparable to their liabilities with an ability to spread the risk. A financial standard critical with any exposure to potential catastrophic loss on a much larger scale. No arbitration, no defensive litigation. You just get out your checkbook. Depending on the loss, costly commercial aviation insurance goes only so far.

All in accordance to domestic regulation and international treaty stipulations as well. Basic considerations for large scale businesses, but definitely not smaller ones.

 

[The Pandector]

I always hear a lot about drones being unsafe or that people are always doing bad things with them or blah blah blah, but... it's seriously like using a freaking car. There are rules, you're expected to know the bloody rules, and you're expected to FOLLOW the bloody rules. Those who DONT.... also dont speak for the rest of us who actually do.

Good to hear you say it, Misery.

Glad to hear about your move, too. I grew up in So. California. The streets were lain out very well, but just too many people for me. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting someone in the neck. So, instead of zoning for more space, they made it illegal to swing a dead cat! Stupid jokes aside, there is just no solution for that kind of population saturation. It's like working in a sick building. I'll look forward to hearing of your drone adventures in Openland.

 

[Tom]