Graham Lawrie wrote:Oh dear:( has it got that bad mis-use in USA?
No. Not at all. There is a great deal of overreaction and sensationalizing going on here. Politicians are jumping at the chance to regulate, tax, permit, license, assess, impose, etc. because that is their wont.
As Clay mentioned, reviews of past claimed sightings have been largely debunked or had great doubt cast over most of them. There is no independent confirmation on almost any of them. And so far as I know there have been no confirmed impacts with a UAS.
Just a whole lot of paranoid worry.
Stambo wrote:I wonder if they realise just how much work this will involve.
No, they do not. If they did then they would not be even thinking of this in any serious way.
Stambo wrote:And who will pay for it, you the American model flyer that's who.
Oh, they are A.O.K with that. They loooooove making us citizens pay to encroach on our own freedoms, impose inane regulations, yadda yadda.
Stambo wrote:Surely anything flown LOS cannot be classed as a "drone"
Why? The rules for "drone" flights in the US require maintaining LOS at all times anyway. Their assumptions are that all "Drone" flights are in LOS, even if FPV is in use. FPV is not a criteria for being a registerable device, based on anything I've read or heard so far.
My take:
- The cost is going to be absurd. Not just to create the system, but to integrate it into the supply chains (assuming they're not going to go on the honor system), maintain it, and to, inevitably, integrate it into other databases and systems the government already uses.
- Even if they get all retail sales from US suppliers to be entered into the system, what about all the other types of acquisitions? Gifts? Private sales? Sales by overseas sources?
- What about those that build from parts?
- What is the registration attached to? Not necessarily physically, but what part of the "drone" is *the drone*? What if that part has to be replaced?
- What if a device falls under a limit for registration at time of purchase/sale, but is later upgraded?
- What if you dispose of the device? What if someone takes possession from the trash? Can an owner unregister?
- What if a device is stolen? Does the owner now have to report this to the feds?
- Why should a quad/hex/octo/etc. multi-rotor have to be registered but a helicopter or airplane not? They can all carry cameras, be flown in the wrong places or in an unsafe manner. Arguably the potential for damage or injury from a typical helicopter or airplane is much greater than with a typical quad.
- What about all those devices already owned by people? Do people need to register them too? If not, why not? If so, how?
- What's to stop a malicious person from registering a device in someone else's name?
- Will states or local law enforcement be able to access this database? What rules will govern that? Who will pay for that use by non-federal enforcement? What penalties will law enforcement suffer for using the data inappropriately?
That's all just off the top of my head. This is going to be a nightmare.
