Although I am new to UAV building and operation I am an active RC modeller for 40 yrs. (not a misprint)
I want to fly my UAV for all the usual reasons and eventually make a business related to these activities.
I understand all the political debates that are going on to restrict the UAV activites, All the legislation will not stop the bad guys from doing bad things and licencing or registration won't stop them either.
For my part I have taken a different approach that seems to give good results. As a member of MAAC (Canada) I try to follow all the rules for normal RC flight.LOS , 400feet , Insurance , spotter etc. These are only guidelines not Law, but thats OK, I do see several problems
1, How do I as a RC modeller know how high I am ? I can only use my skill and guess!!
2. What does line of sight actually mean, If I get too far away I can still see my plane but can I fly it accurately, Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
3. What happens when things go wrong. I crash.
With an UAV some of these problems are resolved, I know how high I am, If I lose sight my plane will come back home if I tell it to in a safe manner.. In these cases UAV's are safer than RC models as long as they are used responsibly.
So This is what I have done. I prepared a simple word document that provided the following information
My Name, address, telephone and cell number
A picture of the aircraft with sizes and a picture of an ID plate on the aircraft with MAAC number and address
MAAC number and expiry date.
google map print of my normal flying sites and takeoff points.
A description of my activies (a bit vague but truthful)
Description of safety procedures to find and make safe the UAV
Description of lost model transmitter / locator to help to locate a downed UAV.
I took this paper to the local police station and was very happy with the result. They explained it this way. If they get a report of a strange aircraft or it lands in somones garden at least they know who to look for, NO wasted expensive Police time. They can go chase some criminals. They have also asked if they can make use of the UAV if they needed it.
Maybe this is an isolated positive response, but at least I can fly when and where I want to...after all I am doing nothing wrong, and that is the whole point of the exercise.
Replies
Nice Job! I am doing something similar in my community. I am a member of the CERT Team (Community Emergancy Response Team) In Utah. I live in an area boardered by the railroad on the west and I-15 to the east, 1/2 mile between the two. If we have a Hazmat spill it would be to the cities advantage to be able to have real time video from an UAV or any desaster. If you don't mind I would like to plagerize your idea and create a similar document fron your text in this post.