"@Rob I heard through the grapevine that the decision was mostly about FAA concerns.
I like the idea of needing more vision to do well. The off the shelf kits are pretty impressive these days, and I could easily participants showing up with a…"

"Yes, I believe this is the NPRM. It's just the first public release of the proposed rules. It will be open for public comment for at least 6 months, and up to 18 months. After the public comment period, FAA will possibly make changes based on the…"

"Yup. We've got a checklist to make sure everything is armed. Then, one button at the ground control station launches the engine start sequence and engages the rotors. (it can be one-touch to takeoff, but typically I verify some of the temperature…"

"@wbal57, the pilot has the ability to disable the autopilot at any moment. So, if there were a loss of power, I'm sure he would prefer to do the autorotation on his own. "

"@Randy,
Thanks! but those aren't for detecting landings. They are eletro-magnets that hold the helicopter securely to a metal landing surface. The weight-on-wheels (or in this case, weight-on-skids) sensor is a bit more complicated. Looking at…"

"@Rob - yeah, you want as little friction as possible in the rotor system, right? After the clutch between the engine and rotors is disengaged, it only takes a light breeze to keep the rotors windmilling indefinitely. rotor brake is an absolute must…"

"@John, The FAA announced earlier this year that military controlled airspace could not be used by commercial UAV operators anymore. ( http://www.insidegnss.com/node/3975 ) The guys where we fly unmanned were not happy about it at all, and had to…"

"Yeah, the legal aspects were very challenging. The FAA is even making it harder to fly in restricted air space!
My experience with the Volz servos has been excellent! There's one on the big helicopter that actuates the rotor brake. The customer…"

"“We have a mandate to protect the American people in the air and on the ground"

And as we all know its safe if you're having fun, but very very dangerous if you accept money for it."

"Even name brand BEC's are risky unless you pay close attention to the small print. When the package says "20A" that means "20A peak". It's only good for 10A continuous at best (and personally I wouldn't trust them for 10A continuous)."

"It's autonomous. Other people have a safety pilot with a transmitter on the ground, we just have a safety pilot along for the ride to keep the FAA happy :-)"

"This might be a great organization, but claiming to be the first UAV association and having the world's largest UAV tradeshow make me skeptical. "

"left out a key word: it's naive to think that there will be no laws."