Here is a video on YouTube of a DJI Phantom flying through fireworks at Sunfest 2014 which I think is in Florida. It also shows flying above crowds. Personally I think its a stupid idea but the footage of the fireworks is very unique. Dare I say, impressive?
Even crazier is that the pilot put the video up under his name. I hope he is ready for the barrage of comments and possible legal ramifications.
Is this another case of one person doing something that will negatively impact us all or will it ultimately show that small UAV's can be used to do things that other aerial platforms can't?
Comments
@Buzz, I agree with everything you say. You obviously have a lot of experience and knowledge in RC flying. Far more than me. I only really got interested once the autonomous side of things got accessible. Since then I have found myself getting further into the hobby and I am currently trying to get my CASA UAV Commercial license in Australia.
Like you I want to keep a low profile (especially at the moment) but I also feel some need to make a bit of noise when I see so much negative publicity regarding RC and UAV hobbyist and even small commercial users.
I also have an RVJET (in the process of building) and would love to hear about yours. Maybe on the RVJAT user group? I am also interested in practice applications such as mapping & agriculture but am really a newbie to this side of things. I work in broadcast and film but have found that UAV applications for live broadcasting are very limited at the moment and not rally what I am interested in. (Even though I have a lot of Media contacts)
I hope that I will continue to fly for a long time, like yourself. You are correct, The challenge of building and flying is at the core of the hobby. Added to that the ability to add automation and play around with the code and I think it all forms a fascinating and truly challenging and enjoyable pastime (& hopefully business).
I think you are right, the 1% of irresponsible users will cause damage at some point. It is likely that even a responsible user could cause a problem. The only thing that is sure is that eventually, if we want to continue we need to be able to not only weather the storm but also take some form of control and be seen as pioneers of a great new wave of technology and not a bunch of peeping toms with dangerous and invasive toys.
@Buzz I am more worried about someone crashing onto a road and into a car. You don't even need to hit a car row cause a major accident, just cause one to swerve into oncoming traffic.
Have a look at these guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7-lUBm-Guw These are awesome.
The models are HUGE and could cause much more damage than a small QUAD but they are perceived as a much lower risk than UAV and multi-rotor pilots. Why? I think partly because you need a great big airfield just to fly one and they are EXPENSIVE but also because as a group of fliers/hobbyists they are seen to act responsibly and I am sure there is a lot of self management and self imposed controls in that group.
I don't think that UAV users need to emulate this but it is an example of how a similar group of hobbyist does already exist with minimal negative exposure. If we do want to fly freely and have access to parks etc. then we need to try to make the general public aware that most of us do take care and follow safety guidelines and also get rid of the "All Seeing, Spying Drone' image.
@jg I agree
@Phillip I see your point and maybe we should be trying to get them to do more. Publicising safety features that are in the APM code could be done a lot better. Even the recent addition of Airport no fly zones in Mission Planner is great. These things need to be publicised more and I guess as the code is open source it is not really 3DR's responsibility but I agree that they are the logical place to start. After all they have done a reasonable job promoting the tech merits of the company!! (and rightly so).
Peer pressure will stop the idiots from making videos. When the videos cease to elicit a positive response, they will not be made anymore. There will be no more "one upsmanship" to the coolness of videos when everyone tears up the poster for how dangerous and stupid a stunt it was. Since there won't be an audience there will be no demand for the videos. At the very minimum there will be less videos for regulators and the media to get ahold of and sensationalize.
@Alex - I agree that the removal of that video from youtube was a very good thing. Your proactive post here, and the negative responses of this community, are to be congratulated.
Regarding public perception of drones, we've got a long uphill fight ahead of us. Here's a yahoo story posted today. Note the blogger comments afterwards. Most are stating their strong opposition to drones over America. It's clear that public perception is already a problem -- and we've yet to have our first serious accident.
http://news.yahoo.com/drone-access-us-skies-faces-significant-hurdl...
Regarding the leadership of DIYDrones/3DRobotics (and other hobby leaders), I still think they are dropping the ball on the air safety issue by not speaking up about it, other than to argue with the FAA. We have a problem within the hobby community that needs to be addressed head-on. Leadership is called for.
@Phillip, I think that 3DR/DIYDRONES doing the right thing. They provide this space for us to rant and rave. They also make use of the open source community to develop their products rather than a closed shop like other manufacturers. I think they pull their weight and it is time we did the same and get them to back us not lead. As I was saying yesterday I think its time we did a little bit more as hobbyists and do what we can to put our case forward.
As we all know there will come a time when an accident happens. Whether its an air accident, a drone flying into a car or hitting a pedestrian etc. When that happens I think the only way for us to safeguard our hobby is to positioning ourselves as hobbyist as the go to group for a solution and not as the cause of the problem.
I think, and this is just my opinion, I could be wrong, that it really is a matter of public perception. Amongst forums and user groups such as this we all see that the majority of us are well informed and very conscious of our responsibilities. When I look around other pages, both here and on other sites, I see a very intelligent and somewhat militant (a good thing I think) group of people who are passionate about their hobby.
Rather than waiting for companies like 3DRobotics to step up for us I think we should be pushing our case as a group ourselves. The Drones are Fun web site is great and we should be trying to harness the strength we have as a community to promote initiatives like this.
@Jose: Thanks for the comment. I did consider whether posing the video would actually help to popularise it more but in the end I thought it better to post it and trust that it would generate a decent reaction which condemns such flights.
I think that the general response has shown that rather than promote such stupid flying it has actually had the opposite. I am very glad that most people seem concerned by the crowd fly over at long range than by the stupidity of flying through fireworks over water where the possible damage to others is a lot less. When people see that their actions are not praised buy UAV users they will be more unlikely to do it again. Mission partly accomplished?
The fact the video has been removed is a good thing, no? Its been up since May and taken down the day it was posted on this site. Tell me we had no impact. I don't mind that you disagree with my decision to post the link I'm just glad that it sparked a bit of decent discussion and that always includes different points of view!
The OP did not remove video from the same flight of just the fireworks, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI
I found the original video reposted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZPYJjqwgU0
Commercial users will continue to look out for themselves and will distance themselves from the hobbyists. To do otherwise would be self-defeating.
Commercial users will be trained and licensed and will have strong financial incentives to fly safely, obtain clearance, and stay within the rules. They will be much, much less likely to be the source of air safety issues.
Hobbyists, on the other hand, are a increasing source of air safety concerns and risks to human life. For too many of them, the skies are like the unruly, wild wild west. The evidence for this is clear. Unfortunately.
Fly safely.
The prime use is for photography/video it seems which necessitates its flight over something of onterest which wouldn't be a sanctioned ama flying field.
Unless you're flying over your own property you are at a high risk of your drone being legally confiscated. The movie industry, farming, etc is looking out for themselves and not the hobbyist user. The hobbyist will most likely be restricted to flying at an ama flying field.
Thomas,
I live in South Florida as well. Which flying field are you referring too?
Has anyone else noticed the complete silence on this issue from the founders of DIYDrones/3DRobotics? Where are they and why don't they join us here in expressing the same concerns? It's encouraging that WE have reached a broad consensus about the importance of this growing safety problem. Doesn't it seem time for the leadership to join us and speak up? Frankly, their silence is discouraging. And not promising for the future of this hobby.
Very glad to see the original video has been taken down. Proof that speaking up can have important positive effects.
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