Moderator

ANTHONY-FOXX-large570.jpg?resize=570%2C238

We heard yesterday that this was coming and have been given an idea of what's in them. Its not the best if true.

WASHINGTON–Please join U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Deputy Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Whitaker for an announcement about the aircraft registration process for owners of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). A Registration Task Force delivered recommendations to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on November 21, 2015.

When: Monday, December 14, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. EST

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Comments

  • @Clay Cranor

    I think my multi-copter meets these requirements. I do intend to get my copter big enough to be manned someday, however it hasn't worked out yet. intended is sort of past tense. (I tried but it didn't work out, (O Well))

    (a) Is used or intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant;

     

  • @Clay said, "Utter nonsense".   Really?  My best friend happens to be both a helicopter pilot, and a jet pilot, and the RULES and REGULATIONS that he is subjected to are so expensive and oppressive, he had to drop out for 5 years and worked as a SECURITY GUARD because of the OPPRESSIVE nature of the FAA.   No sir, you are utter nonsense.   Less than 1% of the population has access to fly. Check the stats, the number of registered pilots is less than half a million. We are not talking about flying a parachute around a lake here. If not for the FAA and the oppressive rules, we could have as many pilots as drive cars, so don't tell me "nonsense".  

  • regarding 14 CFR 103:

    §103.1   Applicability.

    This part prescribes rules governing the operation of ultralight vehicles in the United States. For the purposes of this part, an ultralight vehicle is a vehicle that:

    (a) Is used or intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant;

    (b) Is used or intended to be used for recreation or sport purposes only;

    (c) Does not have any U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate; and

    (d) If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds; or

    (e) If powered:

    (1) Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices which are intended for deployment in a potentially catastrophic situation;

    (2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;

    (3) Is not capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight; and

    (4) Has a power-off stall speed which does not exceed 24 knots calibrated airspeed.

    Does your aircraft meet these stipulations?  If so, then you can operate under these provisions.

  • Several observations.

    Patrick Duffy stated:

    "General aviation has been, since the beginning, the realm of the elite, and they control the air."

    this is utter nonsense.  general aviation was created by a couple of bicycle mechanics.  You can purchase a completely airworthy 4 seat aircraft for less money than a new pickup truck.  Learning to fly it will cost you less than a lot of folks have in their quadcopters.  GA absolutely does not belong to the elite nor is it controlled by the GA groups.

    John Dennings stated:

    "Agree with Randy, but this should be done with regulations first proposed and then  properly voted by congress, after proper notices of rule making, etc ..."

    Perhaps a fine point, but regulations have never been voted on by congress.  Laws are made by congress, regulations are made by the agencies congress delegates authority to, as congress has delegated to the FAA.  The regulations in question regarding drones have in fact gone through the designated public process and have, in fact, been modified from the original proposals in response to public comment.

    The registration requirements are not, as has also been observed, are not particularly enforceable EXCEPT in the case of an accident where identification of wreckage leads to a registered operator.  An unregistered  sUAS would not provide any such links to responsible parties.  The FAA does not have the resources to enforce existing regulations on piloted aircraft (without an accident), much less to go looking for unregistered drone operators.

    This really isn't an onerous requirement at all.  It also provides an avenue to provide some information for new drone pilots about the national airspace system and the existing rules for operating in it. 

    It should be noted that there really are not that many rules for operation of piloted aircraft in class G airspace... below 1200' above ground level, or 700' AGL depending on where you are.

    I think that all of this has come about because of the unprecedented ability of anyone being able to get and operate a fully autonomous aircraft  (this is a good thing...)  and this scares people that do not participate.  Much like people that do not participate in General Aviation thinking it is an elitist and controlling beast.

  • F U faa. you can kiss my ass with fienstein at the front of the line. keep giving into these asswipes and watch how they will walk all over you.

  • Patrick you're spot on.

    Sheeple have always been the problem throughout history.

    As MLJ put it; "bad things happen because good people let it."

    Where are all the good people gone?

  •  Can I just fly under FAA part 103 rules?

  • Randy, I actually think the registration requirement will reduce accountability. Currently when rc aircraft owners crash, they are very likely to recover/salvage the wreckage because they spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on their craft and they want to repair it or reuse parts. Now if an unregistered operator crashes, he will be much more likely to flee because of the possibility of a steep 27k dollar fine if caught.

    Driving a motor vehicle without registration results in a fine of a few hundred bucks. Why should operating an unregistered toy be tens of thousands!? That is in addition to any criminal charges due to the operators action such as endangering the public, etc. Why isn't the fine a fixed dollar amount? Allowing the fine to float will allow authorities to crack down more harshly on certain people at their discretion. This will increase the risk of racial profiling for instance. Let me guess, in order to receive the max penalty, you have to be Muslim because, you know, a Muslim with a drone must be a terrorist which is extra scary and dangerous therefore 27k becomes a fitting punishment. I apologize if my hypothetical offends anybody but I believe it will be too easy for the authorities to act maliciously when issuing fines without a better defined penalty structure.

    Plus let's say that your craft has a legitimate accidental failure such as a battery fire or motor failure and then causes damage or injuries to someone upon crashing. It is possible that the faa will revoke your license which will prevent you from flying at all for who knows how long but it will likely be for the 3 year registration cycle or longer. They have not stated how they will handle license revokation but they could conceivably ban you for life for a minor incident.

    everybody knows about registration now but what about in 7 years? There will be many casual operators who accidentally let their licenses lapse because of forgetfulness or inattentiveness. Then when they dust off the plane they forgot about to take it for a spin one day they can get busted with a hefty fine. Many responsible operators will still be at risk of penalties.
  • @Patrick Duffy

    I kinda do have an issue with registration, soon as your registered, your information ends up in a database and not just the information you supplied, all the other information that can be retrieved by the use of your credit card when registering. What are they going to do with that information ?, sell it, have it stolen by hackers ?

    I would much rather see the FAA provide some sort of education course for newbie RC users, (For FREE), just like we do for newbie hunters and boat owners.

  • Patric,

    Agreed 100% with you.

    Just wanted to add - a $5 now (and more expensive later) for 1,600,000 drone sales in US is more than $7,500,000. Doesn't seem like much? Wait and see what else will require to get your registration card. New paid services and soon required will be created. They will report new jobs creation while in-fact those jobs will produce nothing tangible for the economy but will make them look good!

    Until we, as people of a free country will eat it - they will feed it..

    If the law exist, why take new actions? If there is no law - how does it make registration a lawful requirement? Easy, they just don't care!

This reply was deleted.