Civilian Use of Drone Aircraft May Soon Fly In the US

An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from the Seattle Times: "Drone aircraft, best known for their role in hunting and destroying terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, may be coming soon to the skies near you. Police agencies want drones for air support to find runaway criminals. Utility companies expect they can help monitor oil, gas and water pipelines. Farmers believe drones could aid in spraying crops with pesticides. 'It's going to happen,' said Dan Elwell, vice president of civil aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association. 'Now it's about figuring out how to safely assimilate the technology into national airspace.' That's the job of the Federal Aviation Administration, which plans to propose new rules for using small drones in January, a first step toward integrating robotic aircraft into the nation's skyways."

Comments

Re:Modern Day Kite Fights?

[syousef]

Meanwhile in the real world R/C clubs are dying off in the cities as land has become way too expensive and the population too densly packed to tolerate small aircraft falling out of the sky just so people can get their thrills.

Newsflash: Sometimes people leave the city for recreation.

And now I'll really blow your mind: Some people don't even live in cities to begin with

Newsflash. Majority of the population lives in cities. Newsflash, modern life means opportunities to go away have severly decreased. Newsflash: r/c flying requires practice and upkeep.

With so many news flashes perhaps you should take up photography.