The nine ounce plastic toy doesn't have to be registered. You can register your kid's Phantom in your name and just make sure she has the handy wallet sized authorization paper with her when the FAA stops her in the local park.
Besides, the crank down the street already knows who she is and has probably memorized her Facebook page. Sucks to be him.
I would have preferred they made it private, but it's really not a big deal. The bigger deal is the terms of the EULA. Nobody keeps their UAV in sight at all times. The FAA specifically disallows FPV (First Person View) technology. That and the world-is-flat 400 foot altitude restriction is unnecessarily restrictive.
The big difference is that the UAS database registers people. You get an FA number that you can attach to as many drones as you desire. The 'aircraft' themselves are not registered. In the traditional aircraft registration system, you can register your plane under your own name - or a holding company's name or what have you.
You are not going to find Tom Cruise's plane listed as such - it will be owned by some entity like "Xenu Airlines".
I don't really think it makes a whole lot of difference. I'm in the FCC Amateur database and the worst thing that came up is some local boater wanted me to teach him how to use his marine VHF radio. He apparently thought that since I could deal with amateur radio, I could explain his three button VHF so he didn't have to RTFM.
Been there, done that. The Phantom series has 'Geofencing' - if the GPS thinks you're in a no fly zone (updated through the controller which is hooked to a smart phone / tablet which is hooked to the Internet) it won't start the motors. If you are in a restricted area it will throw up a warning and have the crafts lights blink red (whoo hoo).
You can bypass it by turning off GPS functionality which does limit the drone significantly, but it will fly. DJI (the manufacturer of the Phantom series) has promised an opt out for this system but we've not seen it.
He might, the masses of Germany decided that they 'needed' to get out of the onerous restrictions placed on them by the Entente states after WWI. Couple a recession / depression, a burgeoning populace, limited natural resources, a couple of vulnerable populations and a crazy smart demagogue then you have a tyranny.
The FAA has previously stated that they will regulate anything between.5 and 55 kg as a 'hobbyist UAV'. Above 55 kg it's treated as a 'real' aircraft and gets an N number. UAVs get an "FA" number in the registry.* So little toy drones like a Hubsan X4 aren't being regulated but anything much over that, including the wildly popular DJI Phantom series, is being regulated.
And for all of you firmware freaks, DJI has already implemented no fly zones where the craft will not start it's motors if it detects it's within those boundaries. Of course, you just have to shut off GPS mode and it has no clue as to where it is and you can continue your attempts at world domination by dispensing 250 grams of C4 or whatever.....
* Except UAVs with a 333 exemption for commercial use which get an N number after a pilot's license, three hundred pages of forms and a six month wait.
Actually, this seems like a win for the system. They ONLY spent a quarter billion dollars before the checks and balances brought the system to a halt. Had they not been able to stop it, the program would have chewed up something between 30 and 40 billion dollars throughout the life of the project. And still done very little. The really scary part is the sidebar to The Fine Article where the LA Times talks about all of the OTHER screwed up projects of the Defense Missile Agency that have already chewed up tens of billions of dollars.
Seems like the Pentagon and Congress hasn't figured out that Star Wars is a fantasy.
That doesn't really mean what you seem to want it to mean. Pushing the immune system is not just dirty dishes. It's dirty dishes with your Microbiology 101 lab growing on it. So, to do it right, avoid doing the dishes. Avoid putting them away. Just toss them on the floor, let the dog do the heavy lifting and start over for breakfast. Unplug the dishwasher entirely.
Ours does that as well. It has an entire row of bright blue LEDs. Extra this, extra that. Dirty, clean, warm dry, hot dry, compleat biological disintergration (I wish).
Or, they tested the higher end features, found out that the hardware didn't support it well and binned that particular device. Happens to chips, happens to boxes.
The space shuttle program ended up being extremely expensive compared to rocket launches.
The Shuttle was the poster child for how NOT to do reusable. Government spec with 10 mission requirements orthogonal to each other, half of which are not technically possible at time of design while development is spread out over ever ZIP code in the country.
The big advantages of a drone are 1) The pilot can live anywhere in the world. 2) It doesn't matter if the pilot gets shot down. 3) the drone can be made real small.
1) and 2) are really useful, if conducting operations over hostile Afghanistan. On the US-Mexico border, they are worthless. 3), why are the using the 2 ton mq-9?
A static barrier, with video cameras, might be the best option. Congress has been blocking that option for the last 15 years.
We already tried that already. Didn't work out all that well. Different idea, same contractors. Interesting, huh?
You just might be on to something here. A chance for any average American to be patriotic, save our country (we won't go much into that) and get high caliber drone experience that could later be translated into blowing other people up. After all, we do need more drone pilots - the military is really hurting for qualified people.
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Or, they've found a bunch of things they don't like and they are going to fix it before next flight. Like engineering.
Still reading Slashdot on dialup?
The nine ounce plastic toy doesn't have to be registered. You can register your kid's Phantom in your name and just make sure she has the handy wallet sized authorization paper with her when the FAA stops her in the local park.
Besides, the crank down the street already knows who she is and has probably memorized her Facebook page. Sucks to be him.
I would have preferred they made it private, but it's really not a big deal. The bigger deal is the terms of the EULA. Nobody keeps their UAV in sight at all times. The FAA specifically disallows FPV (First Person View) technology. That and the world-is-flat 400 foot altitude restriction is unnecessarily restrictive.
The big difference is that the UAS database registers people. You get an FA number that you can attach to as many drones as you desire. The 'aircraft' themselves are not registered. In the traditional aircraft registration system, you can register your plane under your own name - or a holding company's name or what have you.
You are not going to find Tom Cruise's plane listed as such - it will be owned by some entity like "Xenu Airlines".
I don't really think it makes a whole lot of difference. I'm in the FCC Amateur database and the worst thing that came up is some local boater wanted me to teach him how to use his marine VHF radio. He apparently thought that since I could deal with amateur radio, I could explain his three button VHF so he didn't have to RTFM.
Like all the exiting offers based on bog-knows-what that I already get? I doubt I'd notice.
Been there, done that. The Phantom series has 'Geofencing' - if the GPS thinks you're in a no fly zone (updated through the controller which is hooked to a smart phone / tablet which is hooked to the Internet) it won't start the motors. If you are in a restricted area it will throw up a warning and have the crafts lights blink red (whoo hoo).
You can bypass it by turning off GPS functionality which does limit the drone significantly, but it will fly. DJI (the manufacturer of the Phantom series) has promised an opt out for this system but we've not seen it.
Idiot. It's absence of tigers. How many tigers did we have before the drones?
Are you willing to risk it?
He might, the masses of Germany decided that they 'needed' to get out of the onerous restrictions placed on them by the Entente states after WWI. Couple a recession / depression, a burgeoning populace, limited natural resources, a couple of vulnerable populations and a crazy smart demagogue then you have a tyranny.
Hitler wasn't the first. Won't be the last.
If there is a jumbo jet in my backyard, then they (and I) have more problems than a $40 drone.
Honey, it followed me home. Honest. Can we keep it?
The FAA has previously stated that they will regulate anything between .5 and 55 kg as a 'hobbyist UAV'. Above 55 kg it's treated as a 'real' aircraft and gets an N number. UAVs get an "FA" number in the registry.* So little toy drones like a Hubsan X4 aren't being regulated but anything much over that, including the wildly popular DJI Phantom series, is being regulated.
And for all of you firmware freaks, DJI has already implemented no fly zones where the craft will not start it's motors if it detects it's within those boundaries. Of course, you just have to shut off GPS mode and it has no clue as to where it is and you can continue your attempts at world domination by dispensing 250 grams of C4 or whatever .....
* Except UAVs with a 333 exemption for commercial use which get an N number after a pilot's license, three hundred pages of forms and a six month wait.
Apparently none, according to the same ban-happy FAA.
"Since 1990, the FAA recorded 198 airplane-and-turtle collisions, and exactly zero drone-and-airplane collisions."
http://www.popsci.com/airplanes-hit-more-turtles-than-drones
CAPTCHA: tyranny
It's turtles all the way down!
Jesus H - this. I predict in a couple of years it won't make any difference what the video actually contains because you won't be able to see it.
Shut up and let the video alone!
Actually, this seems like a win for the system. They ONLY spent a quarter billion dollars before the checks and balances brought the system to a halt. Had they not been able to stop it, the program would have chewed up something between 30 and 40 billion dollars throughout the life of the project. And still done very little. The really scary part is the sidebar to The Fine Article where the LA Times talks about all of the OTHER screwed up projects of the Defense Missile Agency that have already chewed up tens of billions of dollars.
Seems like the Pentagon and Congress hasn't figured out that Star Wars is a fantasy.
TSP is for wimps. Muriatic acid is where it's at. Cleans up everything in one jiffy. Plates, pets, your relatives that won't leave.
That doesn't really mean what you seem to want it to mean. Pushing the immune system is not just dirty dishes. It's dirty dishes with your Microbiology 101 lab growing on it. So, to do it right, avoid doing the dishes. Avoid putting them away. Just toss them on the floor, let the dog do the heavy lifting and start over for breakfast. Unplug the dishwasher entirely.
Ours does that as well. It has an entire row of bright blue LEDs. Extra this, extra that. Dirty, clean, warm dry, hot dry, compleat biological disintergration (I wish).
I just wish I could program it to unload itself.
Or, they tested the higher end features, found out that the hardware didn't support it well and binned that particular device. Happens to chips, happens to boxes.
Correction: Elon can't be dumber than Congress and the Air Force put together.
I suppose, however, that this would be damning by faint praise.
The space shuttle program ended up being extremely expensive compared to rocket launches.
The Shuttle was the poster child for how NOT to do reusable. Government spec with 10 mission requirements orthogonal to each other, half of which are not technically possible at time of design while development is spread out over ever ZIP code in the country.
Elon can't be dumber than Congress. Unpossible.
I'm waiting for a 'slightly used' one to show up on e-bay. Then we'll know that the technology has arrived.
I still have my copy of the 1980 Rubber Bible, which I was awarded as the top science student in my school when I graduated.
Interesting. Nowadays, 'Rubber Bible' would have a completely different connotation. And probably would have been lots more fun to win.
Oh. Wait.
Computers for Dummies
The big advantages of a drone are 1) The pilot can live anywhere in the world. 2) It doesn't matter if the pilot gets shot down. 3) the drone can be made real small.
1) and 2) are really useful, if conducting operations over hostile Afghanistan. On the US-Mexico border, they are worthless. 3), why are the using the 2 ton mq-9?
A static barrier, with video cameras, might be the best option. Congress has been blocking that option for the last 15 years.
We already tried that already. Didn't work out all that well. Different idea, same contractors. Interesting, huh?
You just might be on to something here. A chance for any average American to be patriotic, save our country (we won't go much into that) and get high caliber drone experience that could later be translated into blowing other people up. After all, we do need more drone pilots - the military is really hurting for qualified people.
I think you've stumbled on to a great idea here.
wrong! this is what it says.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Say that with a Yoda voice and it sort of makes sense