Attitudes towards drones

[Drgnfli]

If your critique of Django 18's piece is mainly for its lack of editing expertise, then may I suggest you take a look at some views on this forum (indeed more than a few originating in your neck of the woods) which make his article look like the work of William Shakespeare in comparison, either that or try to increase your attention span.
As for your attitude criticising his stance on firearms offensive to you that drones are being unfairly compared to weapons of mass destruction (which they undoubtedly are designed to be) then I beg to differ and perhaps the relatives of those who've died (in the region of averaging 30,000 per year in your country alone and overall more than all Americans killed in the Civil War and World Wars One and Two combined) by such weapons, might have a view that Django 18's view is more rational than that of the gun lobby that raises its head so often on this site if they face the slightest criticism.

A gun is a "weapon of mass destruction" now? Check this out:

Any Study Of 'Gun Violence' Should Include How Guns Save Lives

Guns are used for legal self-defense far more often than most people realize.

www.forbes.com

 

[THE CYBORG]

I wouldn’t mention Gatwick by name, leave it at “There’s always a few exceptions “

 

[THE CYBORG]

A gun is a "weapon of mass destruction" now? Check this out:

Any Study Of 'Gun Violence' Should Include How Guns Save Lives

Guns are used for legal self-defense far more often than most people realize.

www.forbes.com

I have no viewpoint of American gun control either for or against.
But
It says “There were 8.855 criminal gun homicides but only 258 killings deemed justifiable”
What ever way you look at it that’s a lot of deaths caused by guns.

 

[jac1957]

Great article. I think all drone pilots should read this. To me, smart phones are a bigger risk for invasion of privacy. And as far as shooting drones out of the air, if I am not mistaken the FAA considers drones to be aircraft right along planes and helicopters. So i am guessing same rules about shooting at planes apply to drones as well. I remember reading somewhere that there is one surveillance camera for every four people in the united states.

 

[Thomas B]

Great article. I think all drone pilots should read this. To me, smart phones are a bigger risk for invasion of privacy. And as far as shooting drones out of the air, if I am not mistaken the FAA considers drones to be aircraft right along planes and helicopters. So i am guessing same rules about shooting at planes apply to drones as well. I remember reading somewhere that there is one surveillance camera for every four people in the united states.

Yes... shooting a drone down is a felony and is the same law that applies to any other aircraft.

 

[Drgnfli]

I have no viewpoint of American gun control either for or against.
But
It says “There were 8.855 criminal gun homicides but only 258 killings deemed justifiable”
What ever way you look at it that’s a lot of deaths caused by guns.

Those stats you mentioned include suicides, gang turf wars, & accidents - but the liberal, socialist, anti-gun media in the USA (CNN,ABC,NBC,CBS,CNBC) wants you to believe the only way to lower these numbers is to attempt to remove all firearms from Earth... (which ain't gonna ever happen!)

 

[chazzm]

This is a good discussion to have.

Personally, I do not like seeing other people's drones hovering. Never have. It is creepy, not knowing who is on the other side of the robot camera.

Also, I've told my friends a couple of times, if someone shoots my bird down over their property, I won't be upset or even irritated. Hopefully I'd be able to find them, and I'd buy them lunch if they'd let me, to let them know who I am, and that I'm ok with their marksmanship.

In my opinion, I think if someone is flying over your back yard, and you can safely neutralize it, you should have the right to take them down. I cannot recommend shooting into the air, but there are shotgun rounds that don't travel far.


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In your article, it seems as if there is no room for other people to express their disagreement with your views.. You are basically insulting anyone who happens to be 'ignorant' and doesn't want an unknown drone flying over them. It seems as though there could be a misunderstanding about how many different reasons people might have to be uncomfortable about drones in their area, and rather than write them off, maybe consider that not everyone flies with the same motivations that you do, and maybe people have good reasons to not trust that all drones are benign.

Consider this -- many people are *way* behind the 'cutting edge' of technology. Believe it or not, there are large swaths of society who barely use the internet, or don't use it at all. I'm thinking specifically of elderly people and plain people like the Amish, etc..

If all you knew was that it was a flying robot, and you have no other education about it, how would you feel if you were out having a walk in the park with your family, or if you were in your back yard, or if you're "walking on the hills" and a drone appears out of nowhere. If I didn't know any better, my active imagination could suggest many things to me to explain what that thing is flying in the sky, and only some would be innocuous.

Now, consider all you know about drone technology. If you don't know who the pilot is or where they are, and a drone appears, it could be from anywhere, being flown by anyone, on any sort of mission. That is a lot of 'any' that our brains would fill in the gaps for, and I can think of some people I know whom I hope never get a drone, because I know they would use it for nuisance/violating purposes..


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To me, currently, the biggest problem is congested airspace. This year, there will be x million people around the world receiving their new drone, and how many of them do you think will read all the rules, register their drones, and practice safely before taking off and seeing how high they can fly, with almost no thought about the flight paths of jets and the potential for disaster if one of these gets sucked into the intake?


All of this to say, I can identify with the apprehension people will have as drones become more commonplace. I think it is hasty to declare someone ignorant before realizing why they don't like your drone. You stated,



But, do you know this as a fact? In fact, I could refer you to dozens of communities online where people don't give a flip about the rules, and it's not just a hundred or so folks.. it is a lot of people around the country, globe. I won't refer you to them in the context, but the fact remains.

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Is this really a 'huge assumption?' You say it's most likely not looking at you, but more likely looking horizontally.. but how can you make such a claim? You really have no idea what other pilots are doing. I fly around all the time looking down, filming folks who happen to be in the area where I'm flying, and so do many other people, and while there is nothing technically illegal about this in general, I have to always keep in my mind, "What would I be irritated by, if I were this person noticing this flying robot?"

...

I'm not motivated to respond to everything I disagree with in your post, but since you specifically asked for feedback, these are some of the most pertinent issues I thought to respond to.

On a final note, I vehemently disagree with anyone who uses the argument "well, we're being recorded everywhere we go anyway, so nobody should care if my camera records them also."

This very mindset is part of the reason we have allowed cameras to invade most public and many 'private' areas around the globe, and now children are growing up with the idea that they are always being recorded, which actually will have an inverse effect than what people are hoping for -- instead of making people more safe, children are growing up not caring about 'misbehaving' on camera, because the ever-present eye doesn't really seem connected to them. Today, most adults would at least think twice before doing something questionable if they know a camera is pointed at them. Tomorrow, people won't care.

What do you think the writers trying to do??? Teach people in my opinion,,, for you to say you’d have no problem with someone shooting YOUR drone out of the sky is SO anti drone and ignorant is truly amazing!!! I’m seriously of the belief that from what you’ve written that you possibly don’t even own a drone or are so rich that you can afford to lose it,,, well I’ve put quite a bit of money into my hobby and would take whatever legal action available to get it replaced if anyone shot mine down!!! As I’m sure many would, mine pays my bills (through photography and video!!! As well as SAR operations,,, what if YOUR child/spouse was lost or injured??? Seriously I think it’s ignorance like yours that gives the PUBLIC a bad look!!! Educate yourself!!!!! Please!

 

[ajkm]

This really is a pointless thread. An RPA is an aircraft and it is illegal to fire anything at an aircraft. People do not own airspace, it's a national asset controlled by a government. No one is interested in "spying" on you - you must have some kind of delusion if you think your life is that interesting.

 

[Thomas B]

OK folks, this thread is a good discussion. Let’s take it down a notch so we can leave it open. Thanks to all.

 

[Pilgrim Pilot]

it is interesting how unable some people are to allow others to express opinions that oppose their own, without using lots of exclamation points and words like 'ridiculous' and 'ignorant' and such.

rather than have dialogue, some people want everyone to either a) militantly agree, or b) shut up and don't say anything more.

this kind of mindset has sadly pervaded our society, where the loudest quacker thinks they get their way by being loudest or getting everyone to shut up one way or another.

in this present context, it doesn't change the fact that there are some valid conversations which ought to be had about this very relevant and immediate technology.

even if this thread gets shut down, I would still express support for someone's right to protect their proximity and property and family by disabling or otherwise neutralizing any kind of invader, robotic or not.

 

[Dale D]

What do you think the writers trying to do??? Teach people in my opinion,,, for you to say you’d have no problem with someone shooting YOUR drone out of the sky is SO anti drone and ignorant is truly amazing!!! I’m seriously of the belief that from what you’ve written that you possibly don’t even own a drone or are so rich that you can afford to lose it,,, well I’ve put quite a bit of money into my hobby and would take whatever legal action available to get it replaced if anyone shot mine down!!! As I’m sure many would, mine pays my bills (through photography and video!!! As well as SAR operations,,, what if YOUR child/spouse was lost or injured??? Seriously I think it’s ignorance like yours that gives the PUBLIC a bad look!!! Educate yourself!!!!! Please!

OK- I've been trying to avoid jumping into this discussion but I have a small comment. Flying a drone is hobby and a fun thing to do for many of us who do not use it for income. It's one of the most fun things to do for me. I try very hard to behave and follow the rules, and never disturb anyone, so I avoid any possibility of situations where I might be accused of snooping, threatening, or harming a person below my drone. For that reason, I reserve flying to as many open spaces as possible. This usually amounts to over water, viewing a shoreline, a skyline of a city (see my submissions on this forum), or over forests, fields, etc. I am hoping that all others follow the rules too so we can all keep flying with a minimization of regulations. What I cannot understand is that some critics think drone flying is all about us spying or snooping on them. Do they really think they are being spied upon? Do they really think this is all about them? For my part, I really have no interest in looking into someone's house, yard, or property. Live and let live!

 

[Colberado]

wants you to believe the only way to lower these numbers is to attempt to remove all firearms from Earth... (which ain't gonna ever happen!)

Well...the way you put it, logically that would not only lower them but eliminate those numbers all together.

 

[hiflyer201]

so much sky so many ways to avoid these confrontations.