Flying Scotsman in danger

[Soledamcer]

While it might not be quite 50m away the locomotive must be in far more danger from jostling hordes of amateur photographers at various locations.
Looks like spectacular example of rampant drone hate, only they happily the published the photo themselves at first.

You can tell they are desperate when they throw in casual links to disruption at Gatwick (insider job to deliberately cause chaos?) and another incident where a phantom I think hit a tree near a steam train and the ping pong ball sized camera bounced off a carriage causing no damage.
Obviously if it had struck the locomotive it might have derailed and plunged into a ravine killing 500 passengers, squashed a bus full of orphans on the road below, and slightly scared two kittens almost a mile away.

Luckily Lassie would have been there to save the day. Drone hate articles are getting beyond a joke. The word DRONE should never have been adopted for these aerial cameras after the hate it invoked in the second world war.

 

[¬Nomad]

"

"The word DRONE should never have been adopted for these aerial cameras after the hate it invoked in the second world war. "

Never heard that before, whats the story?

 

[Bigbird48]

Totally this. We need to keep our space separate from "their" space. Look-up and follow the local/state/country laws. The more careless people become with their drones, the more laws and regulations we'll face in the future. The fact that our drones are plastic and lightweight is never the point. It's about respecting other's space.

Stay safe everyone!

Would it be fair to say that a majority of drone owners don't even know their suppose to Register there drones, that they don't pay any attention to FAA rules or even know about them. Their kids or adults with what they think is a cool toy so lets go to the airport and take pictures of the planes.
I've met several people that fit this profile and I ask them did you register your drone with the FAA and their like WHAT why should I do that. These are the ones breaking the rules and making it harder and harder for the law abiding citizen. Its just like that other thing we can't talk about. Take away the drone from the law abiding and only the bad guys will have drones. Its been proven over and over again they punish the good guys .

 

[Bigbird48]

I said in some other thread these FAA shirts with register drone pilot should not say that.
Maybe FAA REGISTERED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHER
would be a better shirt or vest

 

[bushie]

I am a member of a local heritage rail group. Volenteer 1 day a week for them. (I am retired after a lifetime of working in the rail industry)

We will soon be starting operation of regular steam loco hauled trains as the fire season ends and i certainly intend to use my UAV to get some video. In Oz i can do from 30m.

 

[gnirtS]

Its a train. With people on. Who can get hurt if some knuckle dragger flies his toy drone into them by negligence or incompetence.

There are also laws about maintaining 50m from obstacles and persons (150m if crowded).

If the drone community was actually grown up enough to play sensibly there wouldn't be more and more restrictive regulations being introduced.

 

[zocalo]

Its a train. With people on. Who can get hurt if some knuckle dragger flies his toy drone into them by negligence or incompetence.

There are also laws about maintaining 50m from obstacles and persons (150m if crowded).

If the drone community was actually grown up enough to play sensibly there wouldn't be more and more restrictive regulations being introduced.

Yep. I don't think there's any ambiguity here. The drone code states: "Stay 150ft (50m) away from people and property", and "Crowds and built up areas – 500ft (150m) and don’t overfly". A train is absolutely property, as is the track (which is also covered by NR's trespass byelaws), and despite them being inside the train I suspect there's a pretty good chance a judge might feel that the passengers would meet the definition of "crowd" as well, should a pilot end up in front of one.

Yes, it sucks if you want to get drone footage of a train as a hobbyist and can't get the necessary permissions, but if a minority of pilots keep thinking they are special and can fly anyway then everyone can expect more/larger NFZs, greater minimum separation requirements, reduced max altitudes, mandatory registration/licensing, having to get permission before flights, requirements for transponders, larger fines, longer jail terms...

What should also be unambiguous is that this minority is ruining it for ALL of us; we should NOT be tolerating or making excuses for them.

 

[Meta4]

A forum can get a bit boring when everyone is saying the same thing.
I'll suggest something different for a change.

if a minority of pilots keep thinking they are special and can fly anyway then everyone can expect more/larger NFZs, greater minimum separation requirements, reduced max altitudes, mandatory registration/licensing, having to get permission before flights, requirements for transponders, larger fines, longer jail terms...

Why?
I'd like a dollar for every similar post I've read on forums.
It would go a long way toward paying for my next drone.

Despite the near-constant repetition of similar sentiments, I don't agree.
There are always a small percentage of people that fail to fully comply with rules and regulations in all aspects of life.
But authorities don't increase penalties every time someone is caught speeding, doesn't pay taxes, commits murder etc.
Why would anyone expect that harsher rules and increased penalties are the solution if someone misuses their drone?
I would hope lawmakers are smarter than that and looking at how things work in the non-drone world, it appears they are.

What should also be unambiguous is that this minority is ruining it for ALL of us; we should NOT be tolerating or making excuses for them.

Get used to it, there will always be a few no matter how much people complain about it on forums.
I've read about how these people are "ruining it for everyone" ever since drones became popular but I haven't noticed anything to confirm it yet.

 

[gnirtS]

But authorities don't increase penalties every time someone is caught speeding, doesn't pay taxes, commits murder etc.

Actually they do. In many countries such as speeding have had increased fines and penalties as a deterrent and mobile phone use offences in most european countries have been substantially increased for the same reason.

Quite simply, if the drone community cant play sensibly and self-police they'll tighten up laws, penalties, restrictions and enforcement of such


Why would anyone expect that harsher rules and increased penalties are the solution if someone misuses their drone?
I would hope lawmakers are smarter than that and looking at how things work in the non-drone world, it appears they are.

Unfortunately the drone community is one of the most immature regarding adult thought ive come across in many hobbies.

 

[zocalo]

Why?

Because at least in the UK, it's a FACT. No matter how practical or unenforceable, when there is an issue politicians see new laws and stiffer penalties for breaking those laws as part of the solution and so, because of multiple incidents by that small percentage, there is a current and on-going government consultation over changes to the legislation that applies to the drones and their operation. Some of this new legislation is already here (e.g. enlarged NFZs at airports, which was brought forwards and enhanced over the original proposal as a direct result of Gatwick), some is known and pending (registration of drone operators and drones over 250g is due to be introduced in October 2019 and becomes mandatory from November 2019 - the fine for failing to do is going to be £1500), and there are further legal changes known to be forthcoming but yet to be published.

Sure, there are always going to be people who break the rules, but here in the UK they are absolutely providing the necessary justifications for the new legislation that is being introduced, and those rules are undeniably going to apply to everyone that doesn't plan on flying outside the law, and will have an impact. The expanded NFZs for instance, have already forced the relocation of some model aircraft clubs that had previously been operating perfectly safely and with the full knowledge of the tower, a fee of £16.50/year has been proposed to cover the registration scheme, which impacts on everyone with a drone or model aircraft (much to the apparent surprise of the BMFA) over 250g. The list goes on...

On the plus side, at least they've shelved (for now) a proposal to register each flight via a mobile app prior to takeoff (they conceeded it was unworkable due to spotty mobile coverage in many of the areas where it's possible to fly legally), but it's still on the table and the last thing UK pilots need to be doing is given them any excuses to bring it back.