Is Showing Your FAA # Smart

[Lets Fly]

If some nut, (and we have some) that does not follow regulations and wants to put your number on their drone, and fly's into trouble like a crowd or building or sporting event, your number would show up
and you would be contacted and would have some explaining to do. If you wish to show how you placed them on your drone that's fine, but I think those who posted them should remove them from the post and cover numbers like some do.
Just a thought.

 

[Captain Lou]

[emoji848]..... my opinion is that the reasoning behind the new rule is to protect police/first responders from hidden explosive devices that “some nut” might hide in a place that we were allowed to put our #’s.... both sides of this conversation seem far fetched but ,unfortunately, possible ... therefore I think in this situation law enforcement is going to win out over you and I ... my advice: watch out for those who see your reg #, and ALWAYS HAVE A ALIBI ! [emoji3]

 

[Hosewater]

Regardless of whether it is smart or not, it is law to display them now. If the FBI wants to find out where your drone has been flying, I'm quite certain that they have the means of proving it was your particular drone or not, via your controller and aircraft being confiscated and downloaded. John Law can pretty much do anything they wish in regards to homeland security.

 

[Mr. Salty]

Regardless of whether it is smart or not, it is law to display them now. If the FBI wants to find out where your drone has been flying, I'm quite certain that they have the means of proving it was your particular drone or not, via your controller and aircraft being confiscated and downloaded. John Law can pretty much do anything they wish in regards to homeland security.

The OP is saying people here shouldn’t be posting photos of their numbers on a public forum where someone else could copy them, use them on their drone, fly recklessly and have it traced back to an innocent person.

He makes a valid point. Posting personal information to a public forum isn’t a great idea.

 

[Thomas B]

A simple access of the DJI website and/or third party selling FAA reg. Stickers, my FA reg. Card, the flight logs in my bird and controllers, etc can establish who owns and location of the drone at the suspect time.
Why would anyone go to the trouble to “steal” an FAA reg. # when they can just make one up, which of course might coincide with someone’s real number.

 

[msinger]

Posting personal information to a public forum isn’t a great idea

Is it any more public than something like a license plate on your car? I can see that too, but what can I do with it?

 

[Hosewater]

I get that. I considered taking down the pics I posted a few hours ago. I think if someone wants to steal the numbers, they'll do it anywhere. And if they used them for malicious purpose, it wouldn't be too hard for the powers that be to find out that they're not valid. Kinda like illegally attached plates. But with our units, we have digital record and signature of all of our activities, whether we realize it or not. Making it easier for someone to achieve nefarious ends is probably not a good idea.

 

[Mr. Salty]

Is it any more public than something like a license plate on your car? I can see that too, but what can I do with it?

Forging a convincing fake license plate out of metal and putting it on your car and then losing your car is a great deal less likely than writing someone else's registration number on your drone with a Sharpie and then losing your relatively inexpensive drone doing something stupid.

 

[BD0G]

I think I will post mine on every forum I can !

That way when some Drone Jihad happens and it has my number on the bird I can just indicate to the FAA or other authority that since I was required by law to place my FAA Registration number on the outside of my Mavic and I love taking pictures of it and posting them well it would be easy for some unscrupulous person to use my number. Thats MY alibi !

There are always 4 sides to a coin.

The side that ended up. The side that ended up down. The side that is perceived to have ended up. The side that is perceived to have ended down.

 

[Torcan]

I had to register the serial number of my drone, do you not have to do that also in the USA?
even if you put the same FAA number on different drones, did you not have to register each drone along with their serial number, whereas the serial number is linked back to you?

 

[Lets Fly]

Thats true BDOG, and the other posts also. I have mine on the top of my MA with phone #, but placing it on a forum that is world wide??? Save yourself the hassle of DP coming to check you out. Isn't it true that your flight records are only kept on your personal phone or pad unless you are registered with DJI to save them? If that is true, (and i'm not sure) then the guy or gal who is flying a drone with your # crashes and causes property damage is going to leave it alone. There would be no way of finding them and only trace it back to you. Why take the chance even though it may be a rare event.

 

[tleedom]

If some nut, (and we have some) that does not follow regulations and wants to put your number on their drone, and fly's into trouble like a crowd or building or sporting event, your number would show up
and you would be contacted and would have some explaining to do. If you wish to show how you placed them on your drone that's fine, but I think those who posted them should remove them from the post and cover numbers like some do.
Just a thought.

Just easier to make up a fake set, but in reality if you are going to do something stupid or illegal why even use your activated AC (buy used) or put a number on it to begin with.

 

[Lets Fly]

Thats also true tleedom, but sometimes stupid does the stupid things.
Happy flying.

 

[Thomas B]

Not to offend or criticize but I’m putting on my waders guys.

 

[msinger]

Forging a convincing fake license plate out of metal and putting it on your car and then losing your car is a great deal less likely than writing someone else's registration number on your drone with a Sharpie and then losing your relatively inexpensive drone doing something stupid.

Why go through the trouble of copying someone else's FAA number when you can just make one up?

 

[msinger]

I had to register the serial number of my drone, do you not have to do that also in the USA?

The serial number is only required in the USA when registering under Part 107 (for commercial flying).

 

[Torcan]

The serial number is only required in the USA when registering under Part 107 (for commercial flying).

ahhh.. interesting difference between our two countries. I figured Canada would have just followed the US procedures. Thanks for replying

 

[Mr. Salty]

Why go through the trouble of copying someone else's FAA number when you can just make one up?

Because some people are ********.

The likelihood of someone misusing someone else’s number is probably small, but the risks are still worth thinking about.

 

[BD0G]

Thats true BDOG, and the other posts also. I have mine on the top of my MA with phone #, but placing it on a forum that is world wide??? Save yourself the hassle of DP coming to check you out. Isn't it true that your flight records are only kept on your personal phone or pad unless you are registered with DJI to save them? If that is true, (and i'm not sure) then the guy or gal who is flying a drone with your # crashes and causes property damage is going to leave it alone. There would be no way of finding them and only trace it back to you. Why take the chance even though it may be a rare event.

In short they cannot prove I flew a reckless flight that endangered other humans, thier property , or myself. A number does not a criminal make.

 

[russellg]

rename "is showing your FAA #" to "paranoid sissies". There so much information available on everyone, just from you car tag # I can get the address of owner and other information. We are all creatures of habit, you drive the same route to work everyday, retrieve your mail the same way, shop in the same stores for staples, and have annoying habits that other people see that you are not aware of. If you have a family member that uses FB, you would be surprised of all the information that is obtainable, just a picture of a house is plenty. zillow.com shows almost every house on a street, google earth shows pretty good detail (it shows my chicken pen and you can actually count how many chickens I have). The idea of putting your FAA # on your drone is so a drone can be traced back to the owner, but those people who don't follow the rules only make reasons for other stupid rules to get imposed.