This reckless drone flying has to stop...

[Thwyllo]

Xiaomi isn't an chinese company? Do you have a clue about that?.

What in the name of god are you even talking about? Did they move Beijing already?

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Anyone who thinks any National Civil Aviation Authority would give a r@ts @ss about DJI's no fly zones is misguided. They don't. They have their own criteria for designating NFZ's and surely don't need DJI to interfere with that. Most of the NFZ's in GO are incorrect, have the wrong shape (only circles) and are often non existent according to the CAA(or FAA).

The DJI NFZ's, as well as Landing Protection, Obstacle Avoidance, VPS, Precision Landing, need I go on, all provide a false sense of safety, taking away responsibility from pilots.

 

[Thwyllo]

Nobody said they gave a rat's derrière did they? But unless you're saying you are aware of incorrect NFZ information that, for example, could result in someone innocently flying in illegal airspace then the DJI view is better than none at all isn't it?

All I was saying was that it's perfectly understandable from a business perspective to think that DJIs efforts on this front are driven by their interest in maintaining sales channels as opposed to any selfless regard for public safety.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Nobody said they gave a rat's derrière did they? But unless you're saying you are aware of incorrect NFZ information that, for example, could result in someone innocently flying in illegal airspace then the DJI view is better than none at all isn't it?

Well, it happened more than once that someone was flying in a NFZ area that according to DJI wasn't an NFZ, so yes, that's the main concern!

All I was saying was that it's perfectly understandable from a business perspective to think that DJIs efforts on this front are driven by their interest in maintaining sales channels as opposed to any selfless regard for public safety.

You're 100% right here, as far as I see it

 

[Thwyllo]

Ok so now that's a different matter. By the sound of it then, DJI are interpreting air navigation mapping and not always doing it very well? Sounds like a Chinese instruction manual translation!

But on a serious note, if the alternative is that any idiot can go buy a drone and fly it, with an expectation by the rest of us that they're going to know about and check all the relevant sources of air safety information and legality, I still say that anything is better than nothing.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Ok so now that's a different matter. By the sound of it then, DJI are interpreting air navigation mapping and not always doing it very well? Sounds like a Chinese instruction manual translation!

But on a serious note, if the alternative is that any idiot can go buy a drone and fly it, with an expectation by the rest of us that they're going to know about and check all the relevant sources of air safety information and legality, I still say that anything is better than nothing.

I see your point.
Well, it is kind of a lame solution to a problem THEY caused, by selling./aggressively marketing drones to absolute never flown before noobs.

 

[Thwyllo]

Persaktly.

 

[Qoncussion]

My $0.02... Regarding the original post, we've seen and discussed MANY (oh, so many) topics such as this on *these forums*. We continually post, discuss, argue (geezus do we argue); we post and repost the laws, regulations, recommendations, suggested behaviors and debate the proper use and misuse of our beloved drones, while tucked away in our little community corner of the web...

The people out there flying drones over active wildfires **are not** on these forums. They are not seeking out [drone] community support. They don't EVEN KNOW (some do) that there are rules, that they as drone operators are subject to FAA (and equivalent in other countries) standards.

In their [alleged] minds, they bought a toy. That's it. They simply bought a toy. When they opened the box, there was no flyer (no pun intended), pamphlet, guide or otherwise in the box, informing them that they are required to adhere to the rules, that we discuss here so vehemently. I can't point fingers and say that this pandemic of foolish behavior starts with what's NOT in the box, but - hey - I just did. They don't know better, until someone tells them. And thus far, no one has told them anything. Now I understand that many are aware and have just never bothered to look any further into it. BUT.....

We who are educated, sit here in our airtight bubble, getting educated and arguing (I MEAN, GEEZUS DO WE ARGUE HERE). But we are arguing with the wrong people. WE ARE ALREADY HERE. And by being here, we have taken the right steps to climb the evolutionary ladder of being better informed operators and fly safely. WE ARE ARGUING WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE.

Look, I work in a fire lookout tower. As a matter of fact, I'll be up in the tower in just a few hours from now. On many occasions, I have been the person responsible for making the call that results in the dispatching of our air attack force. That is both empowering and humbling, at the same time. The force consists of an air attack plane (often referred to as a "spotter"), two tankers, and a fleet of helicopters (aka, "scoopers"). If one of our pilots got taken down by a drone, I would probably enlist the help of the good folks here to assist me in hunting them down. My personal feelings in such a matter are so strong that I don't think that we'd need to involve law enforcement. The term "makeshift grave" comes to mind.

Anyway, my point is that there is an entire community of uneducated operators out there who don't know the rules - or - that there even are rules. If you want to make a difference, stop arguing HERE (and holy cr@p do we argue here), and take the information to those who need it.

So ~ if anyone wants to play along, why don't we change this conversation to, "What can we do" to educate those who have no idea that they must fly safely, under an established set of rules?

</rant>

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Look, I work in a fire lookout tower. As a matter of fact, I'll be up in the tower in just a few hours from now. On many occasions, I have been the person responsible for making the call that results in the dispatching of our air attack force.

respect!

And agreed with your post (more worth than the 2 cents ) . People here generally are the guys (people I mean) who seek knowledge and wisdom, The tons of totally ignorant (or not so ignorant?) noobs out there are the real problem.

 

[Qoncussion]

respect!

And agreed with your post (more worth than the 2 cents ) . People here generally are the guys (people I mean) who seek knowledge and wisdom, The tons of totally ignorant (or not so ignorant?) noobs out there are the real problem.

Thanks, LF... I'm being interviewed today, up in the tower, for a local article on the role that the three coordinated towers play in our county (Nevada County, California). I'm going to request that the interviewer (a really good friend of mine) put a blurb in the article about *grounding your drone* during active fire incidents. After posting my, ok $0.03 above, I think it's a good start.

 

[Thwyllo]

Thanks, LF... I'm being interviewed today, up in the tower, for a local article on the role that the three coordinated towers play in our county (Nevada County, California). I'm going to request that the interviewer (a really good friend of mine) put a blurb in the article about *grounding your drone* during active fire incidents. After posting my, ok $0.03 above, I think it's a good start.

Well done - it's people in positions like yours who are able to make a difference, especially if the explanations are clear and to the point so that even the dimmer audience gets it. For the rest of us it's not so easy.

I don't know anyone else who owns a drone and I've never seen one being flown. These people aren't on these forums for a reason; they can't be bothered. I lurked here for months before I bought one, sucking up tips and information, but how you persuade these missing elements to do so is another story. I'll do it when I encounter a relevant situation but individually I'm not sure how much we can achieve - which is not to say we shouldn't try of course.

 

[ac0j]

With every responsible thing that comes along, (IE, drones, automobiles, Guns, Matches, and scissors...)
An Idiot will also come along and be irresponsible with it. This is how the world is.
All of the smart ones here could come up with a million plans to keep dangerous technology out of the hands of idiots. But it will be fruitless. The Idiots always find a way. Its not just drones, we all know it.
What needs to be done is make the laws, and ENFORCE them. Let the idiots fines pay for the enforcement.

 

[macoman]

With every responsible thing that comes along, (IE, drones, automobiles, Guns, Matches, and scissors...)
An Idiot will also come along and be irresponsible with it. This is how the world is.
All of the smart ones here could come up with a million plans to keep dangerous technology out of the hands of idiots. But it will be fruitless. The Idiots always find a way. Its not just drones, we all know it.
What needs to be done is make the laws, and ENFORCE them. Let the idiots fines pay for the enforcement.

Disagreed... for example, enforcement of gun laws has done nothing... There are still people able to violated everything and do whatever they want. The same thing with drone laws, nothing will stop an idiot or terrorists in accomplish their purpose.

 

[Dizzy1971]

None of it is about "what the industry wants", it's about what the government wants and therefore what DJI and similar companies give to them. Nobody cares if the consumer doesn't like it, if it gets their drones sold in that market then it's all good.

I'll repeat what I said, if you think DJI gives a toss about what you do with their drones you're fooling yourself. They only do what's right for them to be allowed to keep selling product and part of that is appearing to be a "responsible citizen".

Who's paying? You mostly, and the government likes that too. All they have to do is give DJI an updated flight restriction map, together with any new regulations they want to implement in terms of, say, distance, height, speed etc.., and DJI pumps out another update. Or worse still, produces a next generation of product with more restrictions built in. I foresee that happening increasingly, especially in the consumer market.

Sadly,I must agree with your assessment sir.

 

[ac0j]

Disagreed... for example, enforcement of gun laws has done nothing... There are still people able to violated everything and do whatever they want. The same thing with drone laws, nothing will stop an idiot or terrorists in accomplish their purpose.

The gun laws have imprisoned more idiots that I can guess at a count. They work. They just need to up the enforcement. Imagine how much worse it would be with NO laws!
My statement was, no matter what you do, there will always be irresponsible people that misuse things.

 

[RayOZ]

Another one of these on going discussions. Maybe change definition for a drone. Under 2kg, it's not an aircraft, it can be taken down if interfering with emergency services. Either a drone gun that forces it to land, or a gun that shoots nets over it. I mean, if emergency services are on a helicopter, they could fly over it and the down wash should bring it down.
Maybe loosing a $1k drone without compensation might be a better deterrent. If they bring their crash drone to authorities to complain, they can be charge for breaking the law too.

 

[Classic flyer]

Colorado fire officials urging people to stop flying drones near wildfires

This is exactly why we see more and more regulations and our hobby/businesses are increasingly frowned upon by the public. This is reckless and stupid and I hope these people are caught and fined.

Yet another "BLACK EYE" for the drone community!!!