Hey, just wanted to see what y'all think about this video Ken Heron posted and then delisted a couple of days ago.
Not trying to stir anything, but I do think there's definitely a discussion to be had about the actual hazards of flying BVLOS and what it actually means and what it means for future regulations. Let me know if this belongs in sUAS Rules & Regulations, just figured this was a better fit considering that it's pretty clear where the current US regulations stand on this.
Take a look, he does discuss it on his weekly YT shows #231 as well which leads to some friction between him and one of his hosts.
Just curious to hear what you guys think,
There's no doubt that this breaks the rules, so that's not the focus of my commentary.
From a pure entertainment perspective, I thought this video was just
awesome! It's a drone that's
going somewhere, not just buzzing around where you can see it. Staying fanatically VLOS is like a manned aircraft pilot never leaving the pattern.
If I were making/changing the rules, this flight would be legal if, and only if, the pilots involved had gotten their (not yet defined) BVLOS rating. Many people consider the instrument rating to be the hardest manned pilot rating that there is, and I agree with that. Still, any reasonably good pilot who puts in the time and effort to learn how to fly on instruments, can, both legally and safely.
The (not yet extant) BVLOS rating should be just like that. Hard to get, but accessible to anyone with enough dedication and skill. There are also minimum experience requirements for the instrument rating, and that should be the case for the BVLOS rating. I couldn't take my instrument check ride when I was ready, because I didn't have enough cross country flight logged. Easy enough to cure, and a good requirement.
If you're going to risk having a two-pound lump of hardware cruising around on low batteries, do it over some place where there aren't people walking - over the ocean instead of over a boardwalk.
This is a very good point. Even VFR manned flights have reserve requirements, and the reserve requirement for instrument flights is greater. I think that's a good requirement for BVLOS flights as well.
Intentionally flying with virtually no battery reserve, with that many people around, is Bad. I wouldn't do it, and I'd keep it illegal if I was Czar of the Regs. If they'd been flying off shore just a wee bit, then no problem.
I'd welcome additional videos like this, and if they're any good (this one was good), I'll watch 'em. I wouldn't
do it, because it's way too far outside the existing regs, but the regs should be changed to
allow me to do it, with proper experience, training, and testing.
Just like the instrument rating.
Thanks for posting this, and for catalysing this discussion!
TCS