UAV, vs Drone, vs RC

[Willie14228]

First a little background about myself I have driven a truck for over 20 years my father drove a truck for another 40 years I have been around the trucking industry all of my life and as such I have dealt with the issues of interpretation of laws and regulations set forth by FMCSA and of state county and City officials.
you might look at that and say what does that have to do with our current situation it actually has a lot to do with it if you think about it.
I'm going to use a fairly well-known issue and that is Yellowstone national Park inside that park there is a remote control airfield that flyers can go into and fly. But if an individual goes in and flies a quadcopter he or she is most likely going to get a ticket for flying a drone or an UAV.
By FAA definitions from what I understand a UAV or UAS is a system that is being used for business purposes, it is not defined by airframe or utility only that it is being used for commercial purpose.
At the same token a model aircraft or an RC aircraft is a system being flown for hobby use it is not in any way performing some type of commercial activity. There is no definition anywhere in the 107 or other FAA guidelines that stipulates any type of airframe or electronics or recovery systems or automated systems that sets the distinction between the two only that one set of systems is commercial and the other is private non-commercial.
The only stipulation as to airframe is that it is below the 55 lb rating

 

[Cptrman]

What exactly are you asking?

R/C aircraft are not even close to these drones in functionality. Two totally different animals...

 

[Willie14228]

By FAA definitions they are not,
By the way a "drone" doesn't need to be a quadcopter it can be any style airframe.
I will post the links to FAA definitions later but being able to show the black and white difference between a Mavic "UAV" and a Mavic "Model Aircraft" is I believe going to become a big deal.
My points are that we need to make sure to get FAA to set a clear definition so that other government entities cannot do so later.

 

[Kilrah]

The distinction is often considered as having autonomous flight capabilities.

 

[macoman]

The distinction is often considered as having autonomous flight capabilities.

also GPS and been multi-rotors to defer from RC helicopters.

 

[Willie14228]

The distinction is often considered as having autonomous flight capabilities.

Very true but here lies the rub, back when I flew RC and was an AMA member a Drone was very literally under automated flight under most cases they where banned from even being flown from an AMA field. Then fliers and manufacturers started using some of that same tech and using it to make RC planes easier to fly, trainers with auto recovery, expensive airframes that could return to base or hold pattern in the event of radio failure 3D acrobatic planes that could hover and so on.

 

[Kilrah]

OK, maybe make that combination of autonomous waypoint navigation (aka not just stabilization or a safety RTH/loiter) and a camera...

 

[Willie14228]

OK, maybe make that combination of autonomous waypoint navigation (aka not just stabilization or a safety RTH/loiter) and a camera...

Please believe me I am not trying to be a troll here, but your handing the government the handcuffs and keys.
Model aircraft is a model aircraft it should not be classified drone just because of how it is controlled or the type of airframe. The reason I say that is because in areas that allow hobbyist to fly there model aircraft but forbid drones is wrong. For example once again Yellowstone national Park, if you go in to the park there is a RC modelers airfield so why if I have a mavic pro registered as a non-commercial model aircraft can't I fly on that airfield they allow all other airframes to fly including helicopters. Whenever you register your UAV it asks you whether or not it's going to be used for a commercial or as a hobby non-commercial. So if you think about that you could find yourself in a bind I have not found a way of moving from one bracket to another bracket once a craft has been registered. Again FAA does not distinguish between air frames only between the purpose of the craft that is to say whether or not it's going to be used for commercial or non-commercial and the requirements change accordingly. So what this means is that when of individual registers that UAV they need to seriously consider whether or not it's going to be used for commercial purposes r4 hobby once that drone is registered as a hobby Craft then they may not legally be able to be used for commercial purposes I don't know that for sure but again there are two separate types of registers.
This may be another tripping hazard that as responsible flyers we need to be aware of. Let's face it none of us wants to find ourselves under more restrictive control and the first and most critical step of that is ensuring that we stay within the boundaries of the law. I'm going to fall back on what I know as a commercial truck driver my commercial vehicle is licensed as a commercial vehicle and therefore at all times is treated as such even if I take it out and use it for private purposes. But I can take that same vehicle and set it up to haul my personal RV and license it as a private vehicle at which point in time any incidents or insurance or any other issues involving it falls under the same rules and policies as a private vehicle. But I cannot use that private vehicle as a commercial vehicle any longer.
The same goes with my driver's license since I have a commercial driver's license even if I get a ticket in my personal vehicle I am treated and ticketed as a commercial driver.