We, as a group, can do better than this . . .

[polywogfpv]

Out of respect I'll be honest with ya here.... you were snarky with your "throw silly money at him" comment. You cast the first stone here.

He was very accurate in his response and I will fully back it from the comments which is ALSO why I started this thread.


All of that you "Assumed". If the son has the skills to fly SOLO then by all means do so. That's up to the father to determine when/if he's ready to go that route and not for us to cyber judge/determine for him. We simply have no clue. Maybe he's not ready for SOLO today but maybe in a couple weeks?

Let's ENCOURAGE a father to share such an AWESOME hobby with his son. There are a LOT worse things he could do or NOT be doing with his son.

Thank you, I agree

 

[CaptainMavic]

I agree with the mod. I can’t believe that these guys would attempt to discourage someone from bonding with his son. How I wish my father would have done something like this with me. If flown in a safe, open area, there is not much to go wrong. It is much safer than having a kid playing violent, shoot to kill videos games all day alone. A Tello, Mini SE, or Mini 2 would be superb starter drones. Kids are so good with tech stuff, he will probably advance to a Mavic 2 in no time. We should ALWAYS encourage not discourage young people to join this hobby.

 

[polywogfpv]

First off I'll start by saying this is potentially a long and boring read.

Secondly I'll say this is 100% my point of view and is NOT coming from a position of ADMIN and may or may NOT be the philosophy of the other Staff Members here or the site Owner. This is strictly from ALLEN on a personal level.

I was just reading a thread started this morning by a father who enjoys sharing his Drone Fun with his 5-year old son. So much so he's asking what would be a good "First Drone" for a 5y/o. When I first saw that thread I was THRILLED because it's an opportunity for a Father and Son to BOND on something that they can do for years to come together. What an amazing opportunity to help and promote Drones . . .
Drone for 5 year old son, too young?

***** Allen's Story ******
As stated in the thread, my father started me at 4 years old (1974). He started me with Control Line and then Free Flight and we were in the process of moving up into R/C when I lost him suddenly. Fortunately, by the time he passed away he had already planted the seed for Aviation and specifically R/C aviation so I had the desire to continue on with it. Even though it was "Our Thing Together" I wanted to learn and do more.

Thank goodness there were other men in our community who would take me in and help me to learn to fly R/C because I was NOT doing very well "teaching myself". This was long before GPS, Gryo Stabilization, and Electronic Flight Controllers. It was a time where you learned to fly or you learned to crash, rebuild, crash, rebuild etc etc. If you didn't have the skills, attention span, or dedication it was a VERY short hobby experience for you. On my 13th R/C airplane (the first 12 I was "teaching" myself) was the first time I took off, flew the airplane, and landed it without "rekitting" it. That was thanks to a gentleman who happened to be driving by the Cow Pasture and seeing a young boy struggling with the hobby. He pulled over, gave me some lessons, then we flew the airplane (Cessna 182) to test it out. In about 4 flights I was able to take off, fly, and land with almost no damage. That man and several others invited me to join their R/C Flying club and through them I learned to design, build, fly, repair, airplanes but I also learned manners, SAFETY, Aviation terms and methods all while just having a lot of FUN.

I was fortunate to stay in this "hobby" up into High School and beyond. A couple of friends of mine got into Gasoline powered airplanes (much LARGER size) and developed a process to convert Chainsaw motors into light weight, high power, R/C Airplane engines. We were converting them and shipping them all over the world. We sold that company and several years later (keep in mind I'm still flying R/C airplanes and helicopters many years later) we started putting small cameras on our R/C helicopters. Fast forward a couple of years and my wife and I started (officially even though we had been doing this as a paying hobby for several years) an Aerial Photography company (now on year #9). Because of this "Aerial Photography" endeavor my wife was able to retire from her desk job and start working for our Aerial Photography company at just age 50.

Today we are making a very nice income from flying R/C aircraft. I'm able to teach and mentor local kids into this hobby. And the best of all is I am able to assisst/teach Searcn-n-rescue using drones to help others who are possibly having the worst time of their life. ALL of this is because my father wanted to get into and share a hobby with me, at 4 years old! Imagine what kind of difference we COULD make in a young person's life if each of us picked just one young person to MENTOR and work with going forward. . . .


***** End Of Allen's Story ******

And then I started reading more of the thread I mentioned above and I'll be honest.... I was more than a little disappointed. I was down right SADDENED by what I was reading. Instead of encouraging this member to embrace the bond with his son, develop it and grow in it WITH his son, and maybe create a Life-Long avenue of enjoyment we were snarky, short, rude, and DISCOURAGING. Exactly the opposite of what we SHOULD have been doing.

That's wrong on so many levels. This hobby is meant to be shared and enjoyed by many. Through this hobby we can be SOCIAL and interact with so many beyond just our "Keyboards". This should have been a GREEN LIGHT to be positive, give him advice on best ways to do this WITH his son, and help PROMOTE our hobby/industry.

We ALL need to be Ambassadors for Drone/UAS and encourage the younger generation to go outside and FLY WITH US!!

 

[BanditsRoost]

First off I'll start by saying this is potentially a long and boring read.

Secondly I'll say this is 100% my point of view and is NOT coming from a position of ADMIN and may or may NOT be the philosophy of the other Staff Members here or the site Owner. This is strictly from ALLEN on a personal level.

I was just reading a thread started this morning by a father who enjoys sharing his Drone Fun with his 5-year old son. So much so he's asking what would be a good "First Drone" for a 5y/o. When I first saw that thread I was THRILLED because it's an opportunity for a Father and Son to BOND on something that they can do for years to come together. What an amazing opportunity to help and promote Drones . . .
Drone for 5 year old son, too young?

***** Allen's Story ******
As stated in the thread, my father started me at 4 years old (1974). He started me with Control Line and then Free Flight and we were in the process of moving up into R/C when I lost him suddenly. Fortunately, by the time he passed away he had already planted the seed for Aviation and specifically R/C aviation so I had the desire to continue on with it. Even though it was "Our Thing Together" I wanted to learn and do more.

Thank goodness there were other men in our community who would take me in and help me to learn to fly R/C because I was NOT doing very well "teaching myself". This was long before GPS, Gryo Stabilization, and Electronic Flight Controllers. It was a time where you learned to fly or you learned to crash, rebuild, crash, rebuild etc etc. If you didn't have the skills, attention span, or dedication it was a VERY short hobby experience for you. On my 13th R/C airplane (the first 12 I was "teaching" myself) was the first time I took off, flew the airplane, and landed it without "rekitting" it. That was thanks to a gentleman who happened to be driving by the Cow Pasture and seeing a young boy struggling with the hobby. He pulled over, gave me some lessons, then we flew the airplane (Cessna 182) to test it out. In about 4 flights I was able to take off, fly, and land with almost no damage. That man and several others invited me to join their R/C Flying club and through them I learned to design, build, fly, repair, airplanes but I also learned manners, SAFETY, Aviation terms and methods all while just having a lot of FUN.

I was fortunate to stay in this "hobby" up into High School and beyond. A couple of friends of mine got into Gasoline powered airplanes (much LARGER size) and developed a process to convert Chainsaw motors into light weight, high power, R/C Airplane engines. We were converting them and shipping them all over the world. We sold that company and several years later (keep in mind I'm still flying R/C airplanes and helicopters many years later) we started putting small cameras on our R/C helicopters. Fast forward a couple of years and my wife and I started (officially even though we had been doing this as a paying hobby for several years) an Aerial Photography company (now on year #9). Because of this "Aerial Photography" endeavor my wife was able to retire from her desk job and start working for our Aerial Photography company at just age 50.

Today we are making a very nice income from flying R/C aircraft. I'm able to teach and mentor local kids into this hobby. And the best of all is I am able to assisst/teach Searcn-n-rescue using drones to help others who are possibly having the worst time of their life. ALL of this is because my father wanted to get into and share a hobby with me, at 4 years old! Imagine what kind of difference we COULD make in a young person's life if each of us picked just one young person to MENTOR and work with going forward. . . .


***** End Of Allen's Story ******

And then I started reading more of the thread I mentioned above and I'll be honest.... I was more than a little disappointed. I was down right SADDENED by what I was reading. Instead of encouraging this member to embrace the bond with his son, develop it and grow in it WITH his son, and maybe create a Life-Long avenue of enjoyment we were snarky, short, rude, and DISCOURAGING. Exactly the opposite of what we SHOULD have been doing.

That's wrong on so many levels. This hobby is meant to be shared and enjoyed by many. Through this hobby we can be SOCIAL and interact with so many beyond just our "Keyboards". This should have been a GREEN LIGHT to be positive, give him advice on best ways to do this WITH his son, and help PROMOTE our hobby/industry.

We ALL need to be Ambassadors for Drone/UAS and encourage the younger generation to go outside and FLY WITH US!!

Well Said and Well Spoken "Allen".

Fellow NC Flyer

 

[Donnie Frank]

First off I'll start by saying this is potentially a long and boring read.

Secondly I'll say this is 100% my point of view and is NOT coming from a position of ADMIN and may or may NOT be the philosophy of the other Staff Members here or the site Owner. This is strictly from ALLEN on a personal level.

I was just reading a thread started this morning by a father who enjoys sharing his Drone Fun with his 5-year old son. So much so he's asking what would be a good "First Drone" for a 5y/o. When I first saw that thread I was THRILLED because it's an opportunity for a Father and Son to BOND on something that they can do for years to come together. What an amazing opportunity to help and promote Drones . . .
Drone for 5 year old son, too young?

***** Allen's Story ******
As stated in the thread, my father started me at 4 years old (1974). He started me with Control Line and then Free Flight and we were in the process of moving up into R/C when I lost him suddenly. Fortunately, by the time he passed away he had already planted the seed for Aviation and specifically R/C aviation so I had the desire to continue on with it. Even though it was "Our Thing Together" I wanted to learn and do more.

Thank goodness there were other men in our community who would take me in and help me to learn to fly R/C because I was NOT doing very well "teaching myself". This was long before GPS, Gryo Stabilization, and Electronic Flight Controllers. It was a time where you learned to fly or you learned to crash, rebuild, crash, rebuild etc etc. If you didn't have the skills, attention span, or dedication it was a VERY short hobby experience for you. On my 13th R/C airplane (the first 12 I was "teaching" myself) was the first time I took off, flew the airplane, and landed it without "rekitting" it. That was thanks to a gentleman who happened to be driving by the Cow Pasture and seeing a young boy struggling with the hobby. He pulled over, gave me some lessons, then we flew the airplane (Cessna 182) to test it out. In about 4 flights I was able to take off, fly, and land with almost no damage. That man and several others invited me to join their R/C Flying club and through them I learned to design, build, fly, repair, airplanes but I also learned manners, SAFETY, Aviation terms and methods all while just having a lot of FUN.

I was fortunate to stay in this "hobby" up into High School and beyond. A couple of friends of mine got into Gasoline powered airplanes (much LARGER size) and developed a process to convert Chainsaw motors into light weight, high power, R/C Airplane engines. We were converting them and shipping them all over the world. We sold that company and several years later (keep in mind I'm still flying R/C airplanes and helicopters many years later) we started putting small cameras on our R/C helicopters. Fast forward a couple of years and my wife and I started (officially even though we had been doing this as a paying hobby for several years) an Aerial Photography company (now on year #9). Because of this "Aerial Photography" endeavor my wife was able to retire from her desk job and start working for our Aerial Photography company at just age 50.

Today we are making a very nice income from flying R/C aircraft. I'm able to teach and mentor local kids into this hobby. And the best of all is I am able to assisst/teach Searcn-n-rescue using drones to help others who are possibly having the worst time of their life. ALL of this is because my father wanted to get into and share a hobby with me, at 4 years old! Imagine what kind of difference we COULD make in a young person's life if each of us picked just one young person to MENTOR and work with going forward. . . .


***** End Of Allen's Story ******

And then I started reading more of the thread I mentioned above and I'll be honest.... I was more than a little disappointed. I was down right SADDENED by what I was reading. Instead of encouraging this member to embrace the bond with his son, develop it and grow in it WITH his son, and maybe create a Life-Long avenue of enjoyment we were snarky, short, rude, and DISCOURAGING. Exactly the opposite of what we SHOULD have been doing.

That's wrong on so many levels. This hobby is meant to be shared and enjoyed by many. Through this hobby we can be SOCIAL and interact with so many beyond just our "Keyboards". This should have been a GREEN LIGHT to be positive, give him advice on best ways to do this WITH his son, and help PROMOTE our hobby/industry.

We ALL need to be Ambassadors for Drone/UAS and encourage the younger generation to go outside and FLY WITH US!!

Great story. We have definitely become a "Trade <fill in blank here> for SAFETY" society. You see it everywhere these days. We're willing to give up everything in the name of "safety." I just live in my own "dangerous" bubble. I take calculated risks all the time - not FOOLISH chances, but SOME risks that net a ton of freedom, phun, liberty, efficiency, time-saving, money-saving - tempered with a strong sense of reality and common sense.

True story...

I used to teach skiing with the Adaptive Ski Program. When I first started about 15 years ago, it was a real nice community of skiers whose love of skiing was shared with those who were impaired either physically or mentally. I LOVED our original motto; "Improving the quality of life through risk taking." Boy...if that didn't just NAIL it. Did some kids crash? Of course! But you laugh it up, wipe off the snow and press on. I probably had a half-dozen crashes under my belt over a 10 year career with nary an injury. This wasn't by accident. You push limits knowing you may crash, but you don't push them so hard that you may kill or injure someone. We used to call that "common sense."

But then, about 5 years ago, the ASP went "corporate." All kinds of rules came down the line, including changing the motto and even the very language we use. Apparently the term "risk taking" in association with the physically and mentally handicapped became "too much" for some members of our society to handle. They started dictating language to use. "We don't say 'down syndrome kid.' We don't want to define him by his handicap. So now we say, 'kid with down syndrome.'" Whatever. The kid didn't care. He just knew he was having a blast skiing. I knew I wouldn't last long with these new rules and regulations. And I surely didn't. Politics took a beautiful thing and turned into a big, steamy pile of crap.

Then they started making us wear helmets to "set an example." You can't even imagine how hot and uncomfortable a helmet is on a Spring Ski day when you're literally doing nothing but manually pulling a kid around by a rope and picking him up when he falls. I would even allow kids to remove helmets if it got hot and we were not up on the mountain.



Me, along with several "old timers" voiced our distain to no avail. Despite making students wear helmets for DECADES without teachers having to do the same, NOW we ALL had to wear them to "set an example." I'm the teacher. I don't have to "set an example." My students do what I tell them. Period. I'm smart enough to make judgement calls in this regard. The ASP used to trust teachers implicitly. No longer.

That was 5 years ago, and this world of ours has only gotten worse. This is the most out-of-shape, sickliest, incapable generation of kids I have ever seen. ( Mod Removed Language).my cars and truck are considered "theft proof" because they all have manual transmissions. Can you even imagine that????...LOL.... But I digress...

I don't have any kids. But if I did, I would absolutely share my interests with them. And I have a LOT of interests. I have several friends with kids and bar none, the better parents are the ones who spend time with their kids, share interests and nurture interests outside the parents'.

Good post.

D

 

[Xitor]

Ahhhh, this maybe regional English vs American, "throw silly money" would not be a snarky comment to me especially when I subsequently make what I think is a very sensible suggestion in the same sentance.
It was not meant to be offensive.
If offense was taken for that I apologise.

I will leave things at that.

When I first read it I didn't think it was snarky, just realistic. Sure support the kid's interest, but it should be a much more modest drone at first, on par with his skills and age level. Ouch, just noticed he's a deleted member.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Enjoyed the read Allen and the comments... much more positive than several posts in 5 yr 1st drone thresd. Sounds like you had a great childhood with RC.

I started out mid-1960's got into gas Cox ground toys. Graduating from Matchbox & Hotwheels. My 1st aerial was at 3 or 4yrs old... a top 60's technology consisting of a 3 ft wire connected to a Heli toy... saved many guys holding up life ring from coffee table mountains and yard jungles with my faithful paperclip hook! At 6, I was also reloading my spring loaded brass & bullets for indoor shooting of cardboard game.

At that time kids weren't watched, we were pushed outside to "Go Play". At 5 or 6, I was gasing & prop flipping cox 049 engines by myself... prop cutting finger was an achievement of pride! Learning how much "Line" you could control got a little edgy at times... but a well made solid balsa wing could take many a hits! Speaking of which, the gules & dope used would alarm most Parents now a days! Later Cox released the Stuka with 3rd string to drop payload... took me a day to rig that for eggs! Many a neighbor had eggs marking roofs, driveways, yards. Any good string Flyer learned how to walk your "circle" and dead wing land on foreign yards.

Only thing that angered my Dad was my string lined drag rails. We had a long asphalt driveway... pounding in nails to hold guide string and the chute triggers... if left in driveway, they contributed to flats.

That led to gas heli's and training sticks & RC dirt car races in parks... all self learned, my Dad was too busy with work and had expectations kids learned & grew. I would have enjoyed a Dad sharing similar hobbies but glad to have experienced it either way.

Now a days, these "toys" wouldn't be allowed for young kids as way to dangerous... I survived, learned & developed. Same thing for other things: Whamo Crossbow, and .22 cal rifles... all before 10 yrs old.

Young minds can accept responsibilities and understand danger & safety limits with minimal instruction, starts with adult guidance. I always heard... use your head & learn!

Many growth experiences are vitally missed in younger generations: from playing in dirt & mud up through physical & mental challenges beyond the indoor video world.

 

[QuaiOui]

Out of respect I'll be honest with ya here.... you were snarky with your "throw silly money at him" comment. You cast the first stone here.

He was very accurate in his response and I will fully back it from the comments which is ALSO why I started this thread.


All of that you "Assumed". If the son has the skills to fly SOLO then by all means do so. That's up to the father to determine when/if he's ready to go that route and not for us to cyber judge/determine for him. We simply have no clue. Maybe he's not ready for SOLO today but maybe in a couple weeks?

Let's ENCOURAGE a father to share such an AWESOME hobby with his son. There are a LOT worse things he could do or NOT be doing with his son.

Well said. Much worse are the things that fathers are NOT doing with their sons......

The reason to be a father in the first place, and the duty of care that one takes on board when becoming a father.

 

[baddog]

First off I'll start by saying this is potentially a long and boring read.

Secondly I'll say this is 100% my point of view and is NOT coming from a position of ADMIN and may or may NOT be the philosophy of the other Staff Members here or the site Owner. This is strictly from ALLEN on a personal level.

I was just reading a thread started this morning by a father who enjoys sharing his Drone Fun with his 5-year old son. So much so he's asking what would be a good "First Drone" for a 5y/o. When I first saw that thread I was THRILLED because it's an opportunity for a Father and Son to BOND on something that they can do for years to come together. What an amazing opportunity to help and promote Drones . . .
Drone for 5 year old son, too young?

***** Allen's Story ******
As stated in the thread, my father started me at 4 years old (1974). He started me with Control Line and then Free Flight and we were in the process of moving up into R/C when I lost him suddenly. Fortunately, by the time he passed away he had already planted the seed for Aviation and specifically R/C aviation so I had the desire to continue on with it. Even though it was "Our Thing Together" I wanted to learn and do more.

Thank goodness there were other men in our community who would take me in and help me to learn to fly R/C because I was NOT doing very well "teaching myself". This was long before GPS, Gryo Stabilization, and Electronic Flight Controllers. It was a time where you learned to fly or you learned to crash, rebuild, crash, rebuild etc etc. If you didn't have the skills, attention span, or dedication it was a VERY short hobby experience for you. On my 13th R/C airplane (the first 12 I was "teaching" myself) was the first time I took off, flew the airplane, and landed it without "rekitting" it. That was thanks to a gentleman who happened to be driving by the Cow Pasture and seeing a young boy struggling with the hobby. He pulled over, gave me some lessons, then we flew the airplane (Cessna 182) to test it out. In about 4 flights I was able to take off, fly, and land with almost no damage. That man and several others invited me to join their R/C Flying club and through them I learned to design, build, fly, repair, airplanes but I also learned manners, SAFETY, Aviation terms and methods all while just having a lot of FUN.

I was fortunate to stay in this "hobby" up into High School and beyond. A couple of friends of mine got into Gasoline powered airplanes (much LARGER size) and developed a process to convert Chainsaw motors into light weight, high power, R/C Airplane engines. We were converting them and shipping them all over the world. We sold that company and several years later (keep in mind I'm still flying R/C airplanes and helicopters many years later) we started putting small cameras on our R/C helicopters. Fast forward a couple of years and my wife and I started (officially even though we had been doing this as a paying hobby for several years) an Aerial Photography company (now on year #9). Because of this "Aerial Photography" endeavor my wife was able to retire from her desk job and start working for our Aerial Photography company at just age 50.

Today we are making a very nice income from flying R/C aircraft. I'm able to teach and mentor local kids into this hobby. And the best of all is I am able to assisst/teach Searcn-n-rescue using drones to help others who are possibly having the worst time of their life. ALL of this is because my father wanted to get into and share a hobby with me, at 4 years old! Imagine what kind of difference we COULD make in a young person's life if each of us picked just one young person to MENTOR and work with going forward. . . .


***** End Of Allen's Story ******

And then I started reading more of the thread I mentioned above and I'll be honest.... I was more than a little disappointed. I was down right SADDENED by what I was reading. Instead of encouraging this member to embrace the bond with his son, develop it and grow in it WITH his son, and maybe create a Life-Long avenue of enjoyment we were snarky, short, rude, and DISCOURAGING. Exactly the opposite of what we SHOULD have been doing.

That's wrong on so many levels. This hobby is meant to be shared and enjoyed by many. Through this hobby we can be SOCIAL and interact with so many beyond just our "Keyboards". This should have been a GREEN LIGHT to be positive, give him advice on best ways to do this WITH his son, and help PROMOTE our hobby/industry.

We ALL need to be Ambassadors for Drone/UAS and encourage the younger generation to go outside and FLY WITH US!!

I could not reply to the original post....I agree to encourage this type of interactions with young children. My only point was going to be what type of drone. I purchased a Tello (EDU Version) for my 7 and 5 year old grandchildren. I was enough to get them started, it is rugged to survive moderate crashes, it hovers in place, not GPS, but uses ground camera to maintain position hold. Decent camera and can also be easily flown indoors.

I would just show extreme caution putting an M3, M2, M2P or a P4P in the hands of a 5 year. Only in a safe area as well.

 

[eEridani]

At five years... I'd buy a cheap telescope, or even a microscope. A -- IMNSHO -- a drone is just asking for problems.

But IF you get a drone, find something well protected (replacing the eye of a five year old is problematic), wire guided or range limited (can't get out of the back yard), and easily repairable.

ps: search Google images for Drone injuries...

drone injuries - Google Search

 

[eoseabee21]

This thread hit home because I was a former moderator on (2) large boards and I really enjoyed it except I was spending an inordinate amount of time breaking up fights between members.
The snarky comments got so bad that a professor with doctorate on board's subject matter was being shouted down by 90 day wonders. He ended up leaving the board. So people with a real passion for the subject matter and lots of real world experience to offer, just got tired of the "negativity".

That is very tragic. I am new to drones as well as being new here. I as well as others can use help, guidance and encouragement by tapping into the wealth of information that is here. Then hopefully in the future get back in the same way that it was given. WITHOUT the foolishness because we all end up loosing!!!

 

[LeeHene]

At five years... I'd buy a cheap telescope, or even a microscope. A -- IMNSHO -- a drone is just asking for problems.

But IF you get a drone, find something well protected (replacing the eye of a five year old is problematic), wire guided or range limited (can't get out of the back yard), and easily repairable.

ps: search Google images for Drone injuries...

drone injuries - Google Search

Honestly, I'm the type of dad who cringes at parents who make their kids wear pads and a helmet for a regular bicycle ride in the park. Now, for trail riding? Definately wise to wear a helmet!

I've flown quads with and around my kids for years. At 6 my son was flying his own Nano QX, which was more like a floating hockey puck.
Dangerous? Hardly.

Would I turn him loose with my M2P? Shoot no, different story!

Yes, start with a small one that won't cause property damage when it crashes. That will also minimize the chance of anyone needing an eye replacement.

 

[Skurfer]

As a younger member here I stopped regularly coming by for a look pretty quickly due to just about every thread descending into rants about legalities and responsibilities and safety. Every single time. No one seemed to be able to just answer a question or enjoy a video and everything would just go so off topic. People just seemed to want to one up each other on how dangerous they thought everything was, how wrong they did and and how they would have done better, or their knowledge on laws and such. Not sure why.

I just get the weekly email now and click on any thread that sounds interesting off that which is how I clicked on this one. Don't take this as a cheap shot (although I'm not sure how else to put it without it seeming so), but when I saw the thread a while ago with the poll about the age of the majority on here, it explained a lot.

 

[Crouching Leopard]

As a younger member here I stopped regularly coming by for a look pretty quickly due to just about every thread descending into rants about legalities and responsibilities and safety. Every single time. No one seemed to be able to just answer a question or enjoy a video and everything would just go so off topic. People just seemed to want to one up each other on how dangerous they thought everything was, how wrong they did and and how they would have done better, or their knowledge on laws and such. Not sure why.

I just get the weekly email now and click on any thread that sounds interesting off that which is how I clicked on this one. Don't take this as a cheap shot (although I'm not sure how else to put it without it seeming so), but when I saw the thread a while ago with the poll about the age of the majority on here, it explained a lot.

I agree. I've had my say several times on this forum about these issues. This is why I don't join "clubs". I cant stand the "I've been here for 40 years so I know everything and own the place" or " I have made 20,000 posts so I know it all and you have to listen to me" mentality. I have found myself spending too much time second guessing how a question may elicit a snarky response.

When I was an engineering officer in the military, we were taught never to disregard relevant comments, warnings or positive interjections by younger people just starting out, as sometimes these actions or comments could prevent a serious accident. No matter the rank, you had a written duty to listen, evaluate and then take / not take action.

 

[BigAl07]

I agree. I've had my say several times on this forum about these issues. This is why I don't join "clubs". I cant stand the "I've been here for 40 years so I know everything and own the place" or " I have made 20,000 posts so I know it all and you have to listen to me" mentality. I have found myself spending too much time second guessing how a question may elicit a snarky response.

When I was an engineering officer in the military, we were taught never to disregard relevant comments, warnings or positive interjections by younger people just starting out, as sometimes these actions or comments could prevent a serious accident. No matter the rank, you had a written duty to listen, evaluate and then take / not take action.

It sounds like you've described me to a "T" so I'll give you my 2 cents....

I highly respect relevant and intelligent comments etc but when they are down-right illegal and dangerous I'll call you out each and every time. I have more "meat in this game" than just a casual hobbyist who may or may not fly now and then. This is how I put food on my table and how I keep a roof over my family's head. I highly resent the attitude of "It's only a drone and as long as I'm not hurting someone it doesn't matter if I follow the rules & regulations." That's EXACTLY why we have so many rules and regulations now that this industry didn't have for several years.

It doesn't matter what your age or experience level is.. if your comment/attitude are illegal or dangerous I'll call you out right THEN and THERE and I'm not going to sugar coat it to keep from hurting your little feelings. It's really that plain and simple.

 

[Donnie Frank]

I'm the guy in the middle. I respect the rules and certainly understand why we have them. But, yes, the sheer volume of rules and regulations hefted upon the UAS community is ridiculous. That said...

The drone industry doesn't get credit for not only having one of the best safety records of any hobby or trade in the world, but we don't even get credit from the FAA for having a safety record 4 orders of magnitude better than theirs. If ever there were a time to embrace a "let's cross that bridge when we come to it" mantra, NOW is the time. Yes, people CAN get hurt. But that's a thousand times better than aviation, where people DO get hurt. By the thousands. And killed. By the hundreds. Every year. Without fail. And millions of dollars in damage. Every year. Without fail.

So...yeah...applying the same rules, regulations and paradigms to a hobby that is THOUSANDS of times safer than the faction issuing the rules IS ridiculous. YES, we should have rules. But if we can't fly over people or at night with our three lb. drones, why can full scale aviation fly over people at night with their jet-fuel-filled multi-ton behemoths that crash regularly, kill hundreds and do millions in property damage annually almost without fail?? There's no logic to it. Not a shred. Drone pilots get (Mod Removed Language) Rightfully so.

The drone industry isn't devoid of property damage and carnage because of all the rules and regulations. We were like that decades before the rules and regulations were even put on the table. Nobody at the FAA seems to recognize this. So, yeah, the drone community gets a little fed up.

D

 

[NG Wildman]

It sounds like you've described me to a "T" so I'll give you my 2 cents....

I highly respect relevant and intelligent comments etc but when they are down-right illegal and dangerous I'll call you out each and every time. I have more "meat in this game" than just a casual hobbyist who may or may not fly now and then. This is how I put food on my table and how I keep a roof over my family's head. I highly resent the attitude of "It's only a drone and as long as I'm not hurting someone it doesn't matter if I follow the rules & regulations." That's EXACTLY why we have so many rules and regulations now that this industry didn't have for several years.

It doesn't matter what your age or experience level is.. if your comment/attitude are illegal or dangerous I'll call you out right THEN and THERE and I'm not going to sugar coat it to keep from hurting your little feelings. It's really that plain and simple.

I'm the guy in the middle. I respect the rules and certainly understand why we have them. But, yes, the sheer volume of rules and regulations hefted upon the UAS community is ridiculous. That said...

The drone industry doesn't get credit for not only having one of the best safety records of any hobby or trade in the world, but we don't even get credit from the FAA for having a safety record 4 orders of magnitude better than theirs. If ever there were a time to embrace a "let's cross that bridge when we come to it" mantra, NOW is the time. Yes, people CAN get hurt. But that's a thousand times better than aviation, where people DO get hurt. By the thousands. And killed. By the hundreds. Every year. Without fail. And millions of dollars in damage. Every year. Without fail.

So...yeah...applying the same rules, regulations and paradigms to a hobby that is THOUSANDS of times safer than the faction issuing the rules IS ridiculous. YES, we should have rules. But if we can't fly over people or at night with our three lb. drones, why can full scale aviation fly over people at night with their jet-fuel-filled multi-ton behemoths that crash regularly, kill hundreds and do millions in property damage annually almost without fail?? There's no logic to it. Not a shred. Drone pilots get pissed. Rightfully so.

The drone industry isn't devoid of property damage and carnage because of all the rules and regulations. We were like that decades before the rules and regulations were even put on the table. Nobody at the FAA seems to recognize this. So, yeah, the drone community gets a little fed up.

D

I whole heartedly agree. I can say a bit for the other side, though, even I don't like to.
The pilots of manned aircraft generally have a lot more training etc. than most hobbyists.
And, I am a member of several forums. Unfortunately, if you follow some of those knuckleheads you will see that they care nothing for rules. Things like I'm gonna do whatever the (Mod Removed Language)I want, don't register...then they can't find you, screw the FAA, etc. etc. etc. Some of those guys are absolutely clueless or have blatant disregard for rules and poke fun regularly for those who remind or inform others of the rules, even when asked. AND, unfortunately their numbers are growing with the popularity of the hobby. I wish more were informed and cared...We wouldn't need so many rules if not for them.

 

[MS Coast]

I'm the guy in the middle. I respect the rules and certainly understand why we have them. But, yes, the sheer volume of rules and regulations hefted upon the UAS community is ridiculous. That said...

The drone industry doesn't get credit for not only having one of the best safety records of any hobby or trade in the world, but we don't even get credit from the FAA for having a safety record 4 orders of magnitude better than theirs. If ever there were a time to embrace a "let's cross that bridge when we come to it" mantra, NOW is the time. Yes, people CAN get hurt. But that's a thousand times better than aviation, where people DO get hurt. By the thousands. And killed. By the hundreds. Every year. Without fail. And millions of dollars in damage. Every year. Without fail.

So...yeah...applying the same rules, regulations and paradigms to a hobby that is THOUSANDS of times safer than the faction issuing the rules IS ridiculous. YES, we should have rules. But if we can't fly over people or at night with our three lb. drones, why can full scale aviation fly over people at night with their jet-fuel-filled multi-ton behemoths that crash regularly, kill hundreds and do millions in property damage annually almost without fail?? There's no logic to it. Not a shred. Drone pilots get pissed. Rightfully so.

The drone industry isn't devoid of property damage and carnage because of all the rules and regulations. We were like that decades before the rules and regulations were even put on the table. Nobody at the FAA seems to recognize this. So, yeah, the drone community gets a little fed up.

D

Make your point, but stick with the facts.

• "So...yeah...applying the same rules, regulations and paradigms to a hobby that is THOUSANDS of times safer than the faction issuing the rules IS ridiculous."
  
  The operation of drones and the operation of manned aircraft in the US are not subject to the same rules. Drone regulations are a trifle compared to manned aviation rules. You don't have to have a certificated mechanic change the props on your drone.
  
  
• jet-fuel-filled multi-ton behemoths that crash regularly, kill hundreds and do millions in property damage annually almost without fail??
  
  In the past 20 years, an average of 9.47 deaths have occurred with scheduled US air carriers. Going back to 1960 the annual average is 88.95.
  
  
• Nobody at the FAA seems to recognize this.
  
  The FAA does recognize that drones are not highly dangerous. They allow recreational use of drones with no license, with no demonstration of practical skill, and with no regulations other than eight one-sentence rules and a one-sentence introduction.

Opinions differ.

• "let's cross that bridge when we come to it" "Yes, people CAN get hurt."
  
  Some believe that it's better to address a recognized danger without waiting for people to get hurt. And to avoid imposing rules after the private sector has already invested heavily.
  
  
• "So, yeah, the drone community gets a little fed up." "Drone pilots get pissed. Rightfully so."
  
  Suggested edit -Some in the drone community get a little fed up.
  
  
• I'm an FAA-licensed drone pilot. It's legal for me to fly a 55-pound aircraft at 99 mph. There was no check ride or practical test. I see a need here to tighten the regulations for Part 107 operations.

 

[Donnie Frank]

I whole heartedly agree. I can say a bit for the other side, though, even I don't like to.
The pilots of manned aircraft generally have a lot more training etc. than most hobbyists.
And, I am a member of several forums. Unfortunately, if you follow some of those knuckleheads you will see that they care nothing for rules. Things like I'm gonna do whatever the (Mod Removed Language)I want, don't register...then they can't find you, screw the FAA, etc. etc. etc. Some of those guys are absolutely clueless or have blatant disregard for rules and poke fun regularly for those who remind or inform others of the rules, even when asked. AND, unfortunately their numbers are growing with the popularity of the hobby. I wish more were informed and cared...We wouldn't need so many rules if not for them.

I think there is a middle-ground that the FAA is missing. Fines for infractions should be on the order of a speeding citation. Not the down-payment on a house. Why? Because there's zero evidence to support the "what if" arguments that "people get hurt because of flying drones at night." Or "people get hurt when you fly over them." If rules and fines were based on actual events instead of "what if" scenarios, UAS rules and regs would be scaled back an order of magnitude.

D

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

As a new forum member, in my short time I've seen a 13-year-old blasted for breaking the rules rather than being used as a good teachable moment. I've seen a 16-year-old questioned because there wasn't enough drone footage in a video he posted. I'm pretty sure there are other instances as well. Not to mention my own troubles.