Regulation of Drones
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128824)
Gainesville, Florida
February 8, 2016 7:39pm CST
Drones and other small unmanned aircraft have become so popular here in the United States now that the Federal Aviation Administration had to enact regulations for owning and operating them! Back in December, new rules went into place that now required drone owners to register their drones through the FAA, which then issues identification numbers that must be placed on the drones for tracking purposes.
Numerous reports of near misses and near collisions with aircraft have prompted tighter regulation of drones. Drones are not supposed to fly higher than 400 feet, nor within five miles of any airport.
I just heard recently that an estimated 1.6 million drones were sold last year, most during the 2015 Christmas holiday season. That's a lot of gadgets flying around up in the sky! And factor in the fact that companies like Amazon and UPS want to start using drones to deliver packages, and you can imagine the traffic jam we're going to have soon up in our skies!
Do any of you own a drone? If so, have you registered it as now required by the FAA?
8 people like this
6 responses
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
7 Mar 16
I don't own a drone. I was considering buying one for my boyfriend for Christmas so he could use it to film himself skateboarding. But I never did. Too much money.
I've seen a couple going around here. I'm not really sure how I feel about them. Yeah they are cool but no doubt people will use them to spy and invade peoples privacy.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Mar 16
I think drones can be fun, if they are used properly. The majority of people who own them will always respect people's privacy, and only use their drones for legitimated purposes. But there is always some person out there who won't follow the rules, and it's those people that ruin it for everyone else.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jan 18
@VivaLaDani13 That's actually not a bad idea to use a drone to visually inspect roofs to see if they need repair or cleaning. I wonder if there is anyone here in the US who is doing that? Might be a good business to start!
2 people like this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
13 Jan 18
@moffittjc It's weird reading my comment to this. Should buy one for him now but fly it up his a$$.
BUT since I have a different answer now, my cousin is actually starting a little business. I am still a bit sketchy with the details but it's something like him getting people to hire him, to fly his drone over houses to check if their roofs need cleaning or fixing etc. Since climbing up their to check for yourself isn't always ideal.
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
9 Feb 16
We don't have them and of course I won't be getting one. In 20 years we will be used to everyone spying on us. Those shouldn't be allowed to have cameras, they do don't they?
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
Most of them nowadays have cameras that can either shoot still pictures, or video, so that opens up a whole new can of worms. Like you said, it won't be long before everybody is spying on everyone else, and we will have very little privacy left.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
@fishtiger58 I think it's scary for us, because we're not used to it. But for someone young who grows up with drones all around them, they won't think nothing of it!
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
9 Feb 16
I would like to eventually own a drone but do not yet have one. If amazon starts utilizing them? I can only imagine how congested the skies will be. Perhaps The Jetsons and Back To The Future were right in their predictions! EEK!
Aren't drones only able to fly for about two hours before they need charged?
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
Yeah, the current drones on the market only have a limited flight time. But as the technology continues to improve, you can bet their battery life will get better and better. Now, if they'd only focus those resources into making my cell phone battery last longer...
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
9 Feb 16
No, we do not have a drone, but I know that when you buy one here in Switzerland it is the store that has to report immediately your name and the model you bought. It is not allowed here to "invade" private properties with a drone, if you see one in your property, you can take it down.
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
10 Feb 16
@moffittjc I think we have the right to our privacy, if I am tanning in my garden I have the right to dress like I want, but nobody has the right to spy on me.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Feb 16
@LadyDuck I agree! We should have some right to control a certain amount of the air space above our property. If the height ceiling for drones is 400 feet from the ground, then I think we should at least have the rights to the air space above us up to 400 feet. Obviously, we can't have unlimited rights to the air space above our properties, or else airplanes and helicopters would never be able to fly, but there has to be some acceptable measurement.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Feb 16
I wish they would pass laws to let us do that here in America! I think it should be perfectly legal to take down a drone that invades the air space above your property.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Feb 16
I'm pretty sure they need to be registered in West Aust too. If not, there was certainly a lot of talk about it.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
It's amazing how quickly their popularity spread around the globe. I wonder how many drones have been sold worldwide? I bet it's a staggering number!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Feb 16
@moffittjc Everyone wants to be a fly on the wall if they get the chance. :) Peering into backyards etc would be appealing to many people.
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
@JudyEv Yeah, I guess that's just human nature! I'm not much of a Peeping Tom myself, but I'll be honest that there have been times when I wish I could peek into my neighbors' homes or yards and see what they were up to!
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
9 Feb 16
My sister bought my brother in law a drone with a camera...it's quite nice.
Recently I heard on the news here that a guy with a drone was filming premiership football games and putting the footage on youtube
Many premiership games are only on subscription channels.
It was funny but with many games the police helicopter flies above in case of trouble so the drones caused a problem and the guy got arrested.
Many premiership games are only on subscription channels.
It was funny but with many games the police helicopter flies above in case of trouble so the drones caused a problem and the guy got arrested.@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Feb 16
That is becoming quite a problem here as well, with people using drones to try and film sporting events. Not only is that wrong to do so, but it also endangers a lot of the fans in attendance. If something were to happen to cause the drone to crash, someone could be hurt!
