Conflicted

[cmyk22]

There's a UAV pilot in my area that has decided to go "commercial." He recently sent my company a letter advertising his services...We are located in the US, so we all know that it is illegal per the FAA to operate our UAVs commercially unless you have a section 333 exemption from the FAA. Looking at his public Facebook and Flytrex page he is constantly breaking the recommendations by the FAA for altitude (1000' to 3500' AGL). His signature photograph is above the city of Milwaukee (appears to be 1000+ AGL) near, if not in, a potential flight path for General Mitchell Airport. I've reached out to him and nicely/ professionally informed him of the FAA's best practices for UAVs. Is there anything else that I should pursue or have I done enough? Thanks.

 

[QYV]

the thing is, even though the FAA keeps blabbing about what's "legal" use or not, the FAA itself has no authority to issue criminal charges, only fines. Several cases have gone to court recently and the FAA has not been able to get any convictions regarding "commercial use"... so they can SAY it's illegal all they want but plenty of people are doing it, worst case scenario is a fine and so far it's not holding up in court.

The only CRIMINAL charges available against a UAV pilot seem to be federal airspace violations (if you fly over an airport or national monument or national park) or if they can prove reckless behavior (like if he flew over a crowd or in some other way unsafe) then the police can issue a simple "reckless endangerment" charge.

my take on tattling on the guy is, he's probably going to catch their eye all on his own and I feel like it's bad karma to try to get someone else in trouble, especially when the thing he's violating ("commercial use") is nonsense anyway... I mean we aren't talking about you witnessing a murder here. This is an opinion I'm sure many people disagree with, I'm just sayin I feel like it would be bad juju to go run to the FAA and complain about the guy. someone else will probably handle that for you, let them get the bad karma

on the other hand, it's guys like him that are going to cause stricter regulations on the rest of us flying around violating current policies... but pointing him out to the FAA or whatever just proves their point and will want to make them institute the stricter regulations anyway... so it's a catch-22

 

[cmyk22]

QYV,

Thank you for the insight. I agree about karma (good or bad)...it always comes back around.

 

[Monte55]

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

 

[N017RW]

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

Agreed 100%

 

[QYV]

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

ok first off I agree.. second... only the 4th post and we're already de-railing from the original topic this isn't just another "should commercial use be legal" discussion, he was asking whether or not he should narc on someone clearly violating federal policiesm flying unsafely and blatantly advertising a business related to drone photography.

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I don't get your point. nobody said anything about business licenses. a photographer running a business should absolutely operate legally with a business license, pay taxes, etc.

 

[eckoner]

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

Agreed 100%

Wow where do you guys reside? lol

I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have worked in the technology and Video Production arena for over 15 years or so. I remember first seeing a "flying camera" on set many many moons ago and to this day i continue to see them, i participated in a shoot last week where they were present and have colleagues that fly for profit and it's never been a big deal.

Exercise for you......sit and watch TV and find the shots in commercials that could only be shot from a UAV or digitally created. I assure you all of the shots you see were not recently taken by one of the few companies the FAA finally said could play around with the tech.

And for someone to actually sit down and write a post on weather or not he should rat someone out is pretty lame however the air here at times can foster this kind of slimy comradeship.

 

[cmyk22]

Eckoner,

While I accept your opinion. I do not appreciate the label of lame. The question I posed to the community is a valid one and am hoping for an open discussion. Insults and name calling do not belong on this forum and I believe that it hurts the overall conversation.

 

[cmyk22]

Monte,

I agree that business should be licensed and pay there fair share of taxes. My business is licensed (LLC) and insured (photography based). I have no idea if this person I am talking about is legit from a business perspective. My question that I asked was more of a moral/ self-policing type. I feel that I did the right thing by pointing out the general FAA recommendations. What are your thoughts concerning that more focused approach?

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

 

[eckoner]

Eckoner,

While I accept your opinion. I do not appreciate the label of lame. The question I posed to the community is a valid one and am hoping for an open discussion. Insults and name calling do not belong on this forum and I believe that it hurts the overall conversation.

I did not label you as lame.....the act is lame
and i agree insults and name calling has no room here in my opinion but many others disagree.

Serious question.......If you were to rat the guy out who flew in a way you would not what would be your desired outcome?

 

[cmyk22]

Eckoner,

My concern is that the main photograph he displaying for promo purposes is on an active flight path for take-off and landings. The airport in Milwaukee is a stones throw south (seven miles) of the city and flying at the altitudes he usually does (as shown in his flytrex public profile and facebook business page), that potential puts him and others in harms way. If it were happening by where he lives (rural area, no airports small or large nearby)...not as big of a deal in my book. But the fact remains that he is flying/ has flown very close to a major, active airport. To me that is reckless. That's one of the reasons that I reached out to him. I figured that a link to a brief best practices and a little familiarization with guidelines could go a long ways and felt obligated to do so. Education is key.

To answer your question, the desired outcome would be that he would be warned (not fined) by the authorities. I figure that would carry more weight then what I could do. I do not plan on reaching out to the FAA at this time but I do plan on monitoring this company for the time being.

 

[eckoner]

Eckoner,
That's one of the reasons that I reached out to him. I figured that a link to a brief best practices and a little familiarization with guidelines could go a long ways and felt obligated to do so. Education is key.

To answer your question, the desired outcome would be that he would be warned (not fined) by the authorities. I figure that would carry more weight then what I could do. I do not plan on reaching out to the FAA at this time but I do plan on monitoring this company for the time being.

Dude - In my book reaching out to him and simply providing useful information is you doing your good deed for the day and really is an awesome thing for you to do as you were only trying to help the guy be safe.

The problem is when we get into the name calling (not saying you did that) and even worse was your pondering if you were gonna be a rat or not then seeking approval from some of the other kids here lol. That kind of stuff is pretty slimy

Id pass on helpful info and move on and those who take that info and do fun and safe things then you did your job but there are those who wont hear you and could care less and there is not really much you can do to help these types.

Jimmy Conway: I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.

 

[Monte55]

Monte,

I agree that business should be licensed and pay there fair share of taxes. My business is licensed (LLC) and insured (photography based). I have no idea if this person I am talking about is legit from a business perspective. My question that I asked was more of a moral/ self-policing type. I feel that I did the right thing by pointing out the general FAA recommendations. What are your thoughts concerning that more focused approach?

I'm surprised I hear so many that think they should be able to use their flying machines and cameras to make money. Just about any business that collects a fee for services rendered needs a business license to operate. Why should this be any different?

I have no problem with the pointing out the recommendations. I think that needs to be done. I don't care what the flyers do as far as trying to make money. License or not. BUT....when it comes to putting people or property at risk...I have a problem. Many flyers think their skills are so much better than they are. Since people are too dumb to police themselves..they need to be guided. If anyone thinks rc equipment is infallible, they are just stupid. Much more money is put into the space program, commercial aircraft, cable tv, cars, etc.....and yet they still have their problems.

 

[cmyk22]

Eckoner,

Thank you for the insight. Whether we like it or not we are all stewards for this technology. Everything that we do with it has the potential to impact the general public and policy makers perception. I appreciate the open dialog and look forward to what others have to say about this.

 

[eckoner]

Eckoner,

Thank you for the insight. Whether we like it or not we are all stewards for this technology. Everything that we do with it has the potential to impact the general public and policy makers perception. I appreciate the open dialog and look forward to what others have to say about this.

Some adults actually have the ability to engage in communication even when you perhaps disagree with everything the other is saying and thats really good stuff. We should never all agree simply for the sake of agreeing. You make some good points and i think when its all said and done you and i have a small gap where we disagree and thats all good.

Thanks for the chat, thanks for being an adult, thanks for showing its ok to disagree and thanks for adding to this forum.