Gut check time - what would you do?

[John Locke]

I just want the waivers process for airspace approvals to be faster... days rather than months.

For those unaware of what's going on to speed this process up, the FAA is in the process of releasing UAS Facility maps of airports, suggesting altitudes you can safely fly within 5mi of an airport, in an effort to help 107 pilots breeze through and expedite the process to get COAs for low risk flight scenarios, which has been the subject here. There are no promises yet about how much this will speed things up, but I perceive it will be much quicker, eventually. The first portion of these maps was released a couple weeks ago, and every couple of months going forward the FAA will release more airport facility maps. I have no idea how long it will take to complete a grid map for every airport across the whole country, maybe a year or two I'm thinking. When completed, and with successful operations, and no major flight incidents, this new COA process could turn into a quick approval process, maybe days instead of months......but I assume that won't be until we get down the road, in a year or two. Here are some FAQs about these new maps.

 

[John Decker]

I've come to notice that the only time these types of threads become contentious is when the "real pilots" get involved. I've seen all sorts of youtube vloggers and their ilk fly drones all over the place be they in the city or near crowds. People like Casey Neistat or Julien Solomita go out and shoot videos using drones to come back with amazing footage that makes for good viewing. Likes far outweigh the dislikes and the only moaning is from these same "real pilots" in the comments which go ignored. No one was hurt, no one was even bothered but ****** if the reaction isn't as if Satan himself was there personified in the drone trying to steal someone's soul. Always with the "what if" and that just isn't how the rest of the world operates.

I refuse to live my life in fear of "what if" and if you choose to live it as one collection of tedious moments then that is on you. I'm going to check the weather forecast to go fly my drone, I'm going to survey my surroundings to do a Risk Assessment (right andy_k?) then the bird will be in the sky for an hour or more (I only have 5 batteries to get through)

You stay there, play with your charts or checklists and be a keyboard warrior because someone's wrong on the internet. I'm done with this place.

I'm sorry, you already live your life according to what ifs. What if you go through that red light and an 18-wheeler is coming in at 90°? What if you do 100mph in a 50 zone and someone pulls out? So you stop at red lights and don't do 100 in 50 zones.. These laws aren't in place because the worst case scenario will happen each time, but for the rare occasion when it does. Fly as you like 999 times, but because nothing happens it doesn't make you right. It's that 1000th time and the consequences that the law is designed for. And believe it or not, you might not know all the reasons why they make these laws.
I'll stick to the law for the simple reason that it means I'm left alone..

 

[bluesgeek]

For those unaware of what's going on to speed this process up, the FAA is in the process of releasing UAS Facility maps of airports, suggesting altitudes you can safely fly within 5mi of an airport, in an effort to help 107 pilots breeze through and expedite the process to get COAs for low risk flight scenarios, which has been the subject here. There are no promises yet about how much this will speed things up, but I perceive it will be much quicker, eventually. The first portion of these maps was released a couple weeks ago, and every couple of months going forward the FAA will release more airport facility maps. I have no idea how long it will take to complete a grid map for every airport across the whole country, maybe a year or two I'm thinking. When completed, and with successful operations, and no major flight incidents, this new COA process could turn into a quick approval process, maybe days instead of months......but I assume that won't be until we get down the road, in a year or two. Here are some FAQs about these new maps.

Thank you. That is encouraging.