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I get that but:
- the guy is 175 lbs
- His equipment is another 50 - 60 lbs
- He has a tank filled with gasoline
- He is at 15,000'
- He can't see 360*
- If a plane or jet is coming at him he'd have to make some pretty quick evasive action
- If he did get hit, the chances are both he and the plane are coming down
all that as opposed to a 4 lb plastic drone with a battery and a camera that can see and avoid pretty much that same as that pilot.
Not wanting to get into any dispute, good dialogue.
But it just doesn't equate in my opinion.
I hear you, bro. I've been a commercial pilot & flight instructor for almost 40 years. I can quote the FAA regulations with my eyes closed. Many of them are written so poorly, vaguely and open to interpretation, ( a favorite topic of pilot lounge talk is deciphering "FAA Speak"), that I have wondered for many years whether they do it on purpose to have ammo to hang you if the need arises, or if they just don't have anyone to write the rules in plain English.
To their credit, the premise for all of their rules is always based in safety. Having said that, like many things today, the technological advancements have left the rule making process in the dust. Government grinds along very slowly.
No doubt, the FAA is scratching their heads on how to safely fit sUAS into the existing airspace, and how to track & catch offenders of the rules.
What law-abiding sUAS community members need to think about is how skydiver's & hang-glider/para-glider drivers have managed to keep the FAA off their back all of these years. No FAA licensing is required for those airborne pursuits which is amazing.
The FAA of course, has total control over where they can operate in the airspace but has stayed away from certifying the participants, except parachute riggers.
Here's how they did it.
As their sports grew, they quickly formed community based organizations that:
Certified, qualified persons as instructors
Promoted safety through graduated licensing tiers, based on proficiency & testing
Developed rules of conduct
Cast off the law breakers, (VERY bad for public perception & image)
Embraced the FAA in a supporting/advisory role
Developed many more safety based efforts
Through those remarkable accomplishments, the FAA has maintained for many years now, a "hands off - watch & wait" position.
The sUAS people need to get on the ball, or it's going to roll right over them.