Re: Should multi's have ceiling limits? Aircraft transponde
ogmios said:
Air rights are generally for flights above 500ft. FAA doesn't like if you fly your UAV above 400ft. If you respect FAA rules, then you are 100ft short to qualify for federal air rights. Does that mean that you are now subject to local laws? What about recording and FPV? Do local laws supersede regardless of altitude? (Some state lawmakers tried to pass laws with verbiage that basically encompassed satellite imagery - Which obviously would be above 500ft).
Just a lot of questions that none of us really has a clear answer on :-(
"Clear answers" often come from correct terminology. The term "air rights" has no relevance in aviation. It's a legal term defined as "A right to develop the space above a piece of property, building, or other structure, such as a highway. Often used in the plural."
At least for US airspace, "500 ft" is similarly specious - no relevance at all in this context in the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) or in everyday flying.
And, a previous poster was correct; if states attempt to make laws regarding airspace restrictions, they're headed for a smackdown. All US airspace is owned by the Feds, as is all pilot certification. It would be a truly ludicrous situation if an aircraft took off from the east coast of the US, headed for California, and had to deal with a different set of flight regulations each time it crossed a state border. It doesn't happen.
Don't worry about the idiots that fly too high, above people, roads and freeways. They will not kill the hobby. Perception will, or at least make it not fun anymore.
That's your opinion, and as an FAA-licensed pilot with some real-world aviation experience, I disagree.
As things stand now, FAA is taking the position that "hobby drones" are toys, and not paying much attention to them in their proposed rule-making. But YouTube is full of videos of idiots flying their RC FPV models at over 1,000 ft AGL in populated areas -
a really bad idea. Here's a recent example posted a few days ago, in which the guy claims his airplane exceeded 4,000 ft, and the video would seem to support his claim:
http://youtu.be/PRc-HtwjbOM
At these altitudes, FPV is all he's got - he can't see his model from the ground anymore, and real airplanes are up there as well. The RC guy won't see those either, so he can't stay out of their way.
The business of cowboys on the ground FPVing around up there with real airplanes is a recipe for disaster. Eventually, one of these RC models will wind up in the cockpit of a real plane, and business will pick up briskly at that point in terms of regulation. Collision avoidance is one of the primary reasons so many aviation regulations exist, and there are no regulations to prevent this kind of situation from occurring at present.