I find this a little hard to support, because I don't understand how this will improve safety. At least not proportional to all the efforts put into it.
As I understand, there will be no evaluation or check before you are authorized to fly. So in reality, it is still up to you to make the safety judgement before flying - just as before.
I am a pilot, so it is easy for me to check NOTAMs, classified airspace etc, but I guess most people dont have a clue. I am willing to bet most aren't checking anything at all - they just apply for the authorization. Actually that itself may impose a risk, as some may think that this authorization makes it safe to fly at places there really are dangers..
For most people some simple rules will be more efficient, and they will make the airspace safe.
- Fly no closer than 5 km from an airport (regulation here in Norway).
- Do not fly higher than 400 feet AGL. That should keep you separated from air traffic as minimum altitude for VFR traffic is 500 feet AGL.
- Do not fly close to hospitals and other places with helipads for the emergency services.
- Do not fly over prohibited areas like military bases, environmental protected areas and other airspace closed for security reasons.
The problem is that very wide areas are marked yellow, and that doesn't make sense to people. The result is lost respect and awareness for the real safety issues.
A large part of mountains and rural areas here in Norway is marked yellow. The reason is that the Air Force has assigned these areas for low flying training (min. 200 feet) I can assure - I've been walking and flying these mountains for 40 years, and I've never ever seen a low flying military aircraft. Besides, the airspace is class G, and open to all aircraft flying VFR without any reporting. A small aircraft can also be hard to see for a fighter low level at 500 kts, and imposes a bigger threat than a 5 lb quad. (After all the fighters are designed to survive a bird strike, but certainly not a C172 strike.) The chances of a quad/fighter encounter in this enormous areas may be one to a quadzillion. Birds, on the other hand - there are thousands upon thousands of 5 lb birds up there....
And the question is also whether the zones are properly updated. One large yellow zone I noticed used to be a shooting range for antiaircraft artillery. I know - I had my basic officers training there, and knew the no fly sector very well. The Air Force station is gone, closed and sold 20 years ago, and flowers are growing in the remains of the gun emplacements. They're beautiful, and I wish i could show you some nice aerial pics, but ...
Is
overkill an appropriate word?