What the heck is that?!

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Hi all, I'm new to the forum. I've had quite a lot of flying experience and excitedly tracking my new Phantom Pro 4's trip from America. This may sound like a silly question but what is the most accepted term for our machines? quad copter, Aircraft, drone, U.A.V. toy? or something else lol.
 
Welcome to the forum!
Good question. Personally, I'll refer to them as "quads" or "drones", or even by the model designation, like Phantom or Mavic. But I'm pretty new at this, so someone else might enlighten us both...
 
Welcome to the forums, I prefer to use quad or uav, drone has such a negative image associated with it thanks to the medias bias. I think these manufacturers need to stop calling them drones IMO and start distancing our hobby from the negative bias lol but that's just IMO
 
Welcome to the forums, I prefer to use quad or uav, drone has such a negative image associated with it thanks to the medias bias. I think these manufacturers need to stop calling them drones IMO and start distancing our hobby from the negative bias lol but that's just IMO

Totally agree with you. That's the main reason I asked.
 
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DJI calls them "drones" on their website.
 
A lot of folks call them "aircraft" I prefer "drone" if I'm in a hurry, and Phantom if I want to specify the class/style of quad. I've heard the Phantom referred to as the Cadillac of drones in the past (of course it isn't, but obviously some people believe it is).
 
When you say "drone", everyone knows what you're talking about. If you say "UAS", "quadcopter", or "quad" not so much. Then you have to explain what you mean, and they say, "Oh, you mean a drone, right?"

There has been a negative image of the word "Drone" in the past due to military drones killing bad guys, and occasional collateral damage (innocents), however given the drone craze in the market that has changed over the last year.

Today the negative reactions come from people that have their panties in the knot about privacy, imagining people snooping over walls and looking in windows, which is all a bunch of BS. But that's the same no matter what you call these craft, call it whatever you want, those people are going to complain with negative thoughts and hypothetical "what ifs".

Some popular drone podcasts talk about this a lot, but they have all come around to calling them drones, because that's what everyone knows. You just can't fight the common word that the majority of the people associate with the meaning.

However they have changed the definition of "marriage". I stand corrected.
 
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yeah even though sUAS is official, I call mine "small hobby choppers" to make it sound friendly. Especially when I'm calling anFAA tower for authorization to fly lol.
 
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yeah even though sUAS is official, I call mine "small hobby choppers" to make it sound friendly. Especially when I'm calling anFAA tower for authorization to fly lol.
So Lumy, you call the towers (and sorry to hijack this thread). Do they laugh at you at first? Then what do they ask you? And have they commented about how many calls like yours they get? My home is in three zones (I've never flown from home since the FAA implemented the new rules), one a local airport (with a tower) and two helipads at healthcare centers. In the latter cases I am not sure who to call!
 
I think most of the airports are working under new directions from the FAA. I'm experiencing the tower manager never providing an OK to fly within 5 miles. I believe that has to be issued by the FAA now as a waiver, which requires your 107 cert# to apply. Waivers take 90 days for approval, and they are only good for a specified period of time. Once you get the waiver, you then call the tower on flight day and tell them you have the FAA waiver and you're going to be flying near the airport, with coordinates and elevation. ATC can inform you of anything special going on in your area, but you have the waiver so you can fly if it's safe.

If anyone is experiencing anything different, please chime in. Sorry for the hijack.
 
So Lumy, you call the towers (and sorry to hijack this thread). Do they laugh at you at first? Then what do they ask you? And have they commented about how many calls like yours they get? My home is in three zones (I've never flown from home since the FAA implemented the new rules), one a local airport (with a tower) and two helipads at healthcare centers. In the latter cases I am not sure who to call!

Typically they pick up "FAA (name of airport) tower control". I say "Hi my name is (insert my name) and I'm a hobbyist planning to fly in the 5 mile range of your airport for a few hours". They usually ask me for my phone number, how long, how high, where, and thank me for calling. They usually like a call back when I'm done. They also usually tell me to have fun and give me location based information on incoming flights. I haven't had any issues with them.
 
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I think most of the airports are working under new directions from the FAA. I'm experiencing the tower manager never providing an OK to fly within 5 miles. I believe that has to be issued by the FAA now as a waiver, which requires your 107 cert# to apply. Waivers take 90 days for approval, and they are only good for a specified period of time. Once you get the waiver, you then call the tower on flight day and tell them you have the FAA waiver and you're going to be flying near the airport, with coordinates and elevation. ATC can inform you of anything special going on in your area, but you have the waiver so you can fly if it's safe.

If anyone is experiencing anything different, please chime in. Sorry for the hijack.
My experience is completely different. In fact I've called from a location with 3 airports crossing over as recent as 2 days ago. For the two larger airports, they allowed me to just work with the FAA tower from the larger one so I wouldn't have to keep calling both. Was their idea to save me time. The smaller airfield/heliport combo was just the operators cell and he gave me repeated thanks saying it's people like me who don't ever cause issues.

Honestly it may have something to do with where I work, but my experience with the FAA has been great.
 
I think most of the airports are working under new directions from the FAA. I'm experiencing the tower manager never providing an OK to fly within 5 miles. I believe that has to be issued by the FAA now as a waiver, which requires your 107 cert# to apply. Waivers take 90 days for approval, and they are only good for a specified period of time. Once you get the waiver, you then call the tower on flight day and tell them you have the FAA waiver and you're going to be flying near the airport, with coordinates and elevation. ATC can inform you of anything special going on in your area, but you have the waiver so you can fly if it's safe.

If anyone is experiencing anything different, please chime in. Sorry for the hijack.
Are you trying to fly under a 107 or as a Hobbyist?
 
Are you trying to fly under a 107 or as a Hobbyist?
Under 107 soon, as I recently got 107 certified and will be applying for waivers next week, waiting for approval. However when flying as a hobbiest the VanNuys airport wouldn't approve anything, said a waiver is needed, and I know that cannot be acquired without a 107 cert. So it appears no hobbiest can fly near commercial airports unless you have a 107 and a waiver. That's my interpretation of what VanNuys controller told me, and what I've heard from other 107 pilots.
 

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