Remote Controlled Aircraft and Drones

[jfy1999]

I got my first look at a quadcopter drone yesterday. It was in Cannon Hill Park in the centre of Birmingham, so it wasn't near the airport, but it went so high up sometimes it was little more than a speck. These things have remarkable capabilities and are being bought by estate agents to take aerial shots of houses, but you can easily see how an unscrupulous character could use them.

At the Big Bang Fair which I went to at the NEC a couple of years ago, there were experimental UAV's on show. Most notable were two inflatable "penguins" made by the company Festo which were drifting around the building. They were propelled by small rotors and slowly flapping composite wings.

If you've had any experience of UAV's that you would like to share, post here!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There is clearly official concern about the proliferation of drones and the use to which they might be put, but there appears to be a dilemma between over-regulation and the consequential detrimental effect on genuine users that such legislation might bring about.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/civil-aviation ... te-1498216

 

[BSL-2km]

I think they are great.. Don't have one but have been thinking of getting one.
All this BS about threats that they pose... come on ... ardon: it is just getting silly,, someone might use them for this, or for that, or to use them against aviation 'targets'.... too much Daily Fail reading going on..
R/C helicopters and airplanes are hardly cutting edge tech, been around for a bit... i've had them since childhood, 30 years ago, how many incidents involving remotely controlled flying machines being used as weapons ??
that is not counting the use of R/C drones by our brave military to inflict mayhem on unsuspecting folks in far removed backwater theatres of war...or to spy on everyone else...... the hypocrisy is unbelievable sometimes...
Self policing nanny state.. perfect.... BAAAH BAAAH :crazy:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Apart from potential danger to aircraft the main concern seems to be the possibility of drones being used by criminals to get themselves well acquainted with targets that they might have in mind to burgle for example; privacy is another worry for some with drones presenting the opportunity to intrude significantly onto private premises.

As I wrote earlier governments seem to recognise that there needs to be a balance between the genuine user and those with nefarious intent.

I have no strong view on the matter. I've never seen a drone in real life.

 

[jfy1999]

I heard about the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS which seem to have been going on for a while. Are these using drones or piloted aircraft?

 

[Ray Finkle]

The article below was Tweeted by Paul Kehoe. In the same Tweet he has suggested drones possibly having a phone style chip so owners can be traced?

Drones were recently involved in four serious near misses at UK airports, the UK Air Proximity Board has said.

The board, which investigates near-miss incidents in UK airspace, said a drone had come very close to colliding with a Boeing 737 climbing out of Stansted.

There were also category A incidents at Heathrow, London City and Manchester.

British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) spokesman Steve Landells said action must be taken to prevent a "catastrophic crash" of an aircraft.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35442130

 

[jfy1999]

Inmates planned to break out of a Staffordshire prison using tools flown in by drone. Fortunately the plan was discovered and shut down, but another example of what can happen when drones fall into the wrong hands.

http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/regional-affairs/drone-used-drop-bolt-cutters-11092887

 

[TheLocalYokel]

As with laser pointers there is always the difficult balancing act between permitting something that has useful lawful purposes and preventing its use for criminal or anti social purposes.

The simple solution might appear to be a registration system perhaps with a local authority or in the case of drones the CAA, but that would be expensive to administer, probably bureaucratic, and criminals would always find a way to get around it as they do with firearms.

That said, we can't just throw up our hands and say 'put it away in the too difficult to do drawer'. Society has to find a way of at least reducing ill judged use of drones (and laser pointers). Let's hope there is a way to be found.

 

[Aviador]

So long as drones (and laser pens) are legal, they can be regulated to reduce their usage and to make them safer. A laser pen would be relatively easy to post to the UK from overseas if they were made illegal to own here.

 

[jfy1999]

It seems the commission that was appointed to look into the apparent drone strike involving a BA A320 on approach to Heathrow have found no evidence that a drone actually struck the plane.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36159117

 

[Ray Finkle]

Another incident with a drone, this time with a Flybe Dash 8.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-38774718

A drone "endangered" an aircraft and its passengers when it was flown near the plane a few hundred feet above a primary school, a report has said.

The DH8 was 150m (500ft) over the school near Birmingham Airport last September when the pilot saw the drone about 500m (1,640ft) away.

 

[Aviador]

The law on drone usage has now changed.

UK FRZ Map

This map enables UA operators to remain clear of the new UA FRZs that are created as part of the latest amendment to the ANO.
It is illegal to fly any drone at any time within these restricted zones unless you have permission from air traffic control at the airport or, if air traffic control is not operational, from the airport itself.

https://dronesafe.uk/restrictions/

 

[jfy1999]

Another incident, this time at Gatwick:

A320 took drone-avoidance action during Gatwick approach

Investigators have disclosed that an Airbus A320 crew took evasive action to avoid a drone during the final stages of an approach to London Gatwick earlier this year.

www.flightglobal.com

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Five people arrested ahead of Heathrow drone protest

Five people have been arrested ahead of Friday's planned drone protest at Heathrow Airport.

www.standard.co.uk

Five people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance, in connection with an Extinction Rebellion splinter group's intention to fly drones within the Heathrow 5km exclusion zone on Friday.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Airbus A319 hits 'fireworks balloon'

Sorry, not quite sure where to post this quite shocking and scary event -

Report by Mentour Pilot - a great YouTube channel by the way.

Kevin