RC Drones versus RC Helicopters

Hi John,

The difference between a model and a "drone" is that you cannot operate a model under AMA rules for anything but personal recreation. The new rules are there to allow commercial entities to legally fly. (Until the new rules come out, only unpaid amateurs could legally fly.) Until now it has been ironic: a well-funded company with trained aviators could not legally fly any for-profit sub-scale aircraft.

-Lyle


On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 3:46:48 PM UTC-5, Six-Seven Romeo wrote:
Forgive me if this should go to an R/C blog instead of RAS but I think that there are many glider drivers that like flying drones.

The Chicago Tribune ran an article today on the FAA's proposed rules for the "use of commercial drones". The full text is below. Highlights for operators are;

A person flying a small drone would have to be at least 17 years old.
Must pass an aeronautical knowledge test every two years.
Must obtain an FAA certificate.
Would not need a private pilot's license nor be required to undergo medical testing.
The operation of drones would be limited to visual line-of-sight operations. drones that weigh 55 pounds or less and are conducting non-recreational operations.
Limited to daylight, to altitudes of 500 feet and to speeds of 100 mph.
Cannot be flown near airports, or in restricted airspace, unless air traffic controllers gave permission.
Prohibit drone operators from delivering packages or cargo for a fee.

The next sentence I then read I found very interesting, "The new rules would not apply to model aircraft, which officials said have their own set of rules." In FAA-speak "aircraft" of course includes helicopters. So if I were to slap an AMA number of the side of my drone and call it a helicopter, can I ignore FAA rules? How does a helicopter differ from a drone? The tail rotor? Is it the commercial angle that is the issue at hand? I.E. that (AMA?) rules governing R/C models don't allow commercial use? Is there a set of RAA rules for R/C models?

Expiring minds want to know.

- John

PS The picture accompanying the article shows a drone with tail number N544L registering an INSTANTEYE MK-2 to SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC SEMPRA ENERGY. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinqu...Numbertxt=544L

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...215-story.html

FAA proposes rules for use of commercial drones

Federal officials unveiled new proposed rules Sunday for the operation of small commercial drones, opening the skies to greater use of unmanned aircraft to perform tasks including inspecting bridges, assisting in search-and-rescue operations, taking aerial photos of real estate and shooting scenes for movies and television.

In announcing the proposal, Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Huerta said he expects commercial drones will "dramatically change the way we use our nation's airspace."

Huerta, in a conference call with reporters, said drones -- formally known as unmanned aircraft systems -- will in some cases be able to perform tasks with less risk than manned aircraft, which he noted may be forced to fly in dangerous terrain or bad weather.

The proposed rules would apply to drones that weigh 55 pounds or less and are conducting non-recreational operations.

Such flights would be limited to daylight, to altitudes of 500 feet and to speeds of 100 mph. The maximum altitude is intended to keep drones away from manned flights that usually are flying at higher altitudes, Huerta said..

Drones would not be permitted to fly over people, except those directly involved with the flight. Nor could they be flown near airports, or in restricted airspace, unless air traffic controllers gave permission, Huerta said..

"Safety is always our No. 1 priority," he said.

The FAA authorized testing of drones at six sites around the country in December 2013 and is working to integrate drones in the national airspace.

Huerta described a host of tasks drones could perform, including inspecting utility towers, antennae, power line and pipelines, especially in hilly or mountainous terrain, and monitoring crops, supporting wildlife conservation and assisting news-gathering organizations.

Importantly, though, the proposed rules would prohibit drone operators from delivering packages or cargo for a fee and from dropping objects from drones, though the aircraft could carry cargo for research and development purposes.

Official said the rules are intended to minimize risk to other aircraft and people and property on the ground.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, whose department oversees the FAA, applauded the new rules. "Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and this milestone allows federal regulations and the use of our national airspace to evolve to safely accommodate innovation," he said in a statement.

The AMA CD should have coordinated an airport closure for the event and NOTAM issued for the airport and surrounding areas since they were doing some XC. I've been to several events where that works well. IMAA(defunct) Castle event is kind of an exception where the main airport remains open but NOTAM is still issued and airspace carefully controlled.

The 500 ft rule is hard to enforce and hard for a pilot to self enforce without telemetry. I fly both models and full scale. I've been to a lot of meetups and the guys that are into the hobby year after year are really responsible. I would feel comfortable sharing a thermal with one of their monster 55 lb 10 meter ships. They know what they are doing and can avoid aircraft.. Flying with them in Maryland on the ridge we have shared thermals with hang gliders. Sailplanes passed high above. No problems. VFR traffic.

It's the people that buy the Chinese made foam plane and take off by the airport that are going to ruin it for everyone. You can't make laws to prevent that because they are too hard to enforce. I'm not sure what to do about this phenomena.

One thing I don't understand is making separate rules for the drones, even if they have to abide by the visual line of site and max 500 ft altitude just like the rest of the model traffic.
I'm glad the AMA was able to get the FAA to leave model pilots out of the mess. I think as a whole, people that actually join the AMA and fly at clubs, are responsible and no other laws are needed.

We get a lot of converts from the AMA to the SSA (I'm one of them) so we all need to back each other. A sailplane flying below 500 ft is rare and a model airplane flying above 500 ft is also rare, hopefully that will keep us safe. Remember, it's all VFR traffic right?