For the RC crowd

[rodman1369]

I heard a story yesterday about some new laws that might outlaw their use within 20 miles of an airport.

Now...That is a bummer...I just want to fly over my property...not too high...always within sight...but I live about 8 miles straight distance from Airport. Already Ultra cautious about Lasers.

[loopee]

DJI released a software upgrade back in April for the Phantom series that limits flying above restricted areas such as airports.

[TechJunkie]

Cool video.

Cooler video.

[White-Light]

On the one hand cool. On the other, an accident waiting to happen. A sudden destabilising gust of wind or momentary loss of control by the operator and...

I imagine a pro company would have some sort of safety switch / shutter assembly based on the pitch of the drone. However, for amateur / cheap copies..

In the US I see a real issue in any event. Any shutter couldn't be too sensitive as some pitch is inevitable but equally in the US it's unlawful to audience scan without the correct variance. Only a couple of degrees of down angle would potentially shine the beams down to the ground at some point, even if a long way away and whilst at huge distance it might be safe, it wouldn't be lawful would it if anyone happened to be in the path of the beam? Seems could be an issue to me.

....and imagine the cost of a motor or control failure - $3K drone + $5K laser projector, not to mention the damage to what it fell on!....

[smogthemog]

Quadcopter guru now?
Aeroplanes never fall from the sky do they.
In your world, you would never go outside would you?

[White-Light]

Aeroplanes don't run out of battery juice and whilst most quad copters have a GPS return to base function as Adam described above which activates if the power is low or if the copter loses the RC control signal, nothing is infallible.

I know of a few people who crashed quad copters, mostly the cheaper ones that don't have a RTB function. Wind can also be a factor.

Even the Gadget Show Crashed one by flying it outside of the RC range.

Few others here Jim been as they never crash:

Rotor Failure 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7KiJgMU75Y

Rotor Failure 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk0qrMmz0dE

Wind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd9aps9rR6Y

Motor Assembly Failure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_G0Wrw3gMg

I could keep posting because it's not uncommon but it would be pointless.

[smogthemog]

But they do and have run out of juice Al!

Lets get rid of all cars, vans, lorries etc. on the roads eh! That will make the world a safer place wont it.

Does anything RC fall from the sky ever? RC flying objects have been around for many many years Al. How come QC are suddenly worse than other RC planes, Helicopters etc?

Stop being such a boring tit, get out and see the world before you take the feeble effort to comment on its every happening.

[TechJunkie]

On the one hand cool. On the other, an accident waiting to happen. A sudden destabilising gust of wind or momentary loss of control by the operator and...

I imagine a pro company would have some sort of safety switch / shutter assembly based on the pitch of the drone. However, for amateur / cheap copies..

In the US I see a real issue in any event. Any shutter couldn't be too sensitive as some pitch is inevitable but equally in the US it's unlawful to audience scan without the correct variance. Only a couple of degrees of down angle would potentially shine the beams down to the ground at some point, even if a long way away and whilst at huge distance it might be safe, it wouldn't be lawful would it if anyone happened to be in the path of the beam? Seems could be an issue to me.

....and imagine the cost of a motor or control failure - $3K drone + $5K laser projector, not to mention the damage to what it fell on!....

You really know how to take the fun out of things. You must be fun at Christmas, and birthday parties.

They use it to project logos and text. Its not made to scan an audience, or music shows. Its innovation, not a weapon.

[Stuka]

But they do and have run out of juice Al!

...

Does anything RC fall from the sky ever? RC flying objects have been around for many many years Al. How come QC are suddenly worse than other RC planes, Helicopters etc?

...

I'll respond to that -

Been flying RC for the best part of 30 years, and a member of AMA for 25 of that.
I have - and continue to fly - planes of various sizes, copters, and recently, quads.

One of the big differences with the quads / multirotors is that unlike most RC pilots that fly planes and helicopters (micros being the exception) in fairly safe or designated areas, many multirotor pilots are flying around and over populated areas, and not staying within the confines of a designated flying site. Additionally, fairly big ready-to-go quads can be bought from the local hobby shop with a fairly small investment, and often by potential pilots who are proving to be lacking in both skills and common sense.

It's not often that you see a coventional RC plane or helicopter flying over populated areas, but with the quads it is happening all too often. And while the technology is actually quite incredible, we're still talking about fairly cheaply-made mass-produced machines that are subject to failures, often being flown by inexperienced "pilots" with little or no interest or experience in properly maintaining their machines. Given that multi rotors (especially quads) have the glide path of a brick if something fails, the results of a failure over populated areas can present a real hazard of injury or expensive property damage to populated areas below. Also, while designated RC fields are generally published in NOTAMS and know to area air traffic, lone-wolf quad flyers are more and more often flying in areas with little or no regard to the real air traffic above or around them.

Much as with our laser hobby and the dumbasses with the high-power pointers, here lately it seems that for every real cool quad / multirotor video that gets posted, a handful of videos posted by clueless and/or inconsiderate dumbass pilots get all the attention.

And of course the media's insistance of always referring to them as "drones' certainly doesn't help in today's world of privacy paranoia.

Another "boring tit", signing off...

[TechJunkie]

Good point, but how are you supposed to get experienced if you dont crash it every once in a while? There are n00bs in every hobby. Some stay n00bs, others become enthusiasts. You cant have greatness without failure.