FAA: Drones Are Okay For Hollywood, But Not Okay For Sports
from the huh? dept
We remain absolutely baffled by the FAA's bizarre rules about drones. As we've noted, the FAA has said that you can use drones for fun, but if it in any way involves profit, it's not allowed. So you can use a drone to take photographs from the sky for personal use, but if you're a real estate agent trying to do a flyover of a house you're trying to sell, that's illegal. And while some people still claim that drone use should be limited so they don't interfere with airplanes, that doesn't seem to (even remotely) be the concern here, otherwise the personal use of drones would be barred too.But it's getting even more bizarre. Now, it seems that anyone who wants to use drones in anything close to an innovative way has to first go beg the FAA for permission. And the permission is sometimes given and sometimes withheld. Compare these two stories. The University of Michigan wanted to use drones to deliver the game ball before kickoff of a football game, but the FAA nixed the request. It's not at all clear why. This was for a sporting event, and it would just be for fun. It's hard to see how the use was "commercial" other than the fact that college football is big business. Meanwhile, compare that to the fact that the FAA is apparently granting permission to Hollywood to use drones to film things:
In May, seven aerial photo and video production companies asked for regulatory exemptions (known as a 333 exemption) that would allow the film and television industry to use drones with FAA approval. Those seven companies and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), were asked by the FAA to develop the guidelines and safety procedures under which they planned to operate. The FAA reviewed those procedures and is expected to approve the drone-specific rules and standards that will enable Hollywood to be exempt from existing aviation regulations.Of course, the report from Forbes notes, this actually took four years of back and forth with the FAA to get to this point.
We've talked for a while about the concept of permissionless innovation and why it's important to keep the velocity of innovation moving forward at a rapid pace. Adding in this layer of bizarre, arbitrary and ridiculously slow regulation, and you're slowing down that pace. And while some say "does that really matter" for something as silly as flying drones, as we've noted, it's entirely possible that drones can create some amazingly powerful societal shifts. But each bit of "permission" needed along the way slows down that process and limits our ability to innovate and to adapt and adjust and learn.
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Filed Under: drones, faa, hollywood, innovation, movies, permission, regulations, sports
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There are tons of such products on the market these days, some of which are autonomous, and some of which are remote controlled, but the general terminology used to talk about them is "drones." Get used to it.
Those complaining about specific definitions of "drones" are losing the language battle. They're commonly referred to as drones. That's not the issue here.
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-- Lewis Carol
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The FAA defined "hobbyiest" and in doing so caused a number of organizations to file a lawsuit.
"One of the lawsuits was filed by four groups that contend the definition threatens their business:"
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/08/25/faa-drone-hobbyists-appeals-challe nge/14568609/
Our government likes to define terms, and then wrap useless legislation around regulating them. Drawing a distinct line between the typical military used term "Drone", and the more civilian/hobbyist used term "RC Aircraft" may end up being as important as defining the difference between Hobbyist and Commercial use before its all over.
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I know, hey, it's only words; but sometimes words are all we've got.
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The people at http://diydrones.com/ might disagree with you.
At this point, they're regularly referred to as drones.
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Words do matter.
This battle may very well be lost but I agree that calling quad-copters drones is a bad idea.
I suspect most people when they hear drone think of the scene in Bourne Identity where a large plane fires missiles to kill people. (see also Anwar al-Awlaki)
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At this point, they're regularly referred to as drones."
And some people in the government regularly refer to whistle-blowers as "terrorists". Your point?
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drōn/Submit
verb
1.
make a continuous low humming sound.
"in the far distance a machine droned"
synonyms: hum, buzz, whirr, vibrate, murmur, rumble, purr
"a plane droned overhead"
speak tediously in a dull monotonous tone.
"he reached for another beer while Jim droned on"
synonyms: speak boringly, go on and on, talk at length; More
move with a continuous humming sound.
"traffic droned up and down the street"
noun
noun: drone; plural noun: drones
1.
a low continuous humming sound.
"he nodded off to the drone of the car engine"
synonyms: hum, buzz, whirr, vibration, murmur, purr
"the drone of aircraft taking off"
informal
a monotonous speech.
"only twenty minutes of the hour-long drone had passed"
a continuous musical note, typically of low pitch.
a musical instrument, or part of one, sounding a continuous note, in particular (also drone pipe ) a pipe in a bagpipe or (also drone string ) a string in an instrument such as a hurdy-gurdy or a sitar.
2.
a male bee in a colony of social bees, which does no work but can fertilize a queen.
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It's hard to see how the use would be "commercial," except for the fact that it would be part of the huge commercial "big business" of a football game? I'm not following you on this one, Mike.
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FAA: Drones Are Okay For Hollywood, But Not Okay For Sports
FAA is looking at possible endangerment to people. For the move set, they are requiring the operator to have a private pilot license and that the drone stay in visible range. They've got safety teams that will be making sure that everyone knows what to do.
the FAA's job is to protect the public. There have already been numerous instances of drones causing issues with safety. Think of how safe it would be if 20 Paparazzi decided to use one to film there favorite star. Do you think that would be a safe environment?
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Re: FAA: Drones Are Okay For Hollywood, But Not Okay For Sports
But, but, but... there's a special rule for Hollywood! Argh!
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I could easily make a distinction between a football stadium with thousands of people at a sporting event, and the controlled environment of a movie set. I also think we need to start making a distinction between RC aircraft and Drones. Although there is quite a bit of grey area, my understanding is that a Drone is capable of autonomous flight, where an RC aircraft must remain under constant control by the operator/pilot. So from what I've read.. technically, both the movie studio and the football organization were both wanting to use RC aircraft, not Drones... therefore they do not fall under FAA rules unless they are flying them in a regulated airspace.. airports, over the white house, etc.. etc... which a stadium may actually fall under.
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The thing about this autonomous flight is that it is blind. It doesn't know if it's about to crash into a building, or fly into the intake of a jet turbine on take-off or approach to an airport. And yes, there are people stupid enough to be flying drones at the edge of an airport.
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The thing about this autonomous flight is that it is blind. It doesn't know if it's about to crash into a building, or fly into the intake of a jet turbine on take-off or approach to an airport. And yes, there are people stupid enough to be flying drones at the edge of an airport.
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I think the lines are perfectly clear. I have a very large RC P51 mustang at home. If i fly it in it's current configuration I must stay in control.. it's an RC aircraft. If I install a computer and mechanical device to manipulate the servo's to guide the plane on a specific flight path, it is a drone.
Also; To maintain your "Model Aircraft" or RC status, you should stay below 400 ft. If you go above 400ft, you are in FAA regulated airspace.
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/1acfc3f689769a56862569e7 0077c9cc/$FILE/ATTBJMAC/ac91-57.pdf
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"Superficial analysis" is, unfortunately, Mike's bread and butter. It's not about identifying the "pros and cons" or giving any sort of balanced and nuanced reasoning, it's merely about smearing "Hollywood" and making unprovable assertions that this decision will be detrimental to "innovation."
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I hope it's not in the field of "it may fall and kill someone from above" or "because criminals can use for this and that" because these non-issues. Even the paparazzi example is bad because there are laws against such behavior already and again it can't be stressed enough: JUST BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED FOR THE WRONG AND ABUSED IT DOES NOT MEAN IT MUST BE PROHIBITED. This idiotic rationale does not work in reality.
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A similar concern would apply to drones over demonstrations, except in this case law enforcement could well have access to military grade jammers, and we all know how much cops like being filmed in such circumstances. Anything capable of carrying a pig skin is getting heavy enough to injure people if it falls on them from more than a few feet up.
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The issue should not be commercial non commercial use, but rather risks to people, and especially due to deliberate interference with control of a vehicle when a crowd is present.
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In the FAA there are big differences between commercial aircraft operations and non-commercial ones. A Private pilot is not allowed to accept enumeration for flying their aircraft. There's a lot more training required for commercial pilots.
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People have been flying RC aircraft for a very very long time. The FAA itself issued guidelines for model aircraft, and openly called it "advisory for model aircraft".
The example you gave is a bad example. The predator can be remote controlled and fly autonomously. It also flies in airspace above 400ft. It's a text book Drone. It doesn't meet the criteria of an RC aircraft.
"The lines are blurred. Some of the smaller hobbyist devices have extreme intelligence and operate very autonomously. The stuff that Google, Amazons, DHL, and others are looking at are exactly the same that the hobbyist can buy."
Look man, the lines are not blurred. When you attach a device to allow an RC aircraft to fly by itself, it is now a drone. Not blurry at all. You have taken an RC aircraft and re-purposed it to a drone.. its a very easy distinction to make.
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You mean like the drone captured by the Iranians that fooled it into landing?
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Re: FAA: Drones Are Okay For Hollywood, But Not Okay For Sports
Depends on who you ask.
You can't understand the difference between a movie set in a well controlled are and a football stadium with 100,000 unsuspecting people in it?
I can, and do, understand the difference. I did not say they are the same situation. I just questioned the wisdom of the FAA barring the latter.
FAA is looking at possible endangerment to people.
Yes, you're right. I am pointing out that they're overreacting to a very tiny risk, and in doing so, massively delaying important innovations.
For the move set, they are requiring the operator to have a private pilot license and that the drone stay in visible range. They've got safety teams that will be making sure that everyone knows what to do.
And it still took 4 years to get approvals.
the FAA's job is to protect the public.
No, it's not, but okay.
Think of how safe it would be if 20 Paparazzi decided to use one to film there favorite star. Do you think that would be a safe environment?
Did you know if you eat a truckload of vegetables, you'd die?
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Too funny. I "trolled" you with a troll comment. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOL
You made my day!!! Haha!
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Size has been one factor, the predator drone is pretty big compared to most RC aircraft. But take a look at any of the RC magazines and you'll find folks build some pretty big "RC aircraft"
The lines are blurred. Some of the smaller hobbyist devices have extreme intelligence and operate very autonomously. The stuff that Google, Amazons, DHL, and others are looking at are exactly the same that the hobbyist can buy.
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People have been flying RC aircraft for a very very long time. The FAA itself issued guidelines for model aircraft, and openly called it "advisory for model aircraft".
The example you gave is a bad example. The predator can be remote controlled and fly autonomously. It also flies in airspace above 400ft. It's a text book Drone. It doesn't meet the criteria of an RC aircraft.
"The lines are blurred. Some of the smaller hobbyist devices have extreme intelligence and operate very autonomously. The stuff that Google, Amazons, DHL, and others are looking at are exactly the same that the hobbyist can buy."
Look man, the lines are not blurred. When you attach a device to allow an RC aircraft to fly by itself, it is now a drone. Not blurry at all. You have taken an RC aircraft and re-purposed it to a drone.. its a very easy distinction to make.
Also; the military uses both RC and Drones. Just because it's military doesn't suddenly mean its a drone.
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terrorism bogeyman
It wouldn't surprise me if we get to the point in which getting a "drone" license will be about as difficult as getting a license to own a machine gun (which by the way Hollywood studios seem to have no problem getting, despite California's restrictive gun ownership laws)
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Re: terrorism bogeyman
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No surprising at all
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There is an excellent site run by an attorney about Drone laws and regulations where he argues convincingly that the FAA lacks the authority to control most drones, and even argues that the San Jose Police Department is correct in their determination that the FAA lacks the authority to regulate drone use by Public Agencies. And he shows it in teh FAA's own words.
Read it at http://dronelawjournal.com/
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the real stinker here is...
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This inquiring mind wants to know.
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- Statement of Nicholas A. Sabatini, Associate Administrator for Regulation and Certification (June 2, 2004).
From the website dronelawjournel
Apparently I was wrong to classify the San Jose Police Dept as idiots, at least in this instance.
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then who is this x-ray picture of on date, time, place?)
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