Just stop it with the bad press on drones..
Enough of this media frenzy on the dangers of 'drones', hacked drones, evil drones etc etc etc. It's like all the alleged near misses with aircraft that Sky News are reporting on. Yes I say alleged because none of these have ever been confirmed (solid evidence produced) to be drones - in fact some have subsequently been proven to be balloons or carrier bags.
These 'drones' are no more dangerous than any other radio controlled aircraft. There are already regulations and guidelines in place to govern how and where drones are allowed to operate, both commercially and for recreation.
There are several problems here:
1. Aviation industry has now taken the stance that any near miss should be reported as a drone by default - previously many would have been reported as UFOs (no not little green men, unidentified objects).
2. It plays well for the government, aviation industry and other lobbies to have the use of low level airspace controlled more tightly. This would open doors to sell commercial licensing for delivery drones etc. Therefore playing up the risk created by drones and model aircraft works for them.
3. Idiot factor. Whatever restrictions or regulations you put in place there will always be some idiot who ignores them and does something stupid (just look at car drivers). The solution here is to make efforts to catch and punish these people. It should not be difficult for the pilot to report back their position when an incident occurs (GPS position or how many miles out from the runway and altitude) - at which point a ground crew could quickly go out, track the drone and find the operator when it lands.
4. Irresponsible retailers. Previously a model aircraft would be sold via a model shop, the user would also likely go to a local model flying club to learn to fly their aircraft etc. Now these things are brought off the shelf at retailers like Amazon, Maplin, PC World etc. It also takes little to no skill to fly one so people don't go to local clubs and learn how to use them safely. Retailers should have to provide and guide to the regulations with every sale so people can't claim ignorance.
Anyway rant over. My point is it should not be down the the manufacturers to restrict their products to prevent the users from doing something they shouldn't. Regulations are in place. Retailers should ensure that buyers are aware of these regulations and the authorities should do more to catch those who break them - particularly those idiots flying their drones close to major airports.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
