Roughly 700,000 drones are
expected to be sold in the United States this year, according to the Consumer
Electronics Association.
The figure marks a 63 percent increase over last year’s total, but comes with
added concerns about safety. The popularity of drones worries both pilots and
government officials.
“All aviators are worried about hitting anything in the air. That's basically
what we always worry about,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the
Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to meet with Walmart, which has 19
different kinds of drones for sale on its website, to teach salespeople about
what it should tell its customers about safe drone operation.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pilots report seeing drones in airspace reserved for aircraft several times each
day.
The Consumer Electronics Association projects the U.S. drone market to climb
above $100 million in revenue this year, an increase of more than 50 percent
from last year’s total. The organization predicts there will be more than 1
million drone flights every day by 2025.
" A lot of US citizen says different about that ;
(1 ) ' Electronic technology is advancing very quickly and it can make life
easier and do lots of things very fast. But it's also proving to be very
dangerous, both for our national security and our private lives. We have these
drones, expensive toys, but they can be used to spy on people, endanger military
and public aircraft and that can get people killed. They showed a video of a
drone that had a 45 cal. pistol mounted on it and the pilot was flying it and
firing the gun. We have turned over our government and private lives to
computers, and we are finding out that they can be hacked, exposing our national
secrets as well as our private information. It's been shown that people
thousands of miles away can take over control of your car if it has computers.
This technology is improving so fast no one can keep up with it. It's good for
business and for lots of other things but also has a dark side that we need to
control and that maybe impossible '
(2) ' Necessity is the mother of Invention. So now I went to the local hobby
store and bought 3 remotes used for drones and aircraft. With a little help from
a electrical engineering buddy who is into RC planes I now have a jammer that
will over ride any of the popular frequencies use by most drones. You over fly
my property and zap I take your drone out. By the way my pit-bull hates anything
that makes noise. You might get your drone back in several pieces. Good dog,
good dog '
(3) ' I've commmented before as to citizen's should have the right to reasonable
privacy. The response (from the village idiots) was something to the effect of I
need to learn the laws before posting something stupid. We don't have rights to
air space or something to that effect.Well so be it but I'll take my chances.
Fly it over my property and it becomes my personal fun filled entertainment as I
try to knock it down. You want to play with drones ? No problem, Find a park,
field, public space etc. But leave personal property (air space) alone ! I'd
think eventually there will be on/off limit fly zones as these grow in
popularity. Right now it's just begun so the laws/rules just don;t exist in many
places'
(4) ' Require that all drones be registered at purchase, so whoever buys it can
be held accountable in case of a problem. If one comes over my yard, I'll shoot
it down (with non-lethal ammo) - they are more vulnerable than you think. Then
I'll track down the owner using the registration and sue the pants off for
privacy violation/harassment/anything else my attorney can think of. Wee need
legislation with teeth in it to make drone users realize they have what can be a
very dangerous "toy", so maybe the user will think about when/where it is safe
to fly it without infringing on others' privacy '
(5) ' These are a hazard to everyone. With hundreds of thousands of individuals
using these
nationwide you will be in danger of being killed by one just walking down your
drive to check the mail. Not to mention a loss of privacy as your neighbor's
drone hovers outside your window and over your backyard filming you in what used
to be a private setting.
When a certain number of individuals on the ground have been killed by one
flying into their head and when a few aircraft have been downed with the loss of
life of the passengers then maybe there will be a recall. Why can't there be a
recall before this happens?
(6) ' I, am a pilot and have thousands of hours of flying real aircraft in my
life. one . my daughter sent me a $50.00 gift card and what do you buy with a
$50.00 gift card ? I purchase a drone on ebay and now it sits on the floor
collecting dust and will probably stay there until someone else wants it. you
can purchase a drone for $16.00 on ebay. this article make it sound like
millions of drones will be flying in the air, they may but only 100 ft from the
flyer because you can only see what the drone is doing. it has a camera on it to
take pictures only, not to see where yo are flying. the drones that are
dangerous to general and commercial aviation cost thousands of dollars and
represent a very small percentage, one or two present. the law reads the general
public an do what ever such as fly kites,radio controlled planes ect. at no
higher than 600 ft A.G.L and aircraft fly no lower than 600 ft
A.G.L except for takeoff and landing . in a terminal control area (T.C.A ) you
can not fly anything to the ground level with out being in radio contact with
the controlling tower. I don't think drones are a problem or will be in the
future . my cat like to watch it fly in the sun room.
(7) ' just like driving a car, it's illegal to drink and drive, its extremely
dangerous to text and drive (and some places that's illegal too). People drive
cars and put hundreds of lives at risk by driving under the influence or
distracted driving. The are penalty's and consequences for drinking and driving
yet people continue to do it everyday. Same goes for these drones and guns and
everything else. they will continue to make more strict regulations and etc, but
people will always continue to break the law or do dumb and inconsiderate
things.
(8) ' Just go to YouTube and check out some of the videos uploaded by drone
owners who take their drones over a 1000ft completely ignoring the FAA's 500ft
limit. Some of these people simply do not understand the dangers their drones
pose to aircraft and people on the ground. To them this is simply just another
toy to play with.
On the other hand there are responsible drone owners who treat their machine
with respect and follow the laws and common sense. But the bad apples will
certainly spoil it for everyone in the future.
(9) ' These things are annoying, intrusive and can be dangerous to commercial
aviation flights. As they become more numerous they will become more so. The
feds and state governments need to get out ahead of this and make drone owners
accountable or there are going to be major problems between enthusiasts and the
general public. Many
current operators either don't have the skill or the common sense to operate
drones in a manner that does not
infringe on the rights of others. Prediction - some idiot will invade someone's
privacy to the extent that the retaliation includes an operator being shot and
possibly killed, and this will happen within the next year.
(10) ' Please do not carry battery operated electromagnet that can be activated
by remote - on public airtransportation.
(11) ' Unless you have a very expensive drone, you aren't going to get much
higher than 300 ft, at best. And as
far as spying, if you want porn, you're better off looking at HD videos on the
internet. Again, unless you have a very expensive drone, your video quality
wouldn't be worth the time. Furthermore, learning to fly the things are
expensive enough. I'm on my 3rd inexpensive one now. And I'm still not good
enough to take it anyplace that doesn't have a big field for retrieval. So,
let's not blow this thing completely out of proportion.
(12) ' The potential for mischief is very high with drones.
(13) ' I worry about flight for life hitting these and causing safety issues.
(14) ' 5 years from now, millions of drones will be sitting in closets. How much
footage off of a GoPro of the
neighborhood do you really need?
(16) ' Don't fly one over my house, otherwise you will find it in pieces.
(17) ' people, including myself, are complaining about lack of privacy, invasion
of privacy, but yet they buy these damned things. the problem isn't the
government, its plain people.
(18) ' In Idaho the police said it is legal to shoot them down if invading your
privacy.
(19) ' If it is low enough and semi stationary, a rock will do just fine to
clear the air space of this nuisance.
These are not cheep and if enough of them "bite the dust", the message will get
out to stay clear of civilian and restricted air space. Once they are on the
ground, stomp on them thoroughly! We don't want any repaired drones up and
flying again.
(20) ' I have one, that I bought for $50 on Amazon. A Bird could knock that
thing out of the sky, it is Zero risk to a flying aircraft. Walmart certainly
isn't selling the top notch ones that are a threat either. Just put a
restriction on the ones that can fly miles and quit making a fuss about drones
already. I'd say about 95% of the drones bought in their figure are small
plastic toys incapable of reaching the height of plane unless your flying in a
landing zone.....
(21) ' Since when are Walmart employees expected to tell you how to use
anything? They don't lecture you on what to shoot and not to shoot when you buy
a firearm from them (or did, not sure any still carry rifles).
(22) ' We need DRONE CONTROL NOW! There should be a mandatory15 day waiting
period to buy one, and then you'll need a background check, and a fingerprint
card. Then you'll need 6 hours of training from a certified instructor. Have I
missed anything?
(23 ' )Well, gee, someone finally decided that thousands of objects flying
wherever they want might just interfere with aviation? What took you so long????
I also think they could endanger birds. There needs to be laws governing the use
of drones and the sooner the better! What a bunch of idiots we have become.
(24) ' Time to ban them or require them to have tracking and operators to be
licensed. this way there wont be any concerns about them used near airports.
(25) ' I think at the least a person should have a background check before
buying one. I'm not as concerned about them colliding with an aircraft as I am
with what the intent is for buying one. To invade privacy, or deliver something
someplace it shouldn't be.
(26) ' High volume air rifles, will put them out of commission.
(27) ' This is a toy made for fun. A large airline plane would tare the unit to
peaces or the air turbulence would rip it apart at the least. Even if it was
sucked into the engine it
would incinerate it much like a big bird at he lest. Yes what we need is more
government regulations . Gee what can we think of next ? Anybody flying close to
airports or around your private areas, spying , etc. Should be considered
breaking the law I will agree but every time the government get involved it
seems to make it impossible and unfair in every way.
(28) ' Most people do not realize that the drones invade their privacy. The
drones can film in high definition from great distances.