Drone youth faces ‘danger’ charges

[Opto-Mystic]

Hmmmm....

http://www.connexionfrance.com/Drone-Nancy-prosecutor-ULM-Golox-Lorraine-Stanislas-15467-view-article.html

[Ross]

What can you say....rules are rules  France or the UK.......
If WE want to keep the hobby of UAV/FPV or whatever you want to call it then follow the rules. 
You know it makes sense...well  99% do anyway  (there are always those who consider rules are not for them) 

Considering the minute on minute  exchange of aviation matters (safety of air nav)  beween countries and the amendments sent out about rules etc (ANO or equivalent via the Aeronautical Information Service) our CAA OPS dept  will pick this up..................................

[guest325]

Quite agree, rules are rules - obviously the French uphold the law more rigorously than we do in the UK,  plenty of videos on YouTube of UK fliers doing stupid things!

[mbuk]

Reading between the lines I wonder if he was particularly targeted because of he was running a business unlicensed?

It';s just easier to prove the "Endangering people" since he provided the hard evidence himself.

[dyls]

Charged is one thing.
But he hasn';t been convicted and given his punishment.
This may go the same way as Team Black Sheep.
TBS get nicked all the time and then get let off with a slap on the wrist.
I think they may have had to pay a small fine but I';m not sure of that.

The problem is (will be) when the craft does actally cause damage to anything.
Until that happens the majority of people don';t see that a punishment would fit the crime.
Bit like speeding outside a school.
You would get done like anywhere else (just for speeding).
I don';t believe you would get dangerous driving thrown at you.
But if you hit someone, the book they hit you with would be very much heavier.

If you have a incident whilst flying and have broken any rules/laws you can expect to be punished.
But if nothing other than the rules have been hurt I think it';s dealt with much less severely.
What could have happened isn';t the same as what actally did happen.

This guy is a numpty.
Fine him a couple of hundred euro';s.
Tell him the error of his ways.
Maybe have a conditional discharge as well.
But no more is necessary.

Well that';s my 2p worth.

[teslahed]

I am pretty sure i have seen the videos in question. The guy took off from a busy public square, flew around some buildings and monuments, then landed back in the same square.

Obviously a good pilot but it was only luck that no one was injured. If enough people try doing this, with the reliability of the hobby grade hardware we use - even the best pilot could injure someone sooner or later.

[Cloudbuster]

Mmmmm although i agree rules is rules i feel we are going to see many amendments to the CAA rules over the next few years, multi rotors have opened up a whole new bag of worms when it comes to legislation. DJI are openly promoting their new phantom vision as a flying camera and not a drone with a camera !!! There will be many many more situations where people will want to film well known locations and will go ahead and do so regardless of the consequences. Multi rotors really are a game changer in modern aviation and its going to be very interesting to see how things pan out over the next few years. Also as a fixed wing pilot of over 20 years i have seen many a pilot that really should not be allowed to cross the street on there own let alone fly an aeroplane and we have all seen what happens when they fall out of the sky !!!

Regards rob

[guest325]

I was one of those dodgy pilots until I went to a club to learn to fly safely - I would always recommend a new flier to find a club now!

[Ross]

WHEN  will people learn...The rules are there to be obeyed..that';s it.........no arguments that YOU are different to everybody else.  Do it illegally...get busted.

[Ross]

. Also as a fixed wing pilot of over 20 years i have seen many a pilot that really should not be allowed to cross the street on there own let alone fly an aeroplane and we have all seen what happens when they fall out of the sky !!!

Regards rob

As  ex  CAA ATC( and Flight Briefing Officer) (27.5 years)... I concur.  There are quite few private pilots  around that should never ever have been passed as  competent.

[nub]

unlucky, a bit daft flying in that kind of area anyways.

[Hands0n]

If enough people try doing this, with the reliability of the hobby grade hardware we use - even the best pilot could injure someone sooner or later.

I think that sums up the whole discussion really.  This stuff barely flies! Anything, absolutely anything, goes wrong and the multirotor turns into an airborne rock just looking for somewhere to land, and that would be anywhere at all. 

This stuff is going to have to get a whole lot more sophisticated to even start to come close to being safe. But then most hobbyists will not want to touch the technology with a bargepole. Look at the often negative comments about the advanced flight controllers of today - and that is not counting the emerging technology due in 2014/15 from the new gear.

I do think that the current rules are somewhat pragmatic - recognising that flight is not safe, and can probably never be 100% so.  The rules allow us to indulge in our hobby within certain quite sensible constraints.  And yes, I have a ton of places that I would like to FPV and put up on YouTube or wherever. But recognising that it will (a) get me in trouble and (b) bring the hobby into disrepute I choose not to. 

And then you get the likes of TBS and their impressionable fans just flying wherever the hell they like in built up areas.

I don';t think it is inevitable that we';ll be legislated out of the sky, I do think that pragmatism prevails. But we may (or should) see more prosecutions for flagrant disregard (ie. that Blackpool FPV shoot)