I'm not sure I an make this any clearer for you, but let's try again.
the FAA already deems model aircraft as "aircraft", they make no distinction between us and a cessna.
they have simply chosen not to enforce the myriad of regulations because we're a "low risk" user of the airspace.
If models become "high risk" the FAA has the authority to enforce any and all regulations that apply to "aircraft"
So I'll repeat myself one more time.
The regulations already exist, they're simply not being enforced.
If dumb people do dumb things the FAA will start enforcing them, so yes, at that point we get treated like full scale aircraft and pilots, that includes inspections, registrations and licensing.
clear?
So, you are saying how dangerous these drones are and how much of a risk they are to low flying aircraft. People are already doing "dumb" things with them causing problems such as the fire fighter planes and yet there is still just as you put a "gentlemen's agreement". I see a problem with all of this.
What do we have to do, wait until a plane is taken out by a drone? Also, who says it will only be "dumb people doing dumb things"? What happens when a perfectly capable drone flyer has some sort of failure or sudden battery lose and the thing falls onto some ones head? What are the odds of a bird hitting a drone causing it to crash? What about radio interference causing lose of control?
Then we can also think about extremes. What if someone decided to get a group of people together and I don't know fly 10-20 of these things purposely around airports? Do we move forward knowing what drones are capable of and ignore them until something happens and then react?
Back to the topic at hand, I would think that if drones are such a risk to planes fighting fires that the planes will be grounded at the mere presence of the drones in the area. Grounding planes meant to fight a fire would then let the fire burn and cause unknown damage and lose of life. Or, if a plane is taken out by a drone causing it to crash and spew jet fuel onto an already burning wild fire. All to which we have no rules or regulations being enforced or anyway to enforce because there's no way to tie a drone to a person operating it. I don't see a problem with dumb people who will maybe do dumb things, I see a serious lack of regulation and way to enforce.
What will the cost of actually treating drones as aircraft be when requiring license, registration, insurance and flight plans do to the hobby? I imagine the current drone community has no interest in paying for all these regulations so instead they will try to point the finger at "dumb people doing dumb things".
I was all for being in the camp of these drones aren't that big of a threat to fire fighting planes but 87manche has made a compelling case other wise, regulate them back into the ground :nono: .
