The FAA investigating drone usgae

betterthanthealternative said:

Pats simply didn't know they should have registered.

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Gwedd said:

I would argue, and hope that NFL does, that the use of a drone, by any team, within it's own property, doesn't need any license or registration. It's used exclusively "in-house" as it were, doesn't broadcast outside of it's op area, and the results of it's surveillance is used exclusively within the organization. After all, it's filming it's OWN team and players, etc.

This is, to my mind, no different than a farmer and/or his kids driving unregistered vehicles on his own property. Perfectly legal, you don't have to have tags on the vehicles or licenses for the drives, as long as it remains OFF of public lands and roads. Heck, that's how I learned to drive a pick up when I was only 12 years old.

Anyway, that's my 2-cent's worth on the issue.

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betterthanthealternative said:

Generally I'd agree with you, although in this case the air space issue adds a layer of complexity. What's public vs. private when the issue is about visibility, not physical location? The issue is worthy of a civil discourse.

The FAA may simply need to know it is there so that when a question comes up about a drone in that area, they can check to see if that's it. No harm in the community knowing what's up in the sky, so that when something up in the sky raises questions and concerns, answers are easier to find.

That's my 2-cent addition to your thoughts.

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n6249c said:

Also, improperly operated drones are a safety problem. Just saw a forest fire airdrop was canceled because a drone interfered. Plus, as a private pilot I'm concerned about anyone operating a flying machine that might kill me if they're ignorant or careless about safety. So, yeah, the FAA really should know.

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Canuck said:

I know a person that uses one of those model drones to film some YouTube Videos. He was attending a Tampa Bay Bucaneers football game and asked if he could take some aerial footage of the stadium with his drone. He was told that he could film from the parking lot area but regulations said he couldn't fly directly over the stadium.

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ViperGTS said:

What the hell? I'm confused. It's a personal tool. Like an R/C plane or helicopter. It's over YOUR practice field. What the hell gives the FAA jurisdiction regarding a freaking drone over the practice field? And it's not commercial you a holes. Seriously what do you al think/know?

P.s I fly electric R/C from time to time. Insurance, open field and clear of obstacles I am good. What's the difference?

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-pa...e-use-by-new-england-patriots-other-nfl-teams

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NE_Zealot said:

Dronegate anyone? Guess Bill better kiss the 2017 1st-rounder goodbye. Only a story because the Patriots are involved. Crackhead Bob has already accepted the punishment.

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FirstAndGoal said:

I think people are jumping on the "big bad government" bandwagon because that's what people do but think about it a bit.

First, as others have expressed, the FAA is trying to understand this new technology. Sorry, but if there's potential of something falling out of the sky, I want the government to lay down some rules. Imagine if commercial/private airspace (airline) were a free-for-all... yeah, that would be fun..lol

No one wants the government to restrict progress but I don't think Amazon drones buzzing by my car at 30 feet off the ground are a great idea either. Don't expect common sense to dictate responsible behavior, it never does.

Regulated airspace is strictly controlled for good reason but it also has a floor of 700 feet. With drones, we could be talking about regulating below 700 feet now (class G airspace) because I imagine that many drones could be flying in that space (potentially). There are also concerns for regulated airspace such as the fact that drones don't carry any kind of identification and can't be tracked by air traffic control by radar. Imagine if airspace below 700 ft starts to fill up with local business drones, the potential for collisions increases and without identifying information, knowing who else is flying in the area is impossible outside of visual identification.

It's really a complex problem the FAA faces when you scale this up from a few people playing around to a potential daily use by businesses and yes, they need to be involved and thinking they don't need to give this some thought, is irresponsible.

Now, that being said, I'm sure the FAA is asking the teams what they were doing because there are some things that they can legally do without a permit.
http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/for-business-users/

If they were filming practice for their own personal use and under that 200 foot personal used ceiling (for instance), I believe that they can do that legally. Commercial use is not automatic because an organization decides to put one up in the air. The bottom line is that if they do not plan on providing "services", I don't believe it falls under commercial use but that's something for the team lawyers and the FAA to discuss.

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Patstopia said:

FAA will let you use drones to take selfies or spy on your neighbor. But use it as a tool and look out! Government bureaucracy, gotta love it!

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