UAV (or UAS) near midair Tallahassee Fl. Airliner vs Kit F4

[jeta1]

We got very close to our first major midair collision between an airliner and an unmanned drone - kit - model, whatever you call it, UAV or UAS. It will come, just not this time, got lucky.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/09/travel/un ... ?hpt=hp_t2

[frozen solid]

Pretty silly. Before all this "drone" business they would have just reported that an airliner came close to colliding with a model aeroplane, which is actually what happened. It all seems pretty sinister, doesn't it, "a camouflaged drone" operating clandestinely...

This incident, while serious, has to do with some retard flying his model aeroplane closer to an airport than allowed. These days, anybody can buy a model aeroplane off the shelf and go fly it. Various groups have tried to regulate these things with limited success, in the States I believe it's called the "AMA" or "academy of model aeronautics" or something, it's voluntary and members get insurance but agree to operate their models according to certain rules and certain design criteria. It's not legally necessary but it IS illegal to fly your model where it might conflict with air traffic. Maybe this one lost its radio signal and was flying free, or maybe the guy flying it was not following the rules.

Whatever it is, it's bad news for guys who like to build and fly model aeroplanes and helicopters. Some countries have already banned the "FPV" type of multi-rotor helicopters, (those aren't really "models" anyway) and France requires a pilot's license if you are going to operate a model aircraft with the "first-person" goggles on. For the guys who enjoy building and flying scale replicas of real aeroplanes, this kind of incident is bad news, because it gets all the media chickens cackling about "unregulated drones". You don't have a model aeroplane anymore, now you have a "drone" and you'd better be prepared to answer some hard questions about what you're doing with a "drone" and maybe who you're connected with and whether you've been on any trips to the Middle East lately, and so on. Your model P-51 will be confiscated and destroyed and you will be on some "watch list".

Still, whoever was playing with his model F-4 that day is probably in his house wondering when the knock on the door is coming. I guess this has been inevitable once they invented jet engines for model aeroplanes, and worse now that you don't have to build the plane yourself, any moron can buy one on Ebay and then try to fly it in his backyard under the approach path to an airport.

Another breakdown in common sense, but hardly an "attack of the drones" like the news is making out. My little $40 toy helicopter blew out of my back yard and landed on my neighbour's roof the other day. I'm glad CNN never found out about that!

I'm glad the model F-4 didn't hit the airliner, and I hope whatever dumbass was flying it gets charged, but that kind of model plane is nothing new and this is getting turned into a big fluff because of the general public's fear of "drones". Incidents like this are going to pave the way for the government to make it illegal for a guy to build a nice little model plane and an engine, and enjoy flying it responsibly, which is a shame because it's a great hobby that has been around as long as real aeroplanes. This is going to turn into a ridiculous goat-show thanks to the media.

What do you guys think? You have a turbine-powered high performance aeroplane, or high-performance helicopter, with conventional flight controls, weighing 20 pounds or so, being flown by a guy on the ground with a radio transmitter, but still requiring "stick and rudder" skills. Should the pilot be licensed? Should there be a training requirement? Should the aircraft be registered?

[single_swine_herder]

Here is a well written article on the frenzy regarding "drones."

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2160682

Unfortunately, this can't work out well for the (mostly) unregulated hobby of model aircraft where many of us got our start in aviation.

[jeta1]

Pretty silly.

I agree with all you said except your opening. There is nothing silly about it, and this will hit home once we have the first major occurrence (ie. fatal collision...). In fact, then it will get real silly... the RC or model industry will be tied-up in knots for years.

Reality is, there is a wide gap between professionally-run unmanned drones, and basic RC groups flying little annoying buggers. But anyone with the means to run a model F4 , most likely jet powered too, cannot hide for long. The FAA likely knows who the owner/operator is, as I cant see model F4's being that common!

Some RC guy was killed by his own model helicopter in New York not that long ago, and bystanders were killed too if you google long enough.

Like it or not, this silly issue is here, real, and must be managed. I wont say before a major accident happens, because there is no doubt that it will happen.

[frozen solid]

I wasn't clear with my opening sentence. The thing I think is "pretty silly" is the direction the public's reaction to the incident took, getting their panties in a knot about evil "drones", when the thing that happened was an out-of-control model aeroplane. Still pretty serious but not worth putting on a tin-foil hat over quite yet.

All a "drone" is, is a sophisticated radio-controlled aeroplane. I guess maybe some though needs to be devoted to what kind of hardware is generally available to Joe Blow. Right now, if I had some money and the necessary psychotic personality, I could build a turbine-powered 700-size radio controlled helicopter with an semi-automatic shotgun for a fuselage, with off-the-shelf FPV goggles, a GPS tracker, and an autopilot, and I could use it to fly around town murdering people from a safe spot on a roof miles away. It's not legal to do, but it's certainly legal to buy all the parts you need to build such a murderous contraption. All that stuff is available and in common use by radio-controlled helicopter guys. Well except the shotgun I guess.

....So maybe all the "drone" hyperbole is justified after all!

[GyvAir]

unmanned drone - kit - model, whatever you call it, UAV or UAS.

I ran a CADORS search using "drone", "UAV", "UAS" "remote control", "radio controlled", "model aircraft", "model airplane", "model helicopter" and "unmanned"

4 relevant hits for "drone" (earliest report: 2010)
11 for "UAV" (all but 1 post 2009)
1 for "UAS"
20 for "remote control"
12 for "radio controlled"
30 for "model aircraft"
7 for "model airplane"
0 for "model helicopter"
A few unique hits for "unmanned", mostly for balloons.
One report for an R/C car on the the ramp..

Lots of reported incidents dating back to early 90s. As previously mentioned, it seems only the name has changed, with "drones" coming into play in the wording since 2010.
Out off all the reports I skimmed over, I couldn't find any actual collisions; just sightings and near collisions.