Tractor from drone's pov

[Garandman]

Ban birds?

DJI - Flight zones

 

[ovrszd]

I was president of an airport for 10 years and am a Flight Instructor/Commercial Pilot. I don't normally like to comment on stuff like this with those not familiar with flying, aircraft, airspace and the FAA but I think you will find most pilots will push for clear airspace where aircraft take off and land for safety. The smallest of foreign materials ingested in an engine or even hitting a leading edge of an aircraft can cause serious damage or possibly the loss of life. Airports, at least most, have instrument approaches in which aircraft are becoming close to the ground in lower visibility and cielings not to mention that in the air it is very very difficult so even see an object of this size before it is to late to 'see and avoid'. We used to have an 2 seat exemption ultralight (now LSA) dealer and even though their speed wasn't great they could climb and descend quickly and we had several incidents reported close to the runway with faster, less maneuverable aircraft. Remember an aircraft can not see from the nose down and what is directly overhead (many blind spots). The big problem is many people fly remote control aircraft with an "it can't happen to me" attitude and will irresponsibly fly their RC plane as they are the only one in the sky.
I have had a lot of dealings with the FAA. This is just like the 2 seat ultralights...they sucked them in and eventually created the LSA (light sport aircraft) so the operators ended up having to get a pilots liscense and regist er their aircraft. The FAA is one, if not the most powerful agencies in the US. I think you will see, once registration is in place, they will make an examples out of some.
Also, NO pilot can fly anymore near DC without logged training and follow procedures. Instructors must also have Flight Training on procedures. This has been in place for several years.

If I'm a passenger on the plane I'd like to know when landing or taking off that someone's Drone isn't going to be sucked into the engine.

Very well stated. I fully support strict registration and control of Drones. That needs to happen before we have a catastrophic event, not after.

 

[Garandman]

Here's another overhead shot from our neighborhood in Boston looking east towards UMass Boston, with several Boston harbor islands visible on the right. Neat way to get a new perspective.

 

[dfkrug]

DJI phantom 3 Professional

Very impressive photos, Joe. Even nicer than the photo of the van with the AC
inside. Wow.

Did you work your way up to your current "drone" from cheaper ones? I see one
can buy one now for as little as $50 at Frys, but I imagine the camera is not too
good, and keeping it stable, maybe not so easy either.

 

[two_bit_score]

I was president of an airport for 10 years and am a Flight Instructor/Commercial Pilot. I don't normally like to comment on stuff like this with those not familiar with flying, aircraft, airspace and the FAA but I think you will find most pilots will push for clear airspace where aircraft take off and land for safety. The smallest of foreign materials ingested in an engine or even hitting a leading edge of an aircraft can cause serious damage or possibly the loss of life. Airports, at least most, have instrument approaches in which aircraft are becoming close to the ground in lower visibility and cielings not to mention that in the air it is very very difficult so even see an object of this size before it is to late to 'see and avoid'. We used to have an 2 seat exemption ultralight (now LSA) dealer and even though their speed wasn't great they could climb and descend quickly and we had several incidents reported close to the runway with faster, less maneuverable aircraft. Remember an aircraft can not see from the nose down and what is directly overhead (many blind spots). The big problem is many people fly remote control aircraft with an "it can't happen to me" attitude and will irresponsibly fly their RC plane as they are the only one in the sky.
I have had a lot of dealings with the FAA. This is just like the 2 seat ultralights...they sucked them in and eventually created the LSA (light sport aircraft) so the operators ended up having to get a pilots liscense and regist er their aircraft. The FAA is one, if not the most powerful agencies in the US. I think you will see, once registration is in place, they will make an examples out of some.
Also, NO pilot can fly anymore near DC without logged training and follow procedures. Instructors must also have Flight Training on procedures. This has been in place for several years.

:thumbsup:

There should be, if there isn't already, a way to strictly enforce activity around an airport so there are no threats to flights taking off or landing. This includes birds, drones, laser pointers, etc, etc. All personnel working at an airport should be carefully screened and vetted also. Security at and around airports should be taken seriously. It's in everyones interest to do so.


.

 

[lostcreekranch]

How do you screen and vet the clowns, outside airport, that cause the problems??

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[two_bit_score]

How do you screen and vet the clowns, outside airport, that cause the problems??

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

I suggested strict screening and vetting for those working there. You can't screen and vet those out side the grounds but there should be a way to monitor and regulate activity close to airports. Exactly the best workable way to do that is the $64,000 question.

.

 

[IslandTractor]

Here's another overhead shot from our neighborhood in Boston looking east towards UMass Boston, with several Boston harbor islands visible on the right. Neat way to get a new perspective.

If Savin Hill is within 5 miles of Logan Airport, aren't you restricted from flying there? Or is it just that you are limited to 500ft or so?? The typical flight path for 4L and 4R are just a little south of where your drone is.

 

[two_bit_score]

The DJI drones won't take off in restricted areas in GPS mode. If you are in an "Advisory" area, it warns you on screen when you turn it on. You can shut off the GPS and fly them, but that's a lot harder to control.

I posted a link above of a map of the US with all the restricted areas in the country in the DJI software. The issue is that 99% of the people using drones were already observing common-sense rules, and the 1% will still do stupid stuff whether the FAA requires registration or not.

But plenty of people have their panties in a bunch about drones, just look at all the idiotic talk of shooting them down, or making up other stories.

Yes a small percentage of any group are prone to doing stupid stuff. Just look at some TBN threads for proof of that statement. :laughing:


.

 

[TomSeller]

Here's another overhead shot from our neighborhood in Boston looking east towards UMass Boston, with several Boston harbor islands visible on the right. Neat way to get a new perspective.

Very nice city location you have with a nice view of parts of Boston and Boston Harbor.

 

[comancheflight]

Deleted

 

[joefromga]

Very impressive photos, Joe. Even nicer than the photo of the van with the AC
inside. Wow.

Did you work your way up to your current "drone" from cheaper ones? I see one
can buy one now for as little as $50 at Frys, but I imagine the camera is not too
good, and keeping it stable, maybe not so easy either.

Thanks. I have a couple of those cheapie copter but they are nothing like the Phantom. It's pretty much autonomous and is very easy to fly and maneuver.
The camera is quite good. Takes 12mp stills and records up to 4k video.
If you have land it's very amazing especially at first but eventually you run out of places to fly if you don't own property.
I have 70 ACRES there and haven't seen or set foot on probably 55 acres of it. It's so heavily wooded I can't get in there but now with my tractor and hydraulic bush hog conversion I'll be cutting new trails soon I hope.

The quad has allowed me to see all of it and next time I'll be doing closer exploration. It would be cool to see some deer or other animals.

 

[Garandman]

If Savin Hill is within 5 miles of Logan Airport, aren't you restricted from flying there? Or is it just that you are limited to 500ft or so?? The typical flight path for 4L and 4R are just a little south of where your drone is.

 

[IslandTractor]

Pretty cool implementation of GPS and flight control hardware/software to maintain safe distances around airports.

 

[Garandman]

I emailed Logan Airport and got an outstanding example of bureaucratese:

"Local procedures for approving drone activity do not yet exist for airspace around very complex and busy airports like Logan."

So I asked the direct question: "Does this mean that all drone activity within five miles of Logan is prohibited?"

I posted the picture above for a very specific reason: the drone was below a local hill (aside from being taken before any regulations existed). So if i'd taken off from the hill, my altitude would have been negative 100 feet. There are taller hills and building nearby.

Oh, well, just another law to criminalize the average citizen.

 

[IslandTractor]

I emailed Logan Airport and got an outstanding example of bureaucratese:

"Local procedures for approving drone activity do not yet exist for airspace around very complex and busy airports like Logan."

So I asked the direct question: "Does this mean that all drone activity within five miles of Logan is prohibited?"

I posted the picture above for a very specific reason: the drone was below a local hill (aside from being taken before any regulations existed). So if i'd taken off from the hill, my altitude would have been negative 100 feet. There are taller hills and building nearby.

Oh, well, just another law to criminalize the average citizen.

I doubt seriously the FAA is trying to "criminalize the average citizen". It will take a while to work out details but the idea of protecting flight paths from drones is just fine with me. I frequently fly just about over your house when landing in commercial jets at Logan. I do believe based on your photo that the actual flight path is about a half mile or so south of you but that is close enough to warrant concern. I don't want a pilot catching a glimpse of a drone on his port side and being distracted when he should be focusing on the runway. (I was working at MGH the day that an Eastern Airline jet came in too low and slammed into the seawall killing all aboard back in ?1973).

The FAA rules are not intended to criminalize anyone they are for safety. Pure and simple. Just like speed limits on the Mass Pike. The problem is that this is new technology and potential issues are popping up faster than a deliberate careful body like the FAA can deal with them. Hence we get overly broad early regulations and confusion on all sides. I doubt the concept of "speed limit" on roads was something that was well established and understood within a year of the first Model Ts rolling out of the factory either.

 

[Garandman]

From the FAA:

Q: How often do wildlife strikes occur?

A: There have been about 142,000 wildlife strikes with civil aircraft in USA between 1990 and 2013 (about 11,000 strikes at 650 airports in 2013).

About 92% of the bird strikes with commercial civil aircraft in USA occur at or below 3,500 feet AGL (above ground level). From 1990-2013, there were 21 strikes with commercial aircraft at heights from 20,000-31,300 feet AGL.

Gulls (19 species) are the most common type of bird struck by civil aircraft in USA, accounting for 15% of the birds identified in bird strikes, 1990-2012. Waterfowl (ducks and geese) account for 7% of the strikes but are responsible for 30% of the strikes that cause damage to the aircraft.