Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judge

[mikegreen]

http://www.dronehire.org/blog/drone...mmercially-in-us-airspace-rules-federal-judge

Interesting. I don't see a huge problem with drones filling the skies at 300-500ft AGL... just stay away from the pattern and final.. which RC planes seem to have been doing great for years (or since the 1981 FAA AC asking for voluntary compliance with flying them).

Anyone know of an RC vs plane incident? Drone or otherwise?

 

[Jim Logajan]

Re: Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judg

FAA has already appealed:
http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=15894&cid=TW209

The legislation that created the FAA only grants them authority over navigable airspace and only for certain uses of that airspace. (I've posted my reasoning elsewhere.) The supreme court has determined in a couple cases that navigable airspace is dictated by the minimum safe altitudes that is set by the FAA, which they determined was as defined in 91.119. They further hinted that if the FAA reduced such altitudes (e.g. to "83 feet") then the court may have reason to question such a regulatory redefinition.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Re: Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judg

So, we can't shine a laser at them, we can't shoot them with a shotgun(sadly), but nothing about high power radio waves. I can rig up a pulsed directed beam source at modest freq that will bring it down in a few seconds.

Of course, any radio wave generation has to be licensed, but I double dog dare anyone to identify it in a 3 second set of ms pulsed radiation.

If it is flying under 500 feet over your property it is likely trespassing. You would be within your rights to swat it with really big swatter. Or rig some sort of net tethered to the ground that can be launched at such a device.

The only issue I see, though, is that unless there is something interesting about you or your property, ain't nobody going to be overflying your property.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Re: Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judg

Yes, exactly. If you aren't doing anything wrong then you have nothing to hide, Comrade.

You misunderstand - you are a nobody. No one is going to be spend any time and effort snooping on you unless or until you make a nuisance of yourself above and beyond all the other people who become such.

First it was black helicopters that the paranoid feared - now it is the black drones.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Re: Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judg

So, I'm a nobody, something we can all agree on. My house gets struck by a piece of meteorite, suddenly I've got 30 drones about 10 feet off my property. Someone calls in a false report of meth lab at my house, and the cops bang down my door at 3 am. 30 drones outside my door.

Got nothing to hide - right?

Sure, once the new phone books have arrived you're somebody.

Those 30 privately owned drones are trespassing. As far back as 1946 the U.S. Supreme court in United States v. Causby stated:

"Flights of aircraft over private land which are so low and frequent as to be a direct and immediate interference with the enjoyment and use of the land are as much an appropriation of the use of the land as a more conventional entry upon it."

 

[Jim Logajan]

Re: Drone operators free to operate commercially in U.S. airspace, rules federal judg

You seem to think (or at least you said) "unless there is something interesting about you or your property, ain't nobody going to be overflying your property." My point is... I really don't care if you or anyone else finds me or my property interesting or not. Intrusion is intrusion.

Unless your property was already heavily fortified from ground intrusion prior to now, I don't see how drones change anything at all regarding intrusions. You have the same rights to deal with aerial drone intrusions as you have to deal with ground intrusions.