(RNN) – The Department of Transportation’s plan to impose registration requirements on drone users signals more of a culture shift than an attempt to wrangle a technology getting out of hand.
The FAA said it receives about 100 reports of airborne drones near planes each month, a problem the agency said could prove disastrous or even fatal. But those numbers represent an extreme minority of people who fly unmanned aerial vehicles.
Rich Hanson, director of government and regulatory affairs with the Academy of Model Aeronautics, said people who fly hobby aircraft have traditionally regulated themselves well. It’s only recently that outliers to that norm have gotten so much attention.
“This new community of users does present some new challenges,” Hanson said. “I think the risks and hazards they’re creating are overplayed, but there is no doubt there are some issues that need to be addressed.”
Radio-controlled aircraft date back to the late 1800s, predating the first successful manned flight. model airplanes built from kits may not come up in the same conversation as a drone, but they are born from the same concept.
The AMA, which claims an active membership of 187,000, is one of several organizations that have emphasized training and knowledge of regulations. Members learn to build their own aircraft, and the activity is commonly used as a teaching tool for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
The recent rash of near misses at airports has primarily come from people outside that type of community. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx addressed the issue in his
Article source: http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/30308839/drones-flying-past-faa-rules-not-slowing-down
