UAV027 Policing UAS Use

A DJI Phantom watches baseball spring training, FAA policing UAS usage, Canada wants to buy drones, so does the Russian military, and Korea seeks to be a UAS supplier. The News: Nationals using aerial drone to record footage of spring training The Washington Nationals baseball team is observing spring training through the eyes of a GoPro mounted on a DJI Phantom. They say they’ll also use aerial footage on the scoreboard for games. Runaway Drones Map Land, Film 'Wolf,' Knock Down People, as FAA Gives Chase The FAA takes a dim view of UAVs and has notified many operators to cease operations. Some people are ignorant of the FAA policy. Others are aware but ignore it. Even others believe their activities are allowable. But is it even possible for the FAA to police the use of UAVs? Heron, Reaper and Hermes 900 Compete for Canada’s Arctic mission Canada wants an an advanced system for operation in the Arctic. Under consideration are the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron unmanned air system, General Atomics Reaper, and Elbit Systems Hermes 900. Russian Defense Ministry Unveils $9B UAV Program Russia delays testing of UAE's United 40 Block 5 UAV The Russian military operates 500 drones, and they expect to spend 320 billion rubles (US $9 billion) by 2020 for more. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a big supporter of UAVs and believes Russia needs to develop combat and reconnaissance variants. Singapore Airshow 2014: KAI promotes Devil Killer UAV as maritime weapon Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is marketing the “Devil Killer” internationally to acquire a first customer that will put the UAV into production. Intended to loiter above potential targets, this "tactical suicide combat UAV" would be operator-guided to the target, crash into the target, and detonate its 2 kg payload. Video of the Week: Building Tensile Structures with Flying Machines - Quadcopters with spools of rope weave tensile structures. (Submitted by Colin Sweetman.) FAA and the UAVs - An opinion piece by Tim Trott Which of these photos is "legal"? Which one represents an illegal "commercial use" of a UAV?  Was the UAV controlled by a hobbyist or a commercial photographer? Does one represent more safety than the other? Obviously both are the same picture, and that is exactly the point. (And it is NOT for sale). The FAA's current approach to the UAV revolution, and it is a revolution, is like catching the tiger by the tail, and the FAA only plans to catch up with the tiger ....in a few years. Or so. That was demonstrated in a recent survey report that found some people who claimed they didn't know anything about the FAA's position and others who were unconcerned or even defiant. Some of those enjoying "unregulated" hobby use of UAVs brag about how high and far they can fly, clearly outside of the FAA's "recommendation" for visual line of sight under 400 feet. Airline and helicopter pilots continue to express serious safety concerns, while comments on the other side tend to minimize any real dangers and the unlikely event of an encounter between a UAV and a commercial aircraft... even in the face of reports of several "close calls" reported by pilots. None of this will improve with time. In the meantime, don't look for any mention of the FAA anywhere on web sites of the manufacturers or companies selling UAVs. My own communication with B&H Photo, a well respected professional photography store, gave clear indication that they have no interest or any intention of including anything about any restrictions in the US, while describing their products as "Designed for professional photography". Of course not! A caution could affect sales to people like me who learned about the FAA's unwritten rules against "professional use" only AFTER my purchase arrived. They did offer a refund, but would still not consider or discuss a caution message on the web site.

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