Re:FAA OKs first commercial drone flights over land
by LyndsySimon on Tuesday June 10, 2014 @07:33PM
(#7875906)
> I predict we'll have a few mid-air drone to airplane collisions in the 10-15 years. Once that happens we'll see better regulation.
I think it depends on the drones.
Consider that the DJI Phantom 2 Vision weighs 1.2kg, and an adult male Canadian Goose weight up to 6.5kg. Barring the exception case of getting ingested into a jet engine, bird strikes don't seem to be a huge problem.
Of course, geese don't have sense enough to stay the hell away from airports - presumably, most drone operators do. Even if we assume that all drone operators will operate their drones wherever they'd like, whenever they'd like - will there likely be more drones in the air than Canada Geese?
I really think the threat to manned aircraft (while real) is extremely overstated.
I think it depends on the drones.
Consider that the DJI Phantom 2 Vision weighs 1.2kg, and an adult male Canadian Goose weight up to 6.5kg. Barring the exception case of getting ingested into a jet engine, bird strikes don't seem to be a huge problem.
Of course, geese don't have sense enough to stay the hell away from airports - presumably, most drone operators do. Even if we assume that all drone operators will operate their drones wherever they'd like, whenever they'd like - will there likely be more drones in the air than Canada Geese?
I really think the threat to manned aircraft (while real) is extremely overstated.