The agencies that regulate airspace around the world are starting to throw their weight around. They are starting to define what they would like to see and how to interact with us. One of the ways is to register our flights online. There is going to be testing and some formal authorization process where the FAA (United States) is cool with me flying. But only in certain places and under certain conditions. There will be ways to monitor it and have police have some authority. I don't get all up in arms about it because it will likely change 3 times in the next five years. What I will say is that for each person who jumps through the hoops to get FAA approval, there are perhaps 100 other people who simply will not comply. They will go to their local parks once every few months and run pack or two through their quad or plane.
We're also living in a world where the media needs clicks, views, likes, comments, and shares. Stories about drones, good or bad get people excited. Especially bad. Like any technology, there is a certain mistrust. Stories that feature us breaching the community trust seem to get views. If a guy's a jerk with a bike, who cares? But give the same jerk a drone and suddenly we need to be regulated. The NIMBY's sing out in a choir. "Not in my backyard, go somewhere else." The somewhere else is often the local RC Park.
I went to Whittier Narrows RC Park. This place is beloved and has been featured in so many videos over the years. Yes, the folks there were very nice to me. Lots of planes on display, lots of guy sitting around talking about their planes. Large gas engine planes, and 6S EDF jets doing amazing flights. I loved them, and it was very cool to see all this. And yet it's a bit intimidating to be flying near the main runway when someone is flying something gas that is at least twice as large as what you have up in the air. And of course, there are rules, major rules, minor rules, and unwritten rules. It's very easy to step on someone's toes due to all the rules. It's like being the new kid at school. Nobody knows you and you don't exactly fit in. I suppose that me showing up with mainly foam delta wings wasn't a big hit. Neither was throwing a pin on the 72mhz board. Yes, they still have one. One of the few fields I've heard of that let you fly FM.
The people seemed welcoming, or at least laid back enough to not be all up in my grill. But these are guys who are regulars, and this is their scene. Thus, suggesting that this is where I need to be doesn't exactly work. It goes like this.
You have a Monday meeting and you catch a midday flight that is supposed to be two hours non-stop. When it gets cancelled you have to scramble. Your plans for laying out by the pool go out the window as you now have to make two flights and have a two-hour layover at the airport. It's 8:00PM when you arrive at your hotel. You call in for room service. You order a beer because you need one.
"Oh, sorry, we don't serve alcohol in this city on Sunday. But, if you get back in your car and drive west on the tollroad you will come to the town of Modine. Get off at the Modine exit, hang a right on the left you'll see Castro's. You can't miss it. You don't want to drink there. The drinks are weak and they charge way too much. Keep going 3 or 4 miles. Right after the Taco Bell and right before the Burger King is a strip mall. Stinky Pete's is in the back. Pull yourself up a seat at the bar, you're om for a treat. There's a jukebox and Stan loves to play "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang because Smitty hates that song. But, before the night is over someone will play either "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond or "Don't stop Belivin" by Journey. We all sing along to those songs. By the way, if you see a guy in a Houston Rocket's jersey, that's Wayne. Let Wayne know I found the carburettor rebuild kit in my garage. But it's for a Holly and not a Weber."
I would say "Dude, I just want a beer, I don't need a whole new social scene."
And that, in a nutshell, is the real issue. What I'm into isn't exactly what the guys at the park are into. A lot of the RC Parks are closing down close to me because the land is too valuable. My closest RC park is facing the potential chopping block because the park it's in is getting a huge renovation. Someone could come up with an idea for pony rides or a petting zoo and suddenly, it's gone. But, in the meantime, the president of the club was suggesting that our city kick us out of the city parks and send all the business to him. I will be certain to let him know that if this were to happen if we do show up, it won't be business as usual. If I show up, I'll bring the wrecking crew and we'll take over.
The real issues that we're about to experience in the United States is that there are many, many, many guys like me. We like to go to empty parks and get our foam out and burn through a battery pack or two. We're often in and out within the hour. It's hard to regulate this.
