Aside from speculation by reading tea leaves, chest-thumping and wildly wrong legal analysis we need to work with what we know and what we’ve learned. What we know is that we’ve been waiting for this shoe to drop from the FAA for a number of years. It came right around the start of this decade and leads me to believe that this decade will be about change. Here are the top 6 takeaways from what we learned.
#1. The FAA wants us to comply with their existing model- The FAA model for GA and commercial aircraft is that most flights originate from an airport. The planes not only have to comply but continuously need to comply with FAA regulations which do change from time to time.
This model is fairly easy to understand and to maintain. I believe the FRIA concept was partly a mimic of this model, and partly representative of the voices that were being heard from the hobbyist community.
The FRIA concept looked to be the thing that was most half-baked in the NPRM. It was the thing that got the club field pilots to write in and oppose the NPRM. I am not anti-FAA but I do feel that this is the time when the entire flying community does need to circle our wagons. Though I am not a club field pilot, I will fight for their right to exist.
#2. We get to help fund the FAA’s ideas- I live in California, so trust me, I’ve seen this before. The introduction of a new idea that taxpayers and in this case hobbyists get to pay for. The plans will change over time, but the idea that we’re going to help fund something usually never changes. The expense was one of the largest talking points I saw over and over again in the comments about the NPRM. We need to stay focused on this point. This hobby cannot turn into a hobby of the ultra-rich.
#3. Directional in nature- The portions about Remote ID were long and specific. The hobbyist portions were much shorter. The take away is that hobbyists can either comply with the strict regulations of commercial drones including not only Remote ID but what will be allowed to fly beyond line of sight. The FAA was very specific about who makes the planes and the fact that they will have serial numbers. If you don't wish to comply you will be required to fly no further than 400 feet in any direction at one of 1200 FRIAs. This sounds very specific like it was a done deal.
Yet, watching the Drone Advisory Council and listening to the lobbyists of the AMA it seems that despite the harsh wording, at best this is a rough draft. That being said, some form of remote ID is a given. How the FAA manages to make this work is a proposition with more questions than answers right now. But, you can see where they would like to go with the remote ID concept. In one form or another, it will be a reality.
When Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation encouraged people to write in regarding the NPRM and support it, it was, well, bizarre. Why was she advocating for a change in public policy to the extent that she used the Colorado drone sightings as a talking point? By the time she brought it up, the drone sightings were over and the story was out of the news. My feeling was that by this point, the initial batch of citizen responses to the NPRM came in, and they weren’t positive. Perhaps the need for funding would be easier to sell to the Senate if the American electorate was behind it? At the very least, there are other players such as the Department of Homeland Security and the FCC that are in play with this plan. It's very large and very complex. Please keep in mind that in the big picture they are thinking beyond the hobbyist and looking for a solution of how to integrate manless flights into the airspace. This is a quantum leap. They have lofty goals, but the timeframes they are thinking of may not be realistic.
#5. Some form of communication- The FAA suggests that we transmit a whole lot of information about ourselves. Altitude, speed, heading, who we are, where we’re standing. Why not just put our Facebook profile up as well? It does beg the question, exactly how much does the government really need to know about our flights? Another question, if we are broadcasting this much information, why do we need to stay below 400 feet?
At the very least we're going to have to get into our thick skulls that the future of flying RC means some forms of communication with the FAA. We're going to need to inform people where we're flying. There are different ways to do this such as LAANC which is an online tool we can use to notify the FAA about what we're up to. Even Google has stepped up offering support with an app. So, there is hope. The future of flying for us will mean some forms of communication with the FAA to let them know where we are flying. Hopefully, it will be easy and seamless.
At the very least we're going to have to get into our thick skulls that the future of flying RC means some forms of communication with the FAA. We're going to need to inform people where we're flying. There are different ways to do this such as LAANC which is an online tool we can use to notify the FAA about what we're up to. Even Google has stepped up offering support with an app. So, there is hope. The future of flying for us will mean some forms of communication with the FAA to let them know where we are flying. Hopefully, it will be easy and seamless.
#6. America has spoken, we don’t have a drone problem- Despite a couple of attempts of public cheerleading for the NPRM from Elaine Chao, of the 53,000 comments (and more from the mail) , only a small fraction support of remote ID.
Just because America may not hate drones doesn’t mean they have a mad love affair with drones either. But, at the very least this was an acid test to America’s tolerance of drones, and so far, so good We did our part by writing in, so thank you for doing that! It did help a lot.
What this all means
This means our community did step up and did make our voices heard. What I am anticipating is that computers will read the comments, strip out the keywords, look at the demographics of the people who responded, and perhaps even evaluate the complexity of the writing style. Basically, they are figuring us out. I know that, by law, every comment has to be read, that will take a long time. But, thanks to computers, the comments have been categorized. They can get the gist of what is on our minds and respond to it by category.
We had 60 days to comprehend what was being proposed and responding back to it. The NPRM was complex and things of importance to us were well buried in the document. Our community did step up. But, this is just the start. We need to stay engaged.
What’s next.
Now, we wait. Legally, the FAA cannot address it unless it’s in a public forum. In the downtime, you’ll hear rumors here and there. That along with people’s opinions of what may happen will be enough fuel speculation. When they finally state what they intend to do with the rules they proposed is when we have something we can work with. Before we get all crazy with lawsuit talk, there is still pressure we can put on the FAA in Congress. Just as the FAA can presell the public on remote ID, we can do the same at the legislative branch of government. When the call for writing your Congressperson or Senator comes out from the community, please do your part and write in.
What to do for now
Just keep moving along with the fun you’re having. We’re in the first inning of a 9-inning game with the FAA. Brace yourself for a very long process.Right now, the best thing we can do is not freak out or get emotional. There are a lot of moving parts to this change from the FAA. In the big picture, they want to make drones work in their airspace and they are trying to figure out how right now. Our community has spoken and I'm hoping that future communications from the FAA will be with more consideration paid toward the hobbyist.
What I would suggest doing is to be more open about our hobby with your friends and family. Trust me, they don’t care about the current happenings with the FAA. Every now and then, share a photo or video and discuss what the hobby means to you. If you can explain to people how it helped you, even better. Explain how this is a STEM hobby and you are learning along the way. This is also a practical hobby that kids can get hands-on with.
I would definitely make a point of stating that YOU fly with care and concern for more than just your quad/plane but for the health and well being of people and their property. You care about their right to privacy and you really don't want to annoy people with your quad/plane. You know the laws and you strive to fly in accordance with the laws.
When it comes to people who are "Careless and clueless" it is fair to acknowledge that there are bad actors in the hobby. There are also bad actors in the driving community as well. Just as reckless drivers don't define the driving community wreckless pilots do not define the flying community. They are a very small portion of the overall community.
The downside of our hobby is that it's nearly invisible. We're so good at flying under the radar that the one thing that was evident from the NPRM is that that FAA really didn't understand how large our community is or how we fly. The FAA is quite familiar with the bad actors, but the rest of us are so low key with the hobby that you can almost understand why we were overlooked.
We can live with personal accountability, we can communicate better with the FAA about our plans to fly, we have been good citizens thus far. Our hobby is safe and has a lot of positive qualities. We just now need to do a better job selling this to the general public.
We're doing great so far. But, this is going to drag on for a while. Stay positive, stay engaged.
