Hundreds violate FAA's Drone no fly zone at Albuquerque's Baloon fiesta
- Thread starter windryder
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And those rogue pilots wonder why the FAA is coming down on all of us with massive restrictions and regulations. I hope that each pilot that was caught flying illegally gets a hefty fine and possible confiscation of their drones. Further proof that you can't fix stupid.
Not beware but be smart and know the rules. We all pay for things like this.
I agree completely. A Few ruin it for all of us.
Nice (IMO) that DJI is taking a proactive stance with the technology to track/monitor/identify these idiots that give us all a bad name.
I wonder what percentage of those drones were actually DJI products, and can their software track others?
Thunder50
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The DJI Aero scope system detects radio frequency signal so, I think it will detect or track others too and not just DJI's. Just my idea .
Yep, thats what I figure too... just wonder if they can tap all the other metrics on non-native drones
For now no, but DJI claims that they can fix this.
Anyway, don't bother, it will crash after next software upgrade. [emoji14]
I agree! I wonder when they will have something that can fry the electronics and bring down the drone? If they don't have it yet!
These idiots deserve a hefty fine. They make it bad for regular everyday fliers like me and probably many others. The FAA uses the old "shotgun" effect to harm responsible fliers while not going after the true violaters!
Flying drones of any kind near hot air balloons is very risky anyway. Can you imagine the hole a drone could make in a balloon? Or even multiple holes and other damage to the burners if it entered the balloon and fell after the entry? If I was a balloon pilot, I would carry a shotgun and shoot any drones I saw down if I was able to do so safely. But that idea alone is scary too.
They reported "hundreds" of drones flying among the balloons, during fiesta.
No damages, no injuries, no dead people, no explosions and the earth is still spinning.
Because speed is very low, a drone cannot make a hole on a hot air balloon.
It is obvious that nothing dangerous happened there, judging by the results.
Of course, we must respect every nfz and notam, but I suspect that all they wanted, was to test Dji's tracking system, and advertise it.
DJI wants to be the leader of drone market, and at the same time the leader of drone tracking and rule enforcement.
And this paranoia about "idiots who destroy our hobby" must stop. Rules were there BEFORE some users violate them. Beware of the commercial drones.
No damages, no injuries, no dead people, no explosions and the earth is still spinning.
Because speed is very low, a drone cannot make a hole on a hot air balloon.
It is obvious that nothing dangerous happened there, judging by the results.
Of course, we must respect every nfz and notam, but I suspect that all they wanted, was to test Dji's tracking system, and advertise it.
DJI wants to be the leader of drone market, and at the same time the leader of drone tracking and rule enforcement.
And this paranoia about "idiots who destroy our hobby" must stop. Rules were there BEFORE some users violate them. Beware of the commercial drones.
You are correct that there were no incidents derived from the illegal flights. However, I beg to differ with you in respect to the possibility of a drone creating a hole or tear in the balloon fabric. The spinning blades are like shredders when spinning at high RPM rates as they do during flight. I myself have had minor cuts on my fingers from even the smallest toy quadcopters that I own. I would shudder to think of such an incident perpetrated from a drone the size of the Spark. And I would expect that some of the drones that were in flight that day were much larger like a Mavic or even an Inspire. I have seen videos of these aircraft coming in contact with tree limbs and the way that they can shred those small branches and limbs is a clear indicator of the destructive power of those blades. A drone at any speed can create havoc when coming in contact with any soft tissue albeit fingers or ripstop nylon or even dacron as these balloons are built from. This I am fairly sure of. This of course is only my unsubstantiated opinion as there are no documented cases as such with hot air balloons and I certainly hope that there are never any to report. Your opinion is duly noted and respected as given.
I understand your point. I have numerous of cuts on my hands too, but it's difficult for a drone to cut balloon's fabric.
It is more possible, that drone will bounce, or break some prop and crash.
There is a report already.
First Collision Between A Drone And A Balloon Reported | Aero-News Network
And I bet, half of drones flying during balloon fiesta, were flying by balloon owners or passengers.
Thanks for sharing that report. I now know that the balloon fabric is much more resilient than I would have expected. Of course, this does not excuse any irresponsible or illegal flights as were originally reported in this thread. I sincerely hope that there is some good to be gained here and that this is a practice that will cease.
Brianuc4
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