Researchers say FAA is overblowing risk posed by small drones
I don&#x27;t know what the new proposed regulations are, but, for recreational use, I think the current set are fair and appropriate:<p>Don&#x27;t fly outside your unaided line of sight.<p>Don&#x27;t intentionally fly over people.<p>Stay away from sensitive areas (Stadiums, etc...)<p>Don&#x27;t fly near an airport without contacting the airport.<p>Stay under 400ft<p>Register it and label it, so that if it does fall and hit someone on the head, they can find you and let our legal system handle the repercussions.<p>Given the lack of inspection, that most of these rolled off an assembly line in China, have Lipo batteries that are prone to instantly shutting off if malfunctioning or overloaded(to prevent runaway thermal effect) meaning that these likely might fall out of the sky at any time, the restriction on flying within line of sight and not over people seems reasonable, along with the sensitive area restriction.<p>I can&#x27;t think of a major recreational use for flying over 400ft AGL, besides wanting to snap a picture of your neighborhood from the air.<p>The most heavy handed one I can think of (and this one is enforced in DJI firmware) is the airport restriction. The official line is &#x27;Don&#x27;t fly within 5 miles of an airport without contacting the airport&#x27; -- There are enough airports that this covers a good bit of area, and, if a plane is below 500ft more than a mile or so from the airport, drones are probably not going to put it at any more risk.<p>A DJI drone will not leave the ground if it detects it&#x27;s within a couple miles of an airport&#x27;s radius, and there is no way to override it, even with the airport&#x27;s consent.<p>The commercial regulations, as I understand them, are a bit more ridiculous. I haven&#x27;t found the relevent text in the CFR, but I&#x27;m told that to fly a drone commercially(say, for a photographer to take pictures at a wedding) actually requires a full blown pilot&#x27;s license, at least a &#x27;sport pilots license&#x27;[1]. This seems a bit ridiculous for a photographer flying a drone 10ft above the ground. I hope some changes to this portion are coming.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;uavcoach.com&#x2F;drone-certification&#x2F;#pilot" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;uavcoach.com&#x2F;drone-certification&#x2F;#pilot</a>