On Friday, October 5, 2018 at 4:19:17 AM UTC-7, Pete wrote:
R/C aviation has been the start for countless pilots who have gone on to do great things in aviation. I myself came from R/C soaring into this beautiful sport. We should be on the side of the AMA and R/C pilots. They are a big feed into our hobby.

Companies like DJI that have created consumer ready, autopilot drones have created this issue. Now you need no pilot skills to do something stupid (inevitable outcome when it comes to humans).

For every one idiot that "could" do something stupid, there are 1,000's of responsible pilots. You can legislate away every risk out there.

Which is honestly more dangerous? Some yocal' cop with a handgun taking down the DJI drone at a football game or model hobbyist flying a sailplane line-of-sight 401' above an AMA sanctioned field?

This is 100% about money. We should learn from this because the SSA, like the AMA, has no money to fight the government. If they come for us, we'll suffer the same fate....

People are buying and operating these UAVs who have no concept of airspace rules and regulations. Here is one example of totally reckless behavior that I found some time ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfxdeRx2fLA
Here is just one comment by scofflaws:

"Its regardless not irregardless and **** the government saying you have to abide by these rules **** that. Earth or sky doesnt belong to the government."

What totally surprised me, however, was that Bruno Vassal, a well-known glider pilot and promoter of glider contests, posted a comment (later deleted) that said this guy was operating completely legally!

Tom