On Apr 19, 5:59*pm, "vaughn" wrote:
"hierophant" wrote in message

...

My concern is that this certification will lead to the
temporarypermanent closing of airspace ala Nevada. Imagine if
general air over cities, coastlines, borders and the potential impact
of smaller airfields.

Agree. *The drone folks would love to simplify and cheapen things for themselves
by 1) grabbing airspace and 2) by forcing the owners of all other planes to
install transponder equipment so that drones can cheaply "see" them. * When a
drone is able to "see and avoid" just like a human pilot, then no special
airspace will be necessary. *That is the standard we should insist on. *Until
then, we should hold their feet to the fire. *Video "see & avoid" *technology is
coming, and may someday be cheap enough to go in any well-equipped airplane. *..

Vaughn

Agreed.

The only trouble is that your key word - "cheaply" - will be the
driving factor in the struggle between drone operators and GA. The
operators will claim that "see & avoid" capability will be cost
prohibitive to implement. Since a plurality, if not a majority of
drone operators in the near term will have government functions
(police, aerial surveys, etc.), it's a fair bet that GA will have to
bite the bullet with mandated transponders.

Uncontrolled airspace will soon be a thing of the past.