UK UAS Pilots Register

The House of Lords EU Committee is suggesting recommendations for a UAS owners register.

This has been on the horizon for the past year now, and i am fully behind most the recommendations. I appreciate the comments, that those wishing to use a UAV for illegal or terrorist activities, are not likely to register their name and home address! But it is a step in the right direction.

The database will initially include business and professional organisations. However i was under the impression that this information was already stored in the CAA database, which is available to the public. I blogged about on the 15th Feb, there were 483, this figure is grown to 536!

Click to access 26Feb15%20RptUAVcurrentDates.pdf

I wonder who the House of Lords wants to add to this list? Individual UAS Pilots name, business, CAA number and approval date? Or will this be the start of more Big Brother excuses from the Powers that Be, and every individual who buys a UAS has to register…..then how long is it before everyone who registers needs to pay an annual fee or ensure everyone has UAS insurance or even make every user pass a competency exam?

I think this is a fantastic opportunity for Britain and the CAA to lead the world in Commercial UAS regulations AND use. There is no point having all these rules but restricting their future application (AmazonPrime Air in looking at you guys). We are just scratching the surface for UAS application. For an industry set to worth Billions, employing Thousands across Europe, we need to get it right, right from the start.

This is all my wild speculation, and may not happen, but here are some recommendations that will….

• Greater use of geo-fencing – programming drones not to be able to take off from or fly into certain locations based on their GPS co-ordinates. This could include airports, prisons and other high risk sites
• Clearer guidance for police about how they should enforce existing safety rules
• The use of a kite mark or other logo to denote drones that have been classed as safe to use
• More guidance to be given to commercial drone operators about what insurance cover they need to buy.

All wise suggestions and i think these will be appreciated by the law abiding recreational and commercial UAS community in the UK….

What won’t help though, are frankly, stupid, comments made by those is power or authority. Professor David Dunn, who has written about this for the Royal Institute for International Affairs, was quoted saying…

“The technologies have the capacity to crash into people and kill them, as they have done in the States….”

WHAT!?!?!?!? Not one single person has EVER, been killed by a commercial UAS, in America or anywhere in the World. Yes, Military Drones kill people everyday, but no one has ever lost their life because of a rogue DJI Phantom! Comments like this, taken out of context do our Industry, no favours what so ever.

You can find more information of the story, from my source BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31735662

I will be keeping an eye on UAS forums over the next few days to gauge the response from those of us it will affect the most.

Safe flying

TU

Good News for Americans

The FAA released its new guide lines for legal Drone flights during Daylight hours, for the over 17’s in America.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/15/faa-drone-rule/23440469/

A Pilots licence and vetting will be required, like most of Europe but this will only serve to increase safer flying, so that can only be a good thing.

Another positive uas news report. Result!

TU

Possible Drone on White House Lawn

Yet another report of a small Drone, flying places it shouldn’t has appeared in the last few hours.

The Secret Service found what is believed to be a Drone, on the White House Grounds. Although not believed to be a ‘threat’, it only serves to illustrate the huge demand for better legislation for UAS Ownership.

The whole perception of Drones as,  ‘Toys’, needs to change. We cannot see them in the same light as Radio Controlled craft of the past. In most instances, they required assembly by experienced Hobbyists and cost a lot of money. Like with many new technologies, they increase in power, and decrease in size and cost. The ‘Drones’ of today are so versatile and accessible, that unless drastic action is taken, this is going to be a more common occurrence, and can only worsen public perception.

Maybe the focus should be on manufacturers and distributors, not just the final user. I fail to see the negatives of a national database, for the ownership of UAV’s. If you buy a car, the manufacturer, seller and purchaser are all required to give some form of registration. If it was a legal requirement for all parties to register and save identification, then i believe incidents like this will diminish. Yes, you will always have people who fail to register or insure their car, but if you create a law, the majority of people will conform.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/26/381550369/device-possibly-a-small-drone-discovered-on-white-house-grounds

TU People.