Oregon Senate Bill 71 would ban FPV flying and "drones"

[Lucidity]

This is for real! The proposal would make owning an FPV aircraft a Class B Misdemeanor. If you actually fly it, that's a Class A Misdemeanor -- the same as carrying a concealed handgun without a license or driving drunk!

We put together a video about it:

We also put together some links about how to oppose it on our website:

http://roswellflighttestcrew.typepa...bill-71-bans-fpv-flying-and-other-drones.html

 

[ChrisViperM]

Very well done guys.....in my quest to find a decent place to live, Oregon definitely dropped from my list.

Chris

 

[kloner]

is there anything we can do as non residents to help your fight?

 

[helloman1976]

Thanks for the update! I've heard rumor after rumor but the one that keeps circulating is that "they" may end up requiring a HAM operators license to operate the video portion of the broadcast-ed signal. I'd be ok with having to have a license or whatever the only problem is when the government gets involved in hobbies they are the ultimate kill-joys and it's often more about how much they can charge you, tax you, regulate you etc etc then it is about maintaining the fun of the hobby. Honestly though, how many people would stop flying FPV if they made it illegal? Isn't this reminiscent of The Volstead Act where they made alcohol illegal? They made alcohol illegal but because so many people still consumed it and manufactured it they couldn't control it so therefore they had to make it legal again in order to regulate, tax and control it. That being said, I'm going to fly until the day I choose not to legal or otherwise.

 

[aForcefulThrust]

That's horrible! How ignorant of them, just because they are afraid or don't understand. There will always be accidents and irresponsible people, but that is no excuse to outright ban something like this. The government is just interested in control, they believe it's their responsibility to protect the population from itself, and we could not handle MR's. I operate remotely operated vehicles (ROV) for a living and it's really sad when things like this happen, they are very safe when everything is done right. I don't really think HAM liscense is appropraite for FPV allthough it does help. There should be an FPV-specific license for flying remotely, you should have to know everything in the HAM course, plus some aviation as well. As long as the pilots are educated about their craft, rules other airplanes follow, the radio frequencies and limitations their craft has, it could be very safe.

 

[olof]

There are countries that make it illegal to fly FPV w/o a second operator that keeps aircraft in line of site and can take over if there is a problem.

I think this is a very sane approach. And I support legislating something like that here in the US.

I also support requiring a license and exam and inspection of your aircraft if you use it commercially, for profit like charging for video/photography/surveillance, this includes PDs and FDs etc. As well as requiring insurance for anyone flying anything. It can be very dangerous. If you are an amateur and flying in approved locations with AMA membership you already are insured.

I am a GA pilot and that is what is required to fly a plane and it is also required in most states to drive a car. So this is not unreasonable.

I don't support shutting down this hobby, but lets be reasonable, these are basically experimental aircraft flown by unlicensed test pilots, built by amateurs using often faulty components from many different manufacturers often with dubious track record. So it is not unreasonable to restrict use to keep the public safe, and to license commercial use, and require insurance.

 

[Sound Advantage]

Wow thanks for the update guys. One would like to think that our elected officials are some of the more intelligent and educated people in our community. Then you see an example like this where someone goes off totally ignorant of the facts and a broad sweeping definition to try to do some sort of so-called reform. It honestly looks more like a grab for a brownie button. Obviously at some point soon there needs to be some sort of legislation to protect the community as a whole from dangerous and irresponsible individuals. Like the video says why hep on more legislation when there's already privacy laws on the books to protect people? I'll tell you what my speculation is, it's someone trying to grab a headline for their own benefit. Anyway you look at it it's just sad that this is the way he is trying to go about it.

Good luck up there, I'm sure were next.

Tony

 

[HPL]

Wow thanks for the update guys. One would like to think that our elected officials are some of the more intelligent and educated people in our community. Then you see an example like this where someone goes off totally ignorant of the facts and a broad sweeping definition to try to do some sort of so-called reform. It honestly looks more like a grab for a brownie button. Obviously at some point soon there needs to be some sort of legislation to protect the community as a whole from dangerous and irresponsible individuals. Like the video says why hep on more legislation when there's already privacy laws on the books to protect people? I'll tell you what my speculation is, it's someone trying to grab a headline for their own benefit. Anyway you look at it it's just sad that this is the way he is trying to go about it.

Good luck up there, I'm sure were next.

Tony

Clearly you don't follow politics very much. Ever heard Maxine Waters speak? (Better yet, go to any city council meeting in almost any town and you'll will quickly be disabused of that silly notion).