[mdmglr]

I’m wondering if eventually airspace will be carved out for commercial drone operations. And if in the future the FAA will attempt to stop enthusiast drone operations via costly regulations in the name of safety for commercial drone ops. As it’s very easy for someone with a DJI drone from to fly beyond LOS.

Also a Walmart in my area has blocked off part of its parking lot to launch 6 delivery drones. I’m going to miss the days of quiet skies.

[bluescrn]

It certainly looks like hobbyist drones/model aircrafts are going to be regulated out of existence almost everywhere (maybe still permitted at registered club sites, but nowhere else?). Especially now the world has seen videos of weaponised FPV drones in Ukraine.

But I don't see drone deliveries becoming a big thing outside of niche cases (e.g. medical supplies to remote locations with no easy road access). Payload capacity is very limited, wind/weather will ground them, and delivering to arbitrary homes/businesses (without dedicated landing/drop-off zones) isn't a solved problem. Then there's the safety/liability issues when they drones fail/crash. And the inevitability of Americans shooting guns at them.

[supergeek]

Read up on the upcoming FAA Remote ID regulations. They were scheduled to go online last Saturday, but were postponed 6 months. They would effectively make it illegal to fly at any altitude without a transponder broadcasting the precise location of the aircraft.

The RC community has been pushing back on the regulations as it ads a lot of weight, expense, and complexity to drones and RC aircraft. There hasn't been any justification given by the FAA as to why these regulations are needed, adding to the confusion. Normally restrictions are put in place after an accident or some incident.