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New California Law

good thing we fly quad copters and not drones lol. I feel sorry for all those bees the government is going to be arresting for gathering pollen from all the flowers.

just because the FAA is throwing out their own definition of a drone doesn't mean jack. if this passes and actually gets enforced then it's political suicide for who's ever in office.

lets play this out. firstly invasion of privacy hard to prove unless someone is making profit from it.

what if you have your 333 exemption to do commercial work, what then? what stops me from taking a 100 foot pole with a camera on it and walk around every ones houses and point it in their back yard. according to this bill that would be legal still.

lets say they snap a picture of your quad copter below 350 feet, -you can argue photoshop all day long
-the accuser is being discriminatory and racists against what ever race of the person who's doing the flying
by definition were not really flying drones.

the first time this goes to court there will be a lawyer out there dying to make a name for their self to argue the unconstitutional merits of this case and once the r/c pilot wins every other judge will follow suit and dismiss it. if a lawyer can't be found then i'll go to bat and defend the pilot and i'll get famous when i win. it will keep getting passed up the levels of court till someone makes a decision and odds are it wont be in favor of a law that basically says no r/c aircraft anywhere.

there are lots of big companies that will lose a **** load of money if something like this actually passes and is enforced. I highly doubt this will be put into law.

this is off Webster dictionary.
Pronunciation: drōn
1. (Zool.) The male of bees, esp. of the honeybee. It gathers no honey. See Honeybee.
All with united force combine to drive
The lazy drones from the laborious hive.
- Dryden.

2. One who lives on the labors of others; a lazy, idle fellow; a sluggard.
By living as a drone,to be an unprofitable and unworthy member of so noble and learned a society.
- Burton.
 
Here is what FAA says:

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Frequently Asked Questions

Which governs the airspace over my property – FAA regulations or local/state laws about unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)?

Under 49 United States Code 40103, the United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States and the FAA has the authority to prescribe air traffic regulations on the flight of aircraft, including UAS. Whether Federal law preempts state or local requirements for UAS depends on the precise nature of those requirements. The Department of Transportation evaluates these laws or requirements on a case-by-case basis to make sure they don't conflict with FAA's authority to provide safe and efficient use of U.S. airspace.
Basically, the FAA says any such law or ordinence is unconstitutional!
You have no ownership of the airspace above your property beyond the maximum building height permitted, which is generally 30 feet above ground. Therefore, there can be no trespass over or into that which you do not own, and which is the exclusive jurisdiction of the FAA, for both takeoff and landing of all aircraft, including UAV's! You have no right of privacy from the air. Police helicopters are flying over your property every day and night with IR and Night Vision and super telephoto lenses that can read a license plate from 2000+ feet. No one complains about the police invasion of their privacy from the air.
Google Earth copters photograph entire cities in great detail from the air. Small airplanes are circling all day long above high profile suspects, tracking them everywhere by air. Get over it!:cool:

When drones are outlawed, only outlaws will fly drones! Better beef up on your long range flying skills, and be discrete about where you launch and land. Quick deployment and quick exits! Then, just blend in!:D
 
well it's going to be us vs. the FAA. they will be the ones trying to win the judgement and convince a judge a pilot flying a r/c aircraft around is putting the public in too much danger past acceptable risk and is invading privacy over private property.

as i said in another post... if this becomes law then how does it stay legal for news choppers, normal airplanes, police and even commercial air liners and private aircraft to continue to operate over houses? how can a little quad copter be more intrusive then a police helicopter with the mother of all spot lights, night vision and FLIR cameras..... the invasion of privacy "violation" would be the same if it's a police chopper or news jet ranger with a telephoto lens at 1000 feet as a quad copter 20 feet altitude. We all know even people law enforcement break their own rules when it comes to spying on civilians illegally so what gives them an exemption?simple, they don't get one.

the second agenda the FAA has to win is prove that a drone is more dangerous to the public then... a auto mobile.. a person riding a bicycle or even real aircraft do crash into people's houses from time to time. They have to figure out how to show that a plastic toy is more dangerous then all of the mentioned above. There is no way...

I think if it's you in court against the FAA you say... this is no different then a news chopper camera, and it's far less dangerous then every day automotive traffic. case open and shut we keep flying like we have been.
 
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I also wrote and called the senator's office to make sure there are aware of a fact often omitted. The FAA exemption restricts flights to 400' AGL and below. However, the blanket COA they issue with the exemption restricts flights to 200' AGL and below. To fly higher than 200', a UAS pilot needs to request a flight-specific COA from ATC. This per my FAA exemption and COA. My FAA contact says the 200' restriction supersedes the Exemption limit. If you have one, check it out.
 
As an FAA employee I always find it amusing when local gub'mints try to regulate airspace that they don't own.
Me, too! :D
Makes for great headlines, when you are up for re-election, though!
It's not their fault that the FAA controls that airspace!
Why not make it illegal to land on the moon, too? ;)
 
I'll let him reply, but any such legislation will be overturned upon the first legal challenge, IMHO!:cool:

The issue there is that, regardless of the legality of this with regard to the fed/FAA, CA will be more than happy to enforce this - any legal challenge will require money that most of us probably neither have nor do we want to spend it telling CA they are full of it legally in this regard.

As they take you away in irons, I am sure they will be amused at your claims that they lack jurisdiction...

And, just to make sure I am clear on this, I vehemently oppose it. But I know the reality of it as well...
 
The issue there is that, regardless of the legality of this with regard to the fed/FAA, CA will be more than happy to enforce this - any legal challenge will require money that most of us probably neither have nor do we want to spend it telling CA they are full of it legally in this regard.

As they take you away in irons, I am sure they will be amused at your claims that they lack jurisdiction...

And, just to make sure I am clear on this, I vehemently oppose it. But I know the reality of it as well...


I agree. we should stop living in this bubble by patting ourselves in the back and whine about laws being passed. We should be proactive by education, being politically active when frivolous laws are being passed, and stay true in being a professional.
 
The issue there is that, regardless of the legality of this with regard to the fed/FAA, CA will be more than happy to enforce this - any legal challenge will require money that most of us probably neither have nor do we want to spend it telling CA they are full of it legally in this regard.

As they take you away in irons, I am sure they will be amused at your claims that they lack jurisdiction...

And, just to make sure I am clear on this, I vehemently oppose it. But I know the reality of it as well...
I suspect that players with deep pockets like DJI might front such a constitutional challenge to protect their market share. Attorneys like to fly drones, too, and CA has over 225,000 bar members at last count, and 170,000 are still active! Attorneys take cases like this on a pro bono basis all the time, because they either believe in the cause, or just want the publicity a certain win would bring. Fear not, o ye of little faith!:cool:
 
I suspect that players with deep pockets like DJI might front such a constitutional challenge to protect their market share. Attorneys like to fly drones, too, and CA has over 225,000 bar members at last count, and 170,000 are still active! Attorneys take cases like this on a pro bono basis all the time, because they either believe in the cause, or just want the publicity a certain win would bring. Fear not, o ye of little faith!:cool:

I remain...skeptical.
 
I remain...skeptical.
With venture capital at risk, you can bet that the best and the brightest attorneys will be hired to mount the challenge!:cool:

"According to a May 2015 report by CB Insights, a New York city-based research firm that tracks venture capital and start-ups, six of the top 10 drone manufacturers that have raised the most venture capital funding are based in California.

CB Insights reports that Berkeley-based drone manufacturer 3D Robotics leads the top 10 and has raised $99 m in disclosed venture funding.

San Francisco-based drone software maker Airware has raised more than $40 m and Skycatch $21 m.

“We should be looking at if a drone flies over someone’s private property, is it actually invading someone’s privacy by looking into their backyard, taking pictures or recording video. This shouldn’t be just about flying over private property,” said Nancy Egan, 3D Robotics general counsel."
 
I suspect that players with deep pockets like DJI might front such a constitutional challenge to protect their market share. Attorneys like to fly drones, too, and CA has over 225,000 bar members at last count, and 170,000 are still active! Attorneys take cases like this on a pro bono basis all the time, because they either believe in the cause, or just want the publicity a certain win would bring. Fear not, o ye of little faith!:cool:

be careful about your statement but either way please show me that, "Attorneys in the United States like to fly drones..." and that the statistic you noted is accurate. I would like to know. Also an atty would not take a Pro Bono case unless he/she feels strongly that they would win.
 
As an FAA employee I always find it amusing when local gub'mints try to regulate airspace that they don't own.
be careful about your statement but either way please show me that, "Attorneys in the United States like to fly drones..." and that the statistic you noted is accurate. I would like to know. Also an atty would not take a Pro Bono case unless he/she feels strongly that they would win.

Not sure which statistic you are questioning. The number of active attorneys in CA? That's from the State Bar website. That attorneys like to fly drones? I know several personally, and several forum members are attorneys. That a drone attorney would take on a pro bono drone law case to make a name for himself? That's just common sense. Several attorneys are specializing in drone laws, and have taken the same position I have espoused. The $160+ million in venture capital invested in CA drone manufacturers comes with plenty of money for legal fees to protect their investment. That doesn't even include DJI! Ted35, a purported FAA employee above, clearly agrees with the unconstitutionality of such legislation. Trust me, this legislation will fail at every level! However, in the interim, it makes for great headlines, while zealous legislators feed the media hype of mass drone paranoia among the uneducated masses!:D
 
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Not sure which statistic you are questioning. The number of active attorneys in CA? That's from the State Bar website. That attorneys like to fly drones? I know several personally, and several forum members are attorneys.

Define several. 12? 200? 1,000? Show me your data of 225K attorneys that like to fly drones or for that matter 225K.

...That a drone attorney would take on a pro bono drone law case to make a name for himself? That's just common sense.
Really? Show me a at least 2 cases where the defendant had a defense attorney do Pro Bono.

...Several attorneys are specializing in drone laws, and have taken the same position I have espoused...
Again show me cases where these attorney did a Pro Bono case. Attorneys are trying to make a living and most do it not on a gamble.

The $160+ million in venture capital invested in CA drone manufacturers comes with plenty of money for legal fees to protect their investment. That doesn't even include DJI!

For the third time, show some factual information on where you are getting this.

Ted35, a purported FAA employee above, clearly agrees with the unconstitutionality of such legislation. Trust me, this legislation will fail at every level! However, in the interim, it makes for great headlines, while zealous legislators feed the media hype of mass drone paranoia among the uneducated masses!:D
Glad I quoted this and I hope you are right because Florida just passed a similar bill.
 

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