Remote ID module

[Suncat33770]

Has got anyone got a recommendation for a remote ID module?? or opinion?

 

[Donnie Frank]

Has got anyone got a recommendation for a remote ID module?? or opinion?

My thoughts regarding the Remote ID have been that if one is flying where (and how) one is supposed to be flying (outside of controlled airspace), one's drone operations should basically be transparent to the rest of the aviation community. I concede that exceptions should be made for operations within Class B, C or D airspace.

Personally, after 12 years in business, 99.5% of our operations have been outside of controlled airspace. And of this number, most of the controlled airspace operations have been in Class D. During these operations I simply maintain contact with ATC (if there is one) or airport management (if there is one). In fact, only ONE operation in 12 years has been in Class C controlled airspace. Fun fact; During this operation 3 FSDO personnel joined us to observe our operations and ask questions. They seemed generally curious to learn about our vehicle and how we operate it.

Some irony....

While the airport suspended operations during our flights, ironically our entire flight was BELOW the flight deck. There exists a very steep valley West of the airport, which is where we were flying. So while we flew 400' AGL from our launch site, at our highest elevation operations were still about 100' below the airport's flight deck (100' BGL?). My comment to FSDO personnel at the time was, "Any aircraft that finds itself within our airspace/workspace has much more to worry about than our little drone." To which everyone agreed and had a good laugh. Good times.

During my career I have been surprised twice by extremely low flying craft. Both times were in Class G airspace. The first time was a pair of low-flying F-15's literally out in the middle of nowhere. I was filming a ranch for sale and my drone just happened to be on the ground as I was changing the battery. Both me and client were startled. The client told me that that happens quite often, as their ranch was used as a visual guide for military aircraft flying between airbases. "That would've been good information to have BEFORE we started shooting, lady!" It was one of my first paying jobs.

The second time was a mapping job last week when a helicopter came out of nowhere during a mapping operation. It was on an upward departure vector, leading us to believe that it had just taken off. We were mapping a golf course in Class G airspace when it just popped up over a hill. Fortunately, our UAV was very far from the helicopter. But in 12 years of professional UAV piloting, this was only the second time in my career I have been surprised like that.

Post-flight research showed that there are no helicopter landing pads anywhere in that area. There's literally no aircraft infrastructure anywhere within miles of our operations. We both concluded that this must have been just some guy taking off from private property - maybe visiting a friend of something. We can always HEAR a helicopter long before we see it. Naturally, we adjust accordingly. But this just came out of nowhere.

The cons of Remote ID...

I don't like the fact that any knucklehead can read the Remote ID and thus target our drone if they wish. The negative drone stigma has kind of passed (thank God). Fortunately, drones have become somewhat passé. I still have to manage the occasional knucklehead, but for the most part people are just passively curious as to what we're doing. I'm happy to share. But I digress...

In short, as long as people are flying the way they should be in the airspace they should be in (with LAANC approval for UAV's), there shouldn't be any trouble. All available data flushes this out. If you want to be some hotshot flying below 400' AGL for no apparent reason, well then I guess you get what you get. The rules are there for a reason. They're there for your own protection. Throw caution to the wind and you get what you get.

According to my research, a mere 10 verified drone strikes have occurred in the last decade. There are a lot more unverified strikes. None of which have resulted in injury. Most of these were a combination of low-flying helicopters and/or drones flying where they shouldn't have been flying.

I think good argument could be made that rogue drone pilots flying where they shouldn't are the LAST people who are going to voluntarily broadcast their location. I chuck this in with stricter gun laws, which would be ignored by criminals. I think one could also argue that any Best Buy UAV pilot who is ignorant of the rules is also going to be ignorant of Remote ID.

Discuss.

D