Being a "total airspace user" as a ret. airline cpt, occasional glider pilot, active GA pilot(instructor) and very active model airplane enthusiast (yes up to 55 lbs models like tugs and gliders) I know those worlds hands on. In fact my career started with model airplanes, as it did with hundreds of colleagues I met during my aviation career. I will hopefully be able to keep on model flying till my time has come.
All my aviation life I have benefited from it, the knowledge, the mental hardening recovering from setbacks (as You sat near the remains of a model that cost either a lot of money and/or years to build), the experience in awkward situations like what to do with a tail heavy plane....They were like simulators for my aviation career and did part of my personal mental build up. It brings me a large social network, in my country, throughout Europe and the world.
In terms of an "aviation ladder" the model pilots would be all the way down, not only in airspace usage, but from "high" cockpits like airliners and military jets some people think they have the only right to use airspace. Some GA pilots look down on gliders, gliders look down on paragliders etc and ALL look down on model aviation.
It is hobby, I and (worldwide) hundred thousands other users have the right to have some share of that VAST volume of airspace, which btw. is not "full" as sometimes is stated by people that mostly do NOT fly themselves. I regularly fly in a GA plane over one hour w/o seeing ANYTHING other like birds. And my eyes are still good! And over the years I DID see a few models flying, as I know many model flying sites and am looking for it to see if someone is flying. No danger involved, not even by a long shot.
I am dismayed about the fact that in this thread many pilots cry out for a complete ban, only because of the illegal/criminal use of it, which no legislation in the world will ever stop. Apart from the millions of drones that are already flying about worldwide (from small toy-like stuff to bigger ones), is a trend You cannot stop anymore.
And alas mostly the negative aspect is mentioned here.
By getting a complete ban You would:
- Take away the hobby of those hundred thousands of hobbyists.
- This hobby is a breeding ground for people that get into aviation as a mechanic or pilot. Or any other technically inclined profession. Tomorrow's engineers. Some governments (the military parts) have some form of supporting in this scene, as they do with gliding. THEY recognize the spin off.
- Take away an industry which is still in its infancy, with all the many goodies and a few bad sides. The possibilities of this technology is just about endless, weekly I read about new developments. Like this one, in an artform:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YqU...ature=youtu.be
You would make Yourself ridiculous in trying to ban all those "models" ranging from a few grammes that can be flown indoors, to large 55 lbs models. Where to put the dividing line between toys and more serious stuff? Speed, impact energy, engine power, rotor diameter, weight, wingspan?
Model aviation, I would say the type of hobby which has started shortly before WW2, is no danger at all for other airspace users. Most model pilots are organised and know where and when NOT to fly. The last thing a model pilot will do is risk his model in ANY collision! No matter what. Even a near miss could be bad for him and his club.
I do NOT talk about professional "drone" pilots. It will take a few years, then regulators will have devised reasonable rules for them. At the moment many countries still have none, or are in the making, or have made them so draconian, it is easier to start a sight seeing company with a Cessna 172. The result is there is a lot of aerial work being done by drone pilots without any license.
Now who is stupid here?
Of course, there is a new group of "drone" pilots born over the last 2-3 years. Many have no roots in "classic" model aviation. Don't accept, abide or know about rules. Do not use any intelligence in deciding where and when not to fly. That group poses the biggest risk and believe me, we are worried about them maybe even more that You do, as some desk guy might decide stringent rules for all of us, that would take out our freedoms we have always been so careful with.
I do not want to criticize the reported "sightings" (of which only a few can be seen as a near miss), nor I do want to exonerate idiots that fly close to a descending or climbing airplane, but I have the feeling that suddenly anything is being reported. At the same time, today there must have been some XX birdstrikes worldwide, hundreds of bird near misses that don't even get reported, and millions of birds must have been "sighted".
I have during the course of 17 years of airline captaincy always thought my job was about risk
management. You cannot live, and even less fly, without any form of risk.
The chance You will have a collision with a "drone" is just about non existent compared to the bird strike risk.
And remember, in the hands of one really sick guy, just about anything can be used as a murder weapon, how many people have already been killed by a hockey or baseball stick, way easier!