Originally Posted by
Msunduzi
Sell only to people who have the BMFA A cert at least, and belong to a recognised club.
That could work for big drones which require specialized motors and batteries, but, pretty soon, a basic drone will just require:
1. A 3D printer.
2. A few pieces of commonplace electrical and electronic gear.
3. Some open-source software downloaded off the Internet.
No sales restrictions are going to stop those becoming ubiquitous. They'll be following people around posting selfies on Facebook before the decade is out.
Edit: BTW, I think there may be a bigger threat to commercial aircraft from drones than colliding with them. VR is suddenly becoming big again as the technology has reached the point where it's technically viable without many of the problems of the past (high cost, low resolution, nausea, etc). Today, if I want to go and visit the wonders of the world, I have to get on a plane and fly there. Ten years from now, I could put on a VR headset, rent a drone, and fly it over the Internet. That tech is only going to get better over time, and will be much cheaper than an airline ticket.