How horrible...I couldn't figure out what I was looking at for a minute. What a waste of a life on something so silly.

Dieter Schluter was the father of free flight r/c helicopters back in the 60's. Those days the only danger was setting the pitch of the rotor blades [ tracking] lying down on the grass with the copter held down by weights.tail rotor compensation was done by throttle/tail servo linking, requiring skill to operate.Tail rotor compensation is done by gyro servos of today's copters flying 3D [ no real heli could ever do that ] as videos showing fly like an insect dragonfly.Humans can't react fast enough to get out of the way if the heli is in close proximity and loose electronic control by signal or component failure. I see regulation coming to have chain links fence separating spectators from the pilot and head gear with shield mandatory for club flyers. Clubs here in BC require 10 mil liability insurance for a reason.

It's only going to take a participant in a poker run getting wacked by one of these things to see a short life span for them. That picture tc posted (since taken down) would make me think twice if one was buzzing my boat.

It wasn't a quadrotor. It was a helicopter with nearly 5' carbon fibre blades.

These are mandatory items when boating now........Quadcopter and catapult. LOL :D :D

Correct. Big difference, but I suppose that a quad-rotor could inflict serious injury or damage. I would support some type of license and insurance if you want to use one around crowds or for making money. They could sure make helicopter pics a lot cheaper even with some controls in place.

Has there been any quadcopter video footage or stills posted of the FPC boat show run so far ? I haven't seen any yet unless I'm missing it which is possible. I am fascinated by the thought of it as i have an interest as a hobbyist photographer. I've decided not to rush into it and wait and see for a bit. A friend is threatening to bring his kids one on our FMO run Saturday. No doubt they can produce some interesting pics / video.

Bob

Come on Bob.....put your OctoCopter on Preorder now.

http://aerialmediapros.com/store/97-...000-octocopter

The blades that come standard on the Phantom quadcopter are pretty soft plastic, they might give you a cut, maybe a big one at full throttle but at idle speed you can stop the motors with a finger. Might be different with carbon fiber blades.

this is just the tip of the iceberg for uav's
 

I just went to an aviation conference on UAV's. phragle is right, there is already rules in place, with more to come and more enforcement. The pilot controlling will need a Commercial Pilot License, and a medical. The technical equipment operator (camera or other equipment) will also be required to be rated. However they believe this rating may be different especially in the medical certificate for instance if someone was in a wheel chair they anticipate a change in the medical requirement.
LOTS of potential for different missions, bridge inspections, crops spraying, smokestack inspection. Lots of potential for abuse as well..... lol like using it to checkout your hot neighbor using cameras, noise complaints, other complaints, etc, etc.

I'm all for safety, but how is a Commercial Pilot License a requirement. Flying an airplane that carries humans or cargo is x times more difficult than flying an RC. Ability to read instruments, fly at night, navigate around bad weather, knowing how to land/takeoff, calculating weights, determining balance is all overkill.

But if that is the final ruling, then it's just a way for them to keep a tight leash on anyone who flies these things. CPL...sheesh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kC3ojQ-dKU&list=UUTeAACUJHq1-Fxqn1se0w5w&feature=share I took this little bit of footage around the hotel..I didnt try to fly to much during the day because there was other guys flying and i didn't want to have a crash. Ive been flying RC for several years and picked up my first drone 3 months ago so i have some time flying around empty fields and parking lots. this footage is with my third drone its a custom built pro movie production craft super high quality!

RC is one of the instigators for my long love of boating I raced RC boats back in the 70's and now build full size boats for a living.

Once you get the RC bug it never goes away just like boating I still have a room full of RC boats and planes,the battery technology in this hobby is what is making all this possible

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo_f8mV5khg

Bob I have three of them I quad and two Hexacopters

Yes, Marc I have followed some of your postings on that. I think you have it mastered and I know you are a good photographer as well. Nice. I liked your video of the pier & lighthouse at Boyne.

Bob

Looks like I will need too add a shotgun to the list of pre launch items on my boat now!
They do take good videos, but I will be pissed if someone flies one of those things right over top of my boat! The side of the boat is fine, no worries if it crashes.

I agree when you do not know the ability of the flyer then it sure would make me worried!

Kinda funny, suddenly quadcopters become the safety issue on poker runs.

If I see one over my property or within 50' of my boat I think it will be time for some skeet practice.

(Copied and pasted)
It is truly unfortunate, but like driving, crossing the street, going to an amusement park, or golfing, accidents can simply happen despite our best efforts to be as safe as possible. This year, two people across the world have been killed in remote-controlled helicopter accidents, so while Pirozek's death wasn't unique, such fatalities are extremely rare

Wait until the Chinese are building them for 150.00 a go, camera included. They will be like mosquitos.

$150, ha!!!

http://www.amazon.com/UDI-2-4GHz-RC-...rds=quadcopter

MILLER 001 Thanks for sharing cool vid!

Yeah.....that's a big worry. HA!!! :D :D That and meteorites. :D

Yep, within 2 years they will be a huge annoyance.

Enjoy them now...while you can. They will be like using cell phones in cars now (texting) -...and warning signs will pop up all over the freeways....
"RC flying -$292.00 ticket
is it worth it?"

Wow a lot of negative reaction to these quad copters!

Personally I don't want an amateur amateur flying an entry-level or toy drone over my boat either! But before one of you guys tries to shoot one down or just throw things at one to knock it out of the air please realize that some professional photographers will start using these to take pictures and video of our poker run, shoot out, or boat party.

There are a lot of guys buying the DJI Phantom Drones these things are $1000 ready to fly but a professional film rig could cost anywhere from $2500-$25,000 so I would hope if you see one coming close to your boat just wave the guy away from you let them know you don't want it over your boat I'm sure any professional photographer would respect that...as for myself I don't like getting close to people's boats I can barely afford taking care of my boats let alone trying to fix someone's expensive paint job or worse yet hurting somebody.

This technology can bring a really cool dimension to our hobby/lifestyle there are already some very cool YouTube videos starting to pop up

If it's a poker run, I am sure we will be notified and have to sign a release acknowledging the aerial quads. Thats fine with me. It's when they show up uninvited in what I would consider my personal space that I would have an issue.

I'm pretty sure anyone who whips out a shotgun in the middle of a poker run and starts shooting will be spending the evening in jail

I'd still be more concerned about my fellow entrants attempting to run run into or over me in a poker run then a quad copter doing the same.

Agreed! And the copter could get a good video of any 'alleged' flyby, since the on board videos of the guilty boats never seem to get posted.


BTW, what is the date of this yrs PR at Lake Cumberland?

How many frequencies do these things have?

They only crash once

Way more then the old days its all 2.4 meg self married stuff now days

Especially in salt water...

People will all forget about the Jetskis ..... :)

We have one and we were flying it all over the city in Miami going up and down the sides of the condos and I can't believe no one complained about it. We were also flying it around sea isle wed night before the poker run- lots of fun stuff to do w them