Lots of aviation folks are Twitter geeks simply for the news value. Chicago-area pilot and CFI Rod Rakic added a unique explanation. “Twitter is like the common traffic advisory frequency. Transmit in the blind and you might connect with someone who finds value in your message.” For Rakic, co-founder of Open Airplane (@openairplane), an unusual photo of Chicago’s skyline caught his eye last week. The picture appeared to have been taken by someone flying at about 1,600 MSL from east of Chicago’s Loop, meaning the camera was out over Lake Michigan.
Hobby Drones Just Keep Flying
Key Takeaways:
- A drone photo over Chicago's lakefront highlighted the safety risks posed by recreational drones flying in busy airspace corridors.
- Current regulations for hobby drones (Part 101) are significantly less stringent than commercial drone rules (Part 107), lacking specific altitude limits or clear guidelines, effectively making hobby operators the least regulated.
- The Flight Safety Foundation has expressed strong concerns to ICAO, citing recreational drones as an increasing and significant hazard to manned aviation safety due to untrained operators and vague regulations.
- The Foundation is advocating for accelerated international standards, including mandated geo-fencing and altitude limiters for hobbyist drones, to mitigate collision risks with manned aircraft.
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