03Jan
FAA Remote ID Proposal Comments
If you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to share your comments with the FAA on the Federal Register regarding their Remote ID proposition. There are many issues with this proposed legislation that I have pointed out in this post. I have already reached out to my local Congresswoman expressing my dissatisfaction with this proposal, its violation on privacy, and its inefficiencies in handling drone airspace. You can read the questions I asked on the Federal Register here or you can read below. I highly recommend you politely share your thoughts on the Register as well since the FAA will be reviewing all the comments for the proposed regulations on the Federal Register here.
As a Part 107 Pilot, I have the following concerns with the proposed regulations:
1. Drones on the market today are very expensive, running drone pilots thousands of dollars and are built to last several years. The FAA is burdening pilots with subscription costs and the possibility of needing to buy newer, more expensive drones. The proposed regulations make older ones obsolete – what will the FAA propose to keep older drones still functional for Commercial Flying after the regulation is passed?
2. What happens to drones flying commercially in areas without an internet connection?
3. Drone pilots are currently following FAA rules because they’re easy to follow and implement and make sense to those flying them. Does the FAA understand that this heavy restriction on drone use will only encourage rogue drone flying in the future? How does the FAA plan to track older drone models that aren’t equipped with Remote ID technology? Is the FAA capable of “grounding” drones that do not have Remote ID technology? How does the FAA plan to enforce these rules without increasing the cost on taxpayers?
4. Consolidating hobbyists to “FAA Recognized Identification Areas” will actually pose a greater safety risk as the FAA is increasing drone traffic density to these designated areas whereas in the past, drone pilots have been spread out when flying recreationally. What is the solution to this proposed safety risk?
5. Increasing the amount of WiFi or radio signals around a drone runs the risk of losing communication with it. In fact, many drone manufacturers highly recommend keeping your cell phone on “Airplane Mode” while operating a drone so that external WiFi and cell signals do not interfere with the connection between the pilot’s controller and the drone itself. The implementation of Remote ID would force drones to have additional internet connections that could potentially interfere with the signal strengths between controllers and the drones. A drone losing signal can uncontrollably “fly away” and crash, thus posing a safety concern to the general public and other aircraft operating in the airspace. What is the FAA doing to mitigate this risk, especially when drones are flying beyond Line of Sight?
Thank you for taking the time to consider these issues.
