United Vs. Drone @ EWR

I worked in this industry 10+ years ago when FAA was told, "regulate drones." They approached them like you'd expect: They required N-numbers and the operator had to possess a pilot's license. FAA put barriers in front of enterprise companies & researchers wanting to test platforms here, so they all went overseas. FAA even calls commercial drone operators "pilots." FAA declared everything "above the blades of grass" to be their purview, but they simply gave up as far as I'm concerned.

I think a better solution would've been to assign this to FCC or US Dept of Commerce, and require manufacturers to geofence drones for airspace and altitude, subject to waivers and/or authorizations. That raises the cost of little Timmy's drone from $29.99 to maybe $150, but I'm comfortable with Timmy not flying drones. Or driving a car. Or doing a lot of other things.
 
tomokc said:
I think a better solution would've been to assign this to FCC or US Dept of Commerce, and require manufacturers to geofence drones for airspace and altitude, subject to waivers and/or authorizations. That raises the cost of little Timmy's drone from $29.99 to maybe $150, but I'm comfortable with Timmy not flying drones. Or driving a car. Or doing a lot of other things.
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A uas that is any kind of danger to aircraft is already 3x to 5x times more than $150. Most airports already have geofences around them but due to how easy it is/was to jailbreak those restrictions, a lot of manufacturers (cough DJI cough cough) took the whole system out of their software.

Part of the problem is how hard it can be to legally get permission to fly in zero grid airspace. There have been pretty good improvements in getting permission for the nearby airspace through LAANC, but even a priority request for a zero grid can take 3+ weeks to get approved.
 
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