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Sorry for the long ranting post, but something about this really bothers me, it makes me wonder "what's next"? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 21st of December marks the first day of DOTs/FAA requirement for any rc aircraft over .55 oz to be registered with the United States Federal Government. What does that mean? ANYONE flying something in the airspace, regardless if you are operating from private property, flying your kid's Christmas toy, or flying with professionals an rc/hobby event, has to register they name and address as if they were registering a full-sized aircraft. http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/21/the-faas-drone-registration-site-is-now-up-and-running/ http://www.wsj.com/articles/faa-to-require-most-drones-to-be-registered-and-marked-1450110318 http://www.cnet.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-to-register-your-drone/ How did this come to be? In my opinion, the same way most regulations in the U.S. have been brought about in the last three decades (across multiple presidential administrations and multiple sessions of Congress), knee-jerk reactions to the government's inability to keep up with modern consumer technology and look ahead to possible trends instead of political infighting and political careers. Now I have always been moderate in my views and have a pretty decent understanding of how our U.S. federal system works (political science, governmental administration, and history were my areas of concentration as an undergraduate many years ago). I have come to the conclusion that "knee jerk" reactions in law and rule making making almost always lead to more problems down the road for everyone, including those "making" them. RC flying has existed as a hobby since the late 1930ss. "Drones" (a term that has been perverted by the media and a clueless public to mean any RC aircraft with a camera) have existed since the tail end of World War II, as their development was pretty much on par with guided munitions/"smart bombs" (something the public thinks has only existed since the 1991 Persian Gulf War). However, since most RC aircraft no longer require hours of building and tinkering in the garage and even more hours of flying time, anyone at any skill level can get their hands of something that uses to only be a niche market for enthusiast with time and money on their hands. Can RC aircraft kill? Yes, for decades hobbyist have noted that their hobby requires skill and patience and bad accidents can happen. But unlike the gasoline and kerosene powered beasts of yesteryear most of the available aircraft on today's market are battery powered and are made of cheap polymers, foams, and plastics. But the worry about today's aircraft isn't about accidental killing, but more about worries by people who are professional "meddlers". On one hand, you have government employees/agencies looking to justify their positions and budgets. They believe that there is some secret terrorist society training to strap sticks of dynamite to rc toys in order to fly them into important places or people, something reminiscent of one of Wile E Coyote's schemes to catch the road runner (most consumer rc aircraft can barely lift their own weight, let alone alone an extra pound of explosive material). Then there are the "rubes" who believe that there is a secret society of expertly trained RC perverts, hiding in the shadows ready to spy on their home, property, and children. If the government does not take care of the "drone problem" then grandpa and his shotgun will. I really see this whole "ruling" by DOT/FAA ending badly for all parties, either through sheer embarrassment or by litigation. The executive did an "end-run" around Congress's own laws/mandates that initially declared RC aircraft were a hobby and could not be regulated by the FAA http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/hr658_020112.pdf . They got around it by getting the DOT to declare anything over a certain weight an "aircraft", but they stopped short of calling any RC hobbyists "pilots". IMHO, due to the niche nature of the hobby, it is low enough on the pole for most people not to care (unless they think the gang of perverted terrorist are coming to track them down) and just enough legal play with words that certain categories won't draw the attention of Congress and the courts. In my opinion, too little regulation leads to large catastrophic problems later, either in the system or in society at large and too much regulation stifles rights, innovation, and growth. Ideally it would be a "zero sum" gain, everyone would either get something or no one anything. But in some cases it is best to completely leave government/bureaucracy completely out for the good of personal rights and freedoms. A bad precedent has been set.