SIGforum
DC Appellate Court strikes down toy drone registration

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/3940074424

May 19, 2017, 03:51 PM
Sig2340
DC Appellate Court strikes down toy drone registration
Registration is the first step toward confiscation!

Well, they'll get my drone when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. And I don't own one!

quote:
http://thehill.com

A D.C.-based appeals court struck down a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule on Friday requiring recreational drone users to register their model aircraft with the federal government, in a major win for drone hobbyists.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with plaintiff John A. Taylor, a recreational drone pilot, who argued that the FAA doesn’t have the power to make him register his toy drones because Congress already said the FAA can’t regulate model aircraft.

“The FAA’s 2015 registration rule, which applies to model aircraft, directly violates that clear statutory prohibition,” the opinion said. “We therefore grant Taylor’s petition and vacate the registration rule to the extent it applies to model aircraft.”

< snip >

In December 2015, the FAA issued an interim rule requiring drone hobbyists to register their recreational aircraft with the agency.

The court called the registration process “quite extensive, as one would imagine for airplanes.”

The rule — which had not been formally finalized — requires model aircraft owners to provide their name, email address and physical address; pay a $5 registration fee; and display a unique drone ID number at all times. Those who fail to comply could face civil and criminal penalties.

< snip >

“Congress passed and President Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,” the ruling said. “Specifically, the ‘Special Rule for Model Aircraft’ [section] provides that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’”

Lawyers for the FAA argued that the registration rule is not a new requirement, but merely a “decision to cease its exercise of enforcement discretion,” which falls within its mission to improve aviation safety.

They also said that exempting some drones from the registration log would “create a gaping hole in FAA’s enforcement authority and threaten the safety of the national airspace system.”

But the appeals called those arguments “unpersuasive.” Razz






Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
May 19, 2017, 06:22 PM
AllenInAR
The regulation requires the pilot to register, not each drone. Each drone is supposed to be marked with the pilot's registration number.


_______________________________

The artist formerly known as AllenInWV
May 20, 2017, 04:11 AM
nhtagmember
and I still agree that the FAA was over-reaching when it did that

I am pissed that every time there is a dot in the sky its a near miss from a drone

the FAA needed to focus on what it already has on its plate and not give in to mission creep

a good ruling on the part of the court

that which governs least governs best



[B] Against ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC


May 20, 2017, 08:36 AM
joel9507
When Obama's regulatory people got something in their sights, such trivia as following existing law - even Obama-era law - didn't trouble them much.

After all, who was going to stop them? The Keystone Kops Kongress or the activist bench?

ubi non accusator ibi non iudex
May 20, 2017, 02:11 PM
SIGguy229
It's all fun and games until one of these remotely piloted aircraft fly into the engine of a passenger airliner on final.
May 20, 2017, 02:19 PM
Mars_Attacks
It's always been illegal to fly model aircraft near an airport.


____________________________

Eeewwww, don't touch it!
Here, poke at it with this stick.
May 20, 2017, 02:25 PM
radioman
The drone control arguments aren't that different from the gun control arguments.

It's the pilot not the drone. that's my take.


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May 20, 2017, 02:36 PM
Andyb
It falls back to don't be a dumbass with them.

That said, they were going to be regulated at some point unfortunately and I thought the FAA regs were fair especially not having to register each drone. This opens the door to biting the drone community in the rear (Canada)



"Pickin' stones and pullin' teats is a hard way to make a living. But, sure as God's got sandals, it beats fightin' dudes with treasure trails."

"We've been tricked, we've been backstabbed, and we've been quite possibly, bamboozled."
May 20, 2017, 03:52 PM
46and2
quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
The drone control arguments aren't that different from the gun control arguments.

It's the pilot not the drone. that's my take.

Indeed. It's a money and power grab hiding behind FUD and "reasonable restrictions".
May 20, 2017, 09:35 PM
Steve Collins
If it had covered only drones, that would have been one thing but in the infinite wisdom of the FAA, they included anything that flies by radio control.

As one of the hundreds of thousands of R/C pilot hobbyists, I found this to be a cop out on the part of the FAA who is seemingly unable to digest the difference in those flying vehicles that are solely line of sight and operated purely for recreational purposes (airplanes, Helicopters).

I have been flying radio control for 35 years now without any incident with a full size aircraft nor have I seen or heard of such an incident.

The real problem the FAA is facing is that anyone can go and buy a ready to fly drone and fly it right away. Drones don't require any real proficiency to fly them.
May 21, 2017, 04:18 PM
Puckpilot78
It was a typical knee-jerk FAA reaction to a media induced hysteria that swarms of drones were standing ready to knock unsuspecting airliners from the sky at a frenzied pace. I understand the registering of commercial drones to regulate flying around/above people and property but there's no need for hobby drone or r/c aircraft registration.



Mongo only pawn in game of life...