Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s a … drone?
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV), or more commonly coined “drones,” have reached new heights in popularity and sales, and have added more airway obstacles for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to assess regulations and legislation for the aircrafts.
Malibu residents have reported multiple encounters with drones to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station and the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), ranging from invasion of privacy to simple curiosity of the small flying objects.
“There are positives and professional uses in law enforcement,” said LACoFD Captain Michael McCormick. “There are more and more that are used in an inappropriate manner, and in doing so dangers the public, which is our priority.”
Amid the worst drought California has seen in years, personal use of drones has disabled use of air operations in combating wildfires due to illegal use of airspace, most recently with the Cabin Fire north of Glendora in August, and also the Lake Fire, which sparked late July in San Bernardino.
“They’ve had to shut down air operations and lost important water drops, or retardant drops, because of drones use,” said McCormick. “They have definitely affected other fires negatively, also.”
California legislators passed Bill AB-1327 in September 2014, which provides integration of drones into the national airspace system by Sept. 30, 2015, and requires “the Administrator of the FAA to develop and implement operational and certification requirements for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems in the national airspace by Dec. 31, 2015.”
“Because they are inherently different from manned aircraft, introducing UAS into the nation’s airspace is challenging for both the FAA and aviation community,” according to the administration.
While the FAA is actively promoting a public outreach campaign for local, state and federal partners to promote educated use of the aircrafts, misuse of the drones can still have legal ramifications.
“If you are flying a drone over a public assembly, let’s say it’s the Labor Day festival in Malibu — and you’re trying to get a nice paparazzi shot — if that drone goes down and causes major damages, you’re going to be cited, you’re going to be arrested and you’re going to be held for public endangerment,” McCormick said.
Ranging in size from as small as six inches wide by six inches high to wingspans as large as a jet airliner, the initial use of unmanned aircrafts dates back to the early 1900s as target practice for military personnel. Further development of UAS over the years allowed for governmental use in World War I, and military training and fly attack missions in World War II.
Today, manufacturers all over the world are creating new UAS with a range of custom fabrications, photography and video capabilities, as well as GPS systems and flight ranges over miles of distance. Drone prices can range anywhere between $30 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on a custom build and the aircraft’s capabilities.
“Most people don’t know one thing about flying a drone,” said Jason Mainella, owner, creator and operator of Teenydrones.com. “You give someone a $30,000 drone and they’re likely going to crash it. They’re using nano-drones as beginner drones — like what we create — to learn in your living room — how they pitch, how they swoop at 80 feet in the air, front and backwards.”
Mainella believes that education of personal drone use is paramount for the fastly growing UAS industry, which could also provide a wide range of benefits to numerous people and industries.
“We’ve been selling to farmers to look for their crops, lost animals, irrigation and seeding,” said Mainella. “Even with someone who had a physical disability, they could use the drone to look over their crops. I have also been working with a lot of roofing companies to take aerial shots of roofs for estimates. Power companies send drones out to look at coils, so instead of someone climbing the tower to maintain the polls … now they’re sending drones up there.”
Improvements in drone technology could provide an entirely new approach to the medical industry with microscopic access. “Imagine a micro-drone going into your bloodstream … they could navigate any human body,” Mainella said.
Door-to-door delivery services could also change with a 2014 FAA petition for exemption for Amazon Prime Air, an innovative drone package delivery service promising customers a 30-minute-or-less wait for Amazon.com, Inc. online orders.
On a local level, UAS operators aren’t just using the aircrafts for new angles in photography, but also as a tool to revolutionize the real estate industry by compiling unique images and videos of properties for sale to potential buyers.
Real estate agent Bill Kerbox pioneered the first use of a drone shooting video of available home listings, and has developed interactive video presentations for luxury home sellers and buyers.
Professional drone use for filming videos, commercials or movies requires a Section 333 permit from the FAA, as well as strict guidelines requiring specific filming times and drone weights.
“Any drone use in a public assembly or over any area where public can be located at is illegal, and we will be assertive in enforcing that with the sheriff’s department,” said McCormick. “Public safety’s first and foremost. Just because there aren’t any laws in the books right now doesn’t mean you can’t be held for damages.”
