Drones

Have an Interest in Drones?

Drones are smaller, radio-controlled aircraft and are being used by law enforcement, university researchers, amateur photographers, and perhaps even your neighbors. Colleges are now offering  Unmanned Aircraft Systems programs; and drones are likely to reinvent the shipping industry by delivering packages to your door.

All branches of the US military have embraced drone technology, with members of the military remotely flying drones on a wide range of missions-- including combat.

America is being positively impacted by drones. From volunteer firefighters utilizing drones to investigate fire-damaged structures and film fire and rescue plans to volunteers using drones to assist in missing children searches in areas that are hard to reach.  The City of Detroit even has volunteer citizens group using drones to keep their neighborhoods safe in an effort to better Detroit’s image and keep the number of arson incidents down.

Drones can be low flying, high flying, tiny or huge, silent or noisy, super-visible or totally invisible. They can have lights, sound, cameras, microphones, sensors, or robotic arms. Drones can also roll along the ground, stick to the side of a building, float in a river, dive under water, jump onto a building, climb a tree, or attach themselves like parasites to the sides of trains, ships, and airplanes. One moment they can be hovering in front of you and the next they can fly off at the speed of sound, disappearing into the clouds.

While the FAA has now begun licensing drone pilots, they are (in our opinion) still wrestling with how to embrace this new technology while maintaining flight safety.  The FAA still prohibits drones and similar flying objects in the vicinity of airports for air traffic safety reasons, so please-- don't bring your drones anywhere near an airport!

Have an interest in drones as a part of aviation?  We hope you find you'll be welcomed in our chapter and the aviation community.