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southern MN | I used to be able to do a lot of things on my property - drainage, tillage on hills, spray DDT, and on and on too.
Times change.
I think drone operators need to be responsible.
As do airplane pilots.
I find the future of drones much more productive to my farm conditions than I find a crop sprayer.
We need to find new rules that protect each from the other. This is new, and we need to figure out how to share.
As a side note, I have always bristled at the notion that cities are special, and folks living out in the rural areas don't matter. Again this spring, we saw the storm chasers laughing gleefully at getting their thrills following tornadoes that are devastating some farmers fields and farm buildings, and saying over and over how good it is these storms are in worthless rural areas....
Likewise, I find the rules you cite to be a bit offensive, saying a person in a town is protected by a 500 foot bubble, but a fellow out in the country isn't worth a poop.
Something about that makes the short hairs on the back of my neck bristle a bit, always has. I would have been on board changing that language before drones, as I just think it is a poor deal.
Through it all, we need to find ways to share airspace and crop dusters especially are in a difficult position of needing to work very close to the ground, the rules need to accommodate that. And drone operators need to find ways to work with, not against, working pilots.
Starting with drones allowed up to 400 feet, and most pilots most of the time being above 500 feet is a good start, and I would assume rules will change to reflect that.
I'm surprised my comment took this long for a reaction. I figure my view is not so popular with crop dusters who are used to owning all the air space they can see.... I know a distant friend of mine that reads here used to be a crop duster, and was expecting an email or phone call from him on this as well.
We do need to work together, and things will have to change a bit.
Paul | |
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Crop dusters in the drone zone (pic)
