Part 61 (licensed pilots) some of us are screwed!

Well, the FAA has 180 days from july 15th to revise the aeromedical regulations. if they do not as of july 15 2017 you can fly on your drivers license in lieu of a 3rd class medical as long as you were not denied a medical or needed a special issuance medical before july 2006

 

I think the day is coming that the FAA will be put in its' place. They have overstepped their boundaries with all this ridiculous rule making. They know very little about UAVs in real life and all this crap has little to do with safety and more about control of something that this administration does not like, us. We are and easy target for socialist control.

I am in the same boat with the pilot license. I haven't flown in years. Couldn't afford it any longer.

edit: Sorry, I just felt the need to rant. I am pretty pissed off about the whole thing.

 

Ha..... I'm in the same boat. I sold my plane and quit flying back in Dec 2006. Same reason, av gas in the northeast got ridiculous and the cost of annuals, hangar, etc... just wasn't worth 11,ooo net a year average and climbing just to fly out for a hamburger. Not only that but seeing the economy was going to falter and eventually crash was the other reason. Sell high buy low. Just never knew they were going to drag the economy along with QE after QE until they let it crash hard. All my friends still have planes but they are more hangar queens than actively flown now days. Glad I sold when I did but sad I have not bought a new plane and got my biannual review.... I was waiting for crash then buy cheap. You are correct by the way on the cost of a biannual flight review and new medical. You were much more conservative on the figure for the NE though. Its more like 1500 now. Rental per hour is 200 + if you are fixed wing no adds, retract more like 350 per hour here now and another 60-150 per hour for instructor. They will try to push you for at least 3-5hrs minimum if you have not flown in 5- 10 years.

Cheers

Batfire

 

Not so much The drone pilots do need a clear under standing of air space and the rules controlling it. I just completed a 8 hour class on UAV's for Fire and Police use. The FAA rep was pretty honest and stated the tech far out strips there ability to make rules. The whole purpose of the rules is to not endanger other aircraft.
Michael Clark

 

You need to quit your winning about the Reg's if you were pilots the Reg's have keep you safe. I had not put my but in an airplane in 26 years. My last Medical expired 1990. I took a Biannual flight review with a CFI-II on saturday 9-10-16. Before that I called the local FSDO and ask if I was required to have a medical they said no all I had to do was to get a CFI to sign off on the Biannual flight review. The Reg's only calls for 1 hr. of ground and 1 Hr. in the air. It cost me with plain rental $330.00. THe FAA changed the third class Medical in July. If you have had a CLASS-III Medical in the last 10 years all you need now is a Valid Drivers Lic. No Medical required. There are advantages to having Part 61 Lic. and the same Reg's you are complaining about can protect you on the ground. Something that Part 107 will not do. You can do a Part 107 (Just the Remote Pilot Certificate) For a $150.00 test that any airplane pilot should be able to pass with ease. (My problem was air space classification has changed a lot from 1991 tell now) I use to also fly Hot Air Balloons I can sympathise with you on the cost of flying it put a lot of us out of business. It priced the small foakes that just liked to fly fore the fun out too unless you have a $1,000,000 in the bank.

 

If you're flying the drone just for the fun of it, as an amateur, the restrictions do not apply, as of Aug 28, 2016.

 

I hope to make a buck or two from my Q, as well. I need to pay for the drone.

 

Hey Sky....I'm in the same boat as you. Just looking to get good at flying my q500 so I can get a gig or 2 to help me pay for it, and maybe get into the aerial photo business as a new line of work. Just curious, how good are you at flying yours? I've had mine about a month now and have only flown it twice. To be honest with you I am paying mine out on a credit card, and am about half scared to fly it....lol Would hate to have a crash or a fly away before I even have it paid for. Still owe about 500 bucks. I'm not terrible at flying mine....just know things can go wrong. What are your thoughts?

 

Get the sim! About $30 for the (modified) wifi dongle and download the software for free. It's VERY realistic. If possible, get an experienced flyer to sit with you the first few times (just like using a CFI for a real aircraft simulator.) When you get real comfortable with GPS mode at turtle speed, increase your speeds over time until you get full rabbit mode. Play with all the joystick settings. Crash on purpose so you can see the failure modes.
Then, when you're good and satisfied, turn OFF GPS mode, go back to turtle, turn off all wind (set to 0 knots), and start playing all over again. You will need a completely different set of reflexes. When you get confident in that, increase speeds again, up to full rabbit mode.
Then, strap on your 5-point seatbelt, go back to turtle mode, and start adding winds, gradually increasing speeds and varying wind directions. I'm still not THERE yet! I've only had the sim about a month but have maybe 10 or 12 hours on it. And again, crash on purpose and study the failure mode of what just happened. It's GREAT!

Sadly, the sim executable is Winblows only.

 

@RJD, And how good am I? Can't say exactly. I had a major crash but Yuneec said it was hardware error and replaced my unit. NOTE TO ALL: put an SD card in your controller!!!! Of course, I was without for several weeks while all that was going on. (That's when I got the sim, just to stay current.) So glad I got the sim. IIRC, my logbook shows less than 10 hours. But then, I've only had it maybe 3 weeks out of 3 months. 2 of those hours were last weekend, at an average of .7 hours per (two batteries worth.) There are still maneuvers I won't try on the real thing because I've not mastered them even in the sim. I could do a photo/video of a home or construction site without problems, I believe (depending upon the winds.)