http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41635518

Do they not come with a tracking device or signature that can be tracked to the owner?

 

Add that to the very recent near miss at a UK airport as a drone passed feet above the wing of a British aircraft on finals. Luckily the FO spotted it just in time.

As I have oft said, these are a danger when operated outside of their legal flight profiles, if one were to get sucked into an engine it could cause some damage.  They are also an invasion of privacy when their cameras peer in on backyards.  I quit lofting my kite camera when the son of one of my neighbors politely asked me to stop.  Haven't took pictures with it in more than five years, and I took my pictures off of the Internet.  The drones do have their place if operated in parks or away from residential areas.  They should fly under the same rules as ultralights, but lower.  Some of these drones have seven kilometer ranges.

Then there are now the passenger drones, which will only crowd the skies further, like the ones being launched in Dubai.  The Ehang 184 is a good example.  And with their limited battery range, they are extremely unsafe if operators stretch them to their limits, unlike battery fixed wing and trikes which can glide to safety.  Question is, how do you regulate all of these now? 

John

You can regulate, but you can't stop stupid.

Was flying with my wife not long ago at about 1000AGL near a very busy airspace and within a class D. She jumped and alerted me that she was sure she saw a drone whiz past. I never saw it. I told the tower about a possible drone in the airspace.

I have struck a small bird once, I don't want to try hitting a much more solidly built drone.

This crew was fortunate!

41 minutes ago, Oracle427 said:

You can regulate, but you can't stop stupid.

As an existing drone "operator" (i.e. some work content but sometimes "just to get the picture") my fear is that there will be enough "stupid" to get them all banned outright.

Actually the regulations don't help the case much: I had proper cause to fly within 4km of a local airport, and the hoops they made us jump through were extremely onerous. To the point that I seriously considered "just doing it" and get it over with. Not really helped by the fact that a pupil pilot from the flight school flew straight through our airspace box, watched by the Chief Instructor standing next to me as Observer for our flight...

It's a bit like the cars and bicycles conundrum.

2 hours ago, Oracle427 said:

You can regulate, but you can't stop stupid.

How true that is in today's day and age of travel. Travel on an inter-city train, here at least in the UK, select the 'Quiet Zone' carriage, and pound-to-a penny somebody will have a mobile phone going off repeatedly or letting the whole world know where they went for whatever last night!