Drones mentioned on the radio this morning

[DrgRcr]

I was listening to the local station here(101.5) this morning and they had a quick piece talking about the sheer number of drones that have been purchased in the area. What caught my attention was the mention that many of them were being flown at "thousands of feet high" and the interference with aircraft. Now I know that there are some who turn their nose up at the flying rules, but it sounds to me like this is being sensationalized and blown out of proportion because of a few bad eggs. Or are there that many people really being that stupid? One of the last things I thought they mentioned was possible licensing and regulation. If the problem really is that bad, then there is going to be hell to pay in order to fly.

 

[Stew-2]

You should email the station a quick thank you note, maybe like this:

Hey guys, I caught your brief story earlier about the drones and just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for that. From someone who follows the rules and has registered with the FAA, thank you for pointing out the 'sheer number' of drones without citing how many or what your sources were. Thank you for pointing out how 'many of them' were being flown thousands of feet high without citing a single source or how many or where you are getting this information. Thanks for making it easy for me to decide to not listen to your station anymore.

 

[Meta4]

What caught my attention was the mention that many of them were being flown at "thousands of feet high" and the interference with aircraft. ... it sounds to me like this is being sensationalized and blown out of proportion because of a few bad eggs. Or are there that many people really being that stupid?

This is a popular belief that was created by the FAA who for two years made frequent press releases based on their database of dubious drone/plane incidents collected between Nov 2014 - Jan 2016.
UAS Sightings Report
This resulted in hundreds of press stories like this: More Drones Are Flying Too Close To Comfort To Airplanes And Airports
This was a major point used to justify mandatory drone registration.
Here's an example of some of the very dubious records in the database, many are clearly not drones and would be better classified as UFOs

 

[goblues38us]

There is a video on youtube where a guy took his new Mavic for a 3.5 mile range test on maui flying off the side of Halleakala (sp). Problem is....his controller said he was at 30 feet.... but he too off 6,000 feet above the valley floor and flew accross the valley.

If you have ever been to or flown through Maui and OGG, that is right in the glide slope of aircraft comming in from the east. They hug the mountain, turn around over the ocean, and land at OGG. He flies across both legs of the glide slop at 6,000 feet AGL.

 

[GMack]

Is this Fake News, or Slanted News for effect?

"Son, there was a time I used to fly what was called a drone. We could fly them anywhere...back then."

 

[Xenomorph]

The comment about "thousands of feet high" was likely an off comment by some morning radio jockey who had absolutely no idea what they're talking about. Next they'll be blaming drones for the exuberant amount of space debris...