“I had gotten into RC planes and while accumulating enough equipment to start my first flight. My father gave me a medium range drone. From that point on I was hooked. I started to get into first person view (FPV) flying. The challenge of flying a multi-rotor coupled with being able to view the earth from a different perspective is significantly gratifying. What I fly: A part of the hobby that I really enjoy is the building. I have built over 15 different types of race drones. I’ve taken apart parts of drones to make other drones and this will be affected by tagging each one since I don’t have one specific type. The way I fly: When I am identifying a spot to fly I look for places that are not heavily populated. They often have features that cannot be damaged. My main goal in identifying a flying spot is to determine it will cause damage to people/property (not owned by me). this 100% dictates where I fly. When there are approaching aircraft I make sure to land until they fly by (usually nearby helicopters since I do not fly by airports for obvious reasons) . I do not do this because I fear I will run into them, but, I don’t want them to have to alter their decision making based on someone flying low around a park. Why not fly in approved areas? The nearest approved area to my house is 30 miles away. As I have a family and job that often takes priority over hobbies; I don’t often have time to drive an hour away to fly for an hour or so then drive back. When I can sneak away to clear my head, I can go to a large park nearby that is less than 10 minutes, fly longer, and get back home quickly if needed. There are far more hobbiests than the current layout of approved flying spots and by being forced to fly at these places makes it so I have to fly around large groups of people which is far more dangerous other people/property. This will make it near impossible to start off in the hobby as new people will have such a slim margin for success and growth of knowledge. I have such an appreciation for flying and its extremely gratifying and I it really helps center me and clear my mind when there are other issues in my life. It helped give me something to take my mind of the death of my mother and grandfather in the same six months. My fear is that once this passes, it will be so regulated that not only will it prevent me from being able to have an outlet to clear my mind and challenge me at the same time. It will also prevent others to try something that was so helpful to me. I do not say they should be able to fly wherever they want around whatever buildings/locals a pilot wants. I would even go as far to say that there could be more certification around this where cards can be issued once completed that a pilot who is flying must have present. Fines could be mandated for those who fly without the certifications. However, it would still allow for pilots to be knowledgeable, fly safely, and make good flying decisions. I would agree that there must be harsh penalties for pilots who violate others privacy and put others at risk. That being said, I don’t think assigning geotags for diy drones addresses those potential risks. Best regards, Aaron”