Michael

Dantonio

, Las Vegas

, Nevada

, United States

Posted on
2020-02-19 11:40:32
“I have enjoyed building and flying RC aircraft since 1981, the hobby has given me decades of enjoyment and built friendships. The hobby has helped me to better understand the effects of aerodynamics, weather and physics. I’ve recently discovered the fun of FPV flight which includes racing quads, wings and sightseeing just enjoying the views. I also fly a lot of slope soaring gliders along with thermal soaring which is often flown at remote flying fields and or mountain slopes in the middle of unpopulated areas. I’m retired now and I’ve been looking forward for decades to relaxing and enjoying my hobby for years to come. In many ways flying is a therapy session and a stress free escape from the day to day grind of life. I have upwards of sixty aircraft and have at least $100,000 infested in the hobby and the proposed changes would place a large financial burden on my retirement funds. I’m also concerned that someone could access my information and know my location away from my home and could use this information to target my residence for a burglary. I think remote ID is best suited for commercial UAS applications not the hobbyist. I don’t agree with the limits being placed upon the line of sight pilots, my slope and thermal gliders are often flown at altitudes up to 1000′ for competitions and distances up to 2000′ away from the pilot’s location. My UAS flying is often flown below 500′ but again at distances beyond 400′ but still within line of sight. I feel that if the current proposed remote ID regulations would force me and thousands of people to leave the hobby which in turn would affect many aspects of the hobby. The changes would cause businesses to close and result in thousands of jobs lost.”