How about a way to let the public "in" on recreational FPV?

[gregman]

The more I read on laws and public perception of UAV's, the more I come to the realization that the general public sees no difference, funtionally, between a Reaper drone, a police quad, and a foam hobby FPV model. Everybody is upset that we're going to videotape them in their hottub with a GoPro-equipped Skywalker. This often happens when new hobbies emerge that bear any resemblance whatsoever with a military technology or application (refer to the hobby rocketry enthusiast in NZ who was "visited" by the US government because he was building a reactionary control system for a model rocket).

We need to get out in front of this. I know that some of the allure of this hobby is that it's not "mainstream," but what we're doing with our planes needs the kind of exposure enjoyed by the recent crop of extreme sports. If someone can flip on ESPN2 and see proximity FPV, or beautiful landscapes shot from a Bixler, or pylon-racing Ritewings, it could go a long way towards having people realize, "hey, those guys are doing this for FUN. They don't care about videotaping me brushing my teeth, or filming my petunia garden in the backyard."

I propose this: a national (or international) event. Several types of competition-obstacle courses for multicopters, slalom racing and speed events for planes, spotting challenges, etc etc. Get the media in on it. Have some (small) prize packages donated by retailers and manufacturers. Have the competitors pay an entry fee and the spectators watch for free. Donate the proceeds to charity. And, by all means, use the term FPV in the place of drone, UAV and other terms that may cast a shadow on our hobby.

Because if we don't get out NOW and cast our sport in a positive, RECREATIONAL light with the general public, they WILL make their own narrative, which we've already seen is not pretty, and can lead to some pretty hefty restrictions on our sport and misunderstandings by law enforcement (like TBS having their SD cards confiscated by the Park rangers).

[Trappy]

you will never convince ignorant people. all you can do is make their life as misearable as possible.

in my experience 99.9% of the people we have met are VERY positive towards what we do. bring a spare pair of goggles wherever you fly, always fly where there are people (assuming you are not testing equipment) and be a promoter of the hobby. the park ranger looked pretty stupid saying "people are scared and could get hurt" when ALL the poeple at the south rim where cheering and watching into the goggles. it's also why we got to keep the footage of that day

[smoothvirus]

I have not flown FPV (yet) but as far as other RC activities go I have had nothing but very positive reactions from people I met.

I think the biggest problem is the press, who (at least here in the USA) make money by scaring the crap out of people. Right now they're doing their damnedest to frighten people about drones over the US. Most of the vitriol is aimed at the government at federal, state, and local levels. FPV pilots are catching a little bit of the blowback from that. What I do find somewhat troubling is how many people you see in the comment sections talking about how they're arming themselves with shotguns to blow the first drone they see out of the sky. Of course the drone they shoot down will probably not be the evil New World Order™ spy drone, but their neighbor the RC hobbyist. Saying that, I of course realize that 99.9% of what you see in comment sections is just baloney, but there are certainly some people out there who are crazy enough to do it.

[SENTRY]

The problem is that we associate "ignorance" with "stupidity" or "the lack of intelligence" and that's not the case. Ignorant simply means "to not be familiar with" (in laymans terms). If a brain surgeon said "Sentry is ignorant" bc I don't understand brain surgery he'd be correct.

So - rather than say "they're morons", we are SURELY charged with how the public views us - why? Bc WE are the only ones that give them things (videos) to either 1) praise or 2) detest. We are our voice. This also means that we can be our own death-sentence. You can't toss a football Dan Marino style into the face of a 4 year old and then call him a moron bc he doesn't know how to catch. BUT, if you spoon feed him little by little - underhand at 1st, eventually he'll no longer be ignorant of the idea and you can proceed to toss missles his way eventually w/out an issue. The answer is definitely not "let's just kick the f*cking door in and make everyone swallow FPV."

The "ignorant" outnumber us a 50 million to 1 - if there are more than 30,000 active FPV pilots on the planet I'd be amazed. What does this mean? It means we have our work cut out for us that's what it means. Is it impossible? No. But will it take some time? Yes. It only takes a few examples to put us on the radar in a way even WE aren't ready for yet. So if WE aren't ready - how can we expect the ignorant to be? Hell - that makes US ignorant when you really look at it.

We have to eat our weak - (like the guy in FL who was chasing cars in Interstate 75 with the Stryker). One thread about him and he removed the vids and basically went underground - never really heard from him again - LOL. Anyway you slice it - everytime you post a video you are representing the rest of us. Yeah I skyscraper surf - I fly through the steam at power plants at night - deep urban ops - yadda yadda. Can I tone it down? Yes - and I have (somewhat - LOL). We do have to take care of our fellow co-pilots when we fly. Until we really unite and have a unified front, we won't be ready to really shape the minds of the ignorant.

[gregman]

@Trappy- I smell what you're steppin' in, and I completely agree. You're doing it the right way, and you guys have done more to put this hobby in a positive light than probably anyone else. But the problem isn't the people who know about fpv and still are scared of it, those are the ignorant whose minds will never change. The problem is the people who DON'T know about fpv, and only know about "drones" from the media. What if we could give a wider audience the same experience that you give bystanders? Take people who had no idea that people do this for fun, and show them what we do and why we do it, while they're sitting on their sofa?

[gregman]

@Sentry- I get ya too. I guess my point is this: the bad press is GOING to happen. There is nothing we can do about it, nor can we change how it's presented. The only thing we can do is provide positive examples, in an environment where we can control the presentation. As the drone/UAV debate heats up, we're going to be lumped in with the corporate drones, the spy planes and the negative connotations of such. We need to separate ourselves from that, and sooner rather than later. It's much easier to create a positive perception from the start than to change people's minds down the road. As they say, a first impression is everything.

Fwiw, I come from a hobby that has its fair share of idiots and the resulting negative images: motorcycling. Many people see motorcyclists as sportbike riders zipping through interstate traffic at 130 mph, or as drunk Harley riders in their skull masks stumbling to their bike to ride to the next bar. I ride every day (I don't have a car by choice), and I have to battle the stereotypes almost daily. I do not want to get into fpv only to have the vitriol turn into legislation that basically shuts down the hobby. It's hard enough as it is.

[Trappy]

Take 30'000 people flying FPV each day. If you show your hobby to 1 person each day, that's 10'000'000 people each year. assume 1% of these start FPV themselves, and you'll have the whole world educated in a very short time.

We have portrayed FPV in the most positive image we can and have had over 20 million people watch our videos through various TV appearances back here in Europe. We were invited to one of the biggest shows in german television and they did a 15min piece of FPV.

You guys need to get out there and show FPV to the world. Be proud. Stop wasting time on R/C fields, all that gets you is hate by the AMA guys. FPV is a beautiful hobby, push the boundaries and people will listen to you tell the stories.

[gregman]

Take 30'000 people flying FPV each day. If you show your hobby to 1 person each day, that's 10'000'000 people each year. assume 1% of these start FPV themselves, and you'll have the whole world educated in a very short time.

We have portrayed FPV in the most positive image we can and have had over 20 million people watch our videos through various TV appearances back here in Europe. We were invited to one of the biggest shows in german television and they did a 15min piece of FPV.

You guys need to get out there and show FPV to the world. Be proud. Stop wasting time on R/C fields, all that gets you is hate by the AMA guys. FPV is a beautiful hobby, push the boundaries and people will listen to you tell the stories.

This.

I had already budgeted an extra pair of goggles for my setup for exactly this reason. And, as someone who used to be an AMA member, they're dinosaurs. The problem is finding non-AMA fields. There's an R/C field in Stone Mountain that would be perfect for (short) range testing, as it's on a disused full-size runway (4,000 ft if I remember correctly). Sad thing is, I'm pretty sure it's an AMA field which will give me no love. Fortunately, I have very understanding neighbors and underground utilities which means I can fly from my front yard.

[Scotttu]

gregman I have flown from my front yard, and the neighbors front yard, and behind the gas station, at the boat launch....all you need is about 50' to land if you practice your landings...

I just hate when people walk up to me with a cell phone powered on, it always causes ugly interference...For that I will take the laptop out, for display purposes only until I get another set of goggles.

[Vintabilly_NS]

You guys need to get out there and show FPV to the world. Be proud. Stop wasting time on R/C fields, all that gets you is hate by the AMA guys. FPV is a beautiful hobby, push the boundaries and people will listen to you tell the stories.

This is the truth right here. It works with old fuddy duddy park rangers and alarmist AMA guys alike. When I see somebody looking on from even 100 feet away I wave them over to show some enthusiasm and share the fun I'm having, then they think it's fun too. Hard to argue with a genuine smile. Same here in the "deep south" of Canada...