Airport’s Drone Safety PSA Speaks to Hobbyist Pilots

Chicago Executive Airport on Aug. 17, released its new drone safety public service announcement called, Before You Fly Your Drone, a three-minute message aimed at anyone who flies a drone in the U.S. 

Today, most hobby drones are sold with little or no guidance to the pilot of the airspace surrounding them or why a better understanding of that local environment is important to aviation safety. 

The number of drones registered in the U.S. recently passed the 800,000 mark, more than double the number of aircraft flying in the nation and the number is still on the increase. 

Airport personnel created the PSA to balance the fun reasons why hobbyists buy drones with the need to explain the risks these aircraft can potentially represent to people on the ground, air traffic near airports and to fire and rescue personnel in emergency situations. 

An additional motivator to create the PSA was the understanding that while the FAA is busy trying to safely integrate drones, including those operated by hobbyists, into the same civil airspace shared by powered aircraft, many industry experts find the idea worrisome knowing many hobbyists have so little understanding of airspace issues.