Interesting Statistics Regarding the Little Camera Drones and Safety

Los Angeles, CA –Nearly everywhere there are some frightened members of Congress, various state legislatures and city councils that are considering ways to ban or severely regulate the little multi-rotor camera drones. 

Must we always adopt the Chicken Little fear that the sky is falling?

The FAA would like to expand their budget and manpower by at least tenfold or more to regulate every 12 year-old boy with a camera drone in America.  Can the FAA be trusted to not create or engage hysteria when they have so much to gain?  We all know the answer to that!

Pilots everywhere, especially those flying helicopters see the very clear handwriting on the wall.  Inexpensive and substantially safer drones will soon replace half of them. Careers are at stake here.  Should we be surprised those pilots are making the most noise condemning camera drone?  

Fighting camera and delivery drones through propaganda scare tactics is already in high gear.  We must educate politicians, business leaders, media and the public on the real facts. 

We now know that worldwide there are over a million little drones in the hands of the public.  That’s double the amount of all conventional aircraft. 

We know all too well that many millions of dollars and hundreds of lives are lost every year from conventional aircraft mishaps.

To date there has not been a single fatality or serious injury related to multi-rotor camera drones. 

I’d like to address Internet chatter from the camera drone user groups.  There are hundreds of passages exclaim that newbies, cowboys and lawless people are reeking havoc in the skies.  My favorite quote is, “They’re ruining it for everyone!” It that were the truth there would be collisions and at least some minimal evidence of this kind of conduct. 

What exists are tales including one claim by a NYPD helicopter pilot that he clocked the little drones at the speed of sound!  Considering they have a top speed of 35 MPH that's somewhat pitiful.

These camera drones all have the ultimate Black Box, that's the camera's memory chip that contains the video of the flight.  I submit that the drone's own video is more reliable than the fables and outright lies that have been told by some public officials.  

It’s a natural human condition to conjure up scenarios in our minds of bad behavior and tragic consequences.  What we must always remember here is even the cheaper camera drones are not really cheap. 

These drones are carefully guarded and cared for by their owners that don’t want to lose them to mishaps or impoundment by police.  

Drone operators all fly with friends and they are always advising each other on avoiding mistakes, piloting tips and proper etiquettes. They are in effect self-policing and regulating.    

The FAA, except for commercial use, does not now regulate the little drones.  The FAA had banned them from commercial use however that prohibition was struck down by a federal judge and is currently under appeal. 

The FAA is charged with safety and the drones have proven they do not compromise safety.  To date there has never been a known collision between a camera-drone and any conventional aircraft.

These days we hear sensational propaganda stories of near misses with planes and helicopters on a regular basis.   Add to that bogus claims that these drones somehow invade privacy have many Americans frightened, concerned and upset.

Satellites, surveillance, and cameras carried by helicopters have already stolen any privacy invasion thunder of the little drones.  Don’t forget the millions of cell-phone cameras that are in everyone’s pockets.  Cameras are here and the courts have consistently held that the First Amendment protects them.

If you don’t want to be photographed, put on your Foster Grants (sunglasses for those too young to remember that brand) and stay indoors.

If you own or lease property you can’t stop the prying eyes of aerial cameras.  Barbara Streisand found that out the hard way a few years back when a helicopter carrying a photographer snapped some pictures of her and her Malibu fortress and posted them on the Internet.  She immediately sued in court.  Not only did the singer loose but she had to pay more than a quarter million dollars to the hapless photographer.

Laws violating any portion of the Bill of Rights never stand a chance when challenged in court.  Shooting video from a camera drone over private or public property is absolutely constitutionally protected activity.   

Local bans are incredibly problematic in that tourists with drones will be ignorant of laws and even geography where its difficult to determine what jurisdiction where they are located.

Do we really want to jail and mark these people with lifelong criminal records for snapping a few pictures of our prettier parks, beaches, cities and villages?

The news media and filmmakers have already been using these things for image gathering over the more dangerous and excessively expensive helicopters.  They certainly have First Amendment rights needing protection.  

Insurance adjusters, real estate marketing and our farmers desperately need this technology for obvious reasons.  Arn't our grocery, insurance and housing cost high enough? 

If they are compelled to make rules here perhaps two current FAA guidelines are worthy of adoption.  Flying below 400 feet and avoiding airspace within five miles of an airport without control tower approval seems workable. 

Below you will find the estimated number of aircraft and helicopters worldwide:

  312,000     Active General Aviation Aircraft

  17,770     Passenger Aircraft

  89,129     Military Aircraft

  26,500     Civil Helicopters

  29,700     Military Helicopters.

According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association there are approximately 312,000 active general aviation aircraft worldwide.

General aviation (GA) is defined as all aviation other than scheduled commercial airlines and military aviation.

Over 312,000 general aviation aircraft including helicopters,

single-engine piston-powered airplanes, multi-engine turboprops, and intercontinental business jets are flying throughout the world.

Information provided by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association:

http://www.gama.aero/aboutGAMA/industryFacts.phpThe General Aviation

Meet the Latest and Greatest Prosumer Camera Drone! Wow!

Los Angeles, CA—Yes! As most of my visitors know I’m pumped up and over the top about camera drones as a photographer and filmmaker.  I already own two of them.  My current flagship is the DJI Phantom 2, which uses a GoPro camera.

Today, worldwide there are more than a million multi-rotor camera drones in civilian hands.  They well outnumber conventional helicopters.  They have a perfect safety record of no reported deaths or remarkable injuries.  To date there are still no known collisions between a camera drone and any conventional aircraft. 

Like all of the DJI drones the new Inspire 1 model they unveiled yesterday is relatively easy to fly.  If you have or acquire photography and video editing skills you have the time of your life capturing images.  I find flying these multi-rotor copters incredibly exciting, addicting and empowering!

Now there is a new must have camera drone in the skies as I speak.  It’s the DJI Inspire that has taken the industry by storm. 

The sleek looking Inspire can go easily travel at 45 mph and has already been clocked by one user at 60 mph.  Because of special built in navigation cameras it can fly safely indoors like in convention halls and churches where GPS signals are interrupted.

The fail-safe, return home feature now sends the drone to the radio controller radio instead of take off point.  That so you can operate this from a moving vehicle or boat.
Previously the DJI drones would only land at the spot where it took off.  This means operating the Inspire from boats and motor vehicles can be accomplished with out fear of losing the drone in the drink! 

The Inspire boasts a better camera that shoots in 4K.  The Inspire uses the DJI Lightbridge technology sending back startling real time HD video for nearly a mile. The Inspire works with common TV screens, IPads and monitors.

The telemetry display gives distance, altitude along with precise battery usage information.

It has a better camera 4k and you can use two controllers and pilots.  One pilot operating the drone while the other operates the camera for much better control of the shots. This is made by the same company as my Phantom 2 and was released yesterday.  

I must have an Inspire for my own camera drone air force and I hope to somehow get one to use from DJI for demonstration purposes soon. 

The cost is just under $3K with a second controller at an additional $600.00. 

There can only one word for the new Inspire, WOW!

Sit back and watch the three videos.  Most of the aerial shots were done in and near beautiful Frankfurt, Germany. 

Communism is So Wonderful That People Are Shot Trying to Escape

Just one of many that were murdered by the East German Communists trying to Escape Utopia in the 1960's, 70's and 80's

Jodi Arias Freed by Police Perjury, Evidence and Witness Tampering!

Phoenix, AZ—Okay I’m jaded.  I have investigated so many high profile cases over the decades and have learned one sad thing about them.  Integrity among witnesses, cops and prosecutors quickly vanishes.

Being a criminal defense investigator is not like what most people think or understand.  While investigating these cases I soon found myself trapped in a world of lies.  If I can expose the lies my client often goes free! Because of bizarre dynamics, this is anything but an easy task.

Let’s begin with a personal statistic I’ve established about my fellow humans.  A full one-third or more of people routinely lie.  As we know most people in fact can’t seem to tell the truth about something as simple why they’re late for work. 

If this percentage of people can achieve the same result by lying as telling the truth they will choose to deceive.  It’s best described as a form of narcissism or self-empowerment. 

In high profile cases deception is the rule, not the exception!  People lie from every possible side of a case skewing justice along the way!

Whether or not the accused is guilty, those arrested lie most of the time.  They think that lies will help them and they are desperate.  Their friends and family members that find themselves as defense witnesses want to help so they lie too.

For the cops interviewing those people separately, they can easily expose this deception.  Lies told by suspects and their family or friends will nearly always destroy any chance of escaping even an unjust conviction.

Unfortunately many cops have a terrible habit of guessing culpability first and then creating, shaping or forming the evidence to convict those they believe are guilty. 

The best example I can cite here is O.J. Simpson.  The case appeared weak and cops went about to frame a guilty man.  However in the end they got caught and Simpson was freed.    

Cops are in the unique position to remove, move or add physical evidences including DNA to any crime scene.  When they subsequently serve search warrants more opportunities are presented to place damning evidence inside the homes, offices or vehicles of the accused.

Motives for this behavior include seeking professional recognition, fame, or simply being driven to nail the coffin lids on the people they arrest.  Let me say that the percentages of this happening are so much higher than you would ever dare imagine.

We all have made ourselves believe that cops and prosecutors wear the white hats.  After all they are the good guys who can always be trusted never to mislead you, right? 

Ego’s, self-image issues and narcissism are no strangers to cops and prosecutors.  They love the attention they get by publicly demonizing some hapless perceived miscreant.

In high profile cases this begins at press conferences where cops and prosecutors pat each other on the back for the important arrest.  Thus the demonization of the accused begins and the defense is never able to challenge this with equal time. 

By the time the defense discovers any solid evidence they are subject to gag orders by the judges on the case!  Prosecutors often deliberately cross the line so that gag orders are issued.  That in effect insures the public will only hear one side of the case!

Once they bring in the TV cameras inside the courtrooms that suddenly guarantees that lies will become the new truth!  Bad behavior and deception go into high gear! 

Savvy cops know how to play the civilian witnesses by making them feel important.  The cops want to hear only the things that will bolster their cases.  So it’s very easy to ask questions that provide the answers they want to hear the witnesses repeat! 

This often begins with the first eyewitness identifications.  The witness was either a victim and saw a violent crime committed by a stranger.  Their eyes were fixed on weapons, the hands and shocking deeds of the perpetrator/s.

Soon a cop brings a suspect to the witness in a police car.  The witness assumes that the cop somehow found the right person and they want to help the cops. 

What happens next is horrible.  The witness will more than likely identify whomever the cops have brought! After all the witness wants to help the cops whether they recognize the suspect or not.

Identifications made outside of a proper line up suck in a big way.  The so-called, one-on-one identification method is excessively subjective and should be outlawed. 

A high percentage of people will exaggerate or outright lie if they think it will help the police take a criminal off of our streets.  Once the useful idiot/witness gets praise and recognition he or she will become locked into the lie forever. 

Thankfully the mass proliferation of surveillance cameras has stopped many false identification cases cold before they got out of hand.  

With the limelight of TV cameras, and recognition from the likes of TV commentators such as Nancy Grace witnesses abandon the truth and instead gravitate to what’s seems popular at the moment.  

It’s exactly like the intuitive Dr. Josef Goebbels infamously said, “If you tell a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.”  The media can be counted on to repeat each and every lie until they are set in stone!

When you allow a murder trial like the Jodi Arias case to become a media circus only bad things will happen.    

Today with the Internet and our instant communication keeping a jury away from sensational influence outside of the courtroom is impossible. 

Guilt or innocence is established by a lot of things in America.  Unfortunately too often the truth does not really matter.

This all takes me to my personal motto about the criminal justice system, “If justice happens it’s usually by accident and for all the wrong reasons.”

Germany Is Becoming the New Hollywood with a Vengeance!

Los Angeles, CA—It was in 2011 at the Goethe Institute across from the offices of the Screen Actor’s Guild where I learned about the generous film funding offered by the German government.

A panel of leaders in German film and government funding spoke to American filmmakers explaining the process. 

This was as filmmakers were given little choice but to flee the extortionate taxation of California’s politicians that have squeezed this important industry virtually to death.  Hollywood’s loss is certainly Germany’s gain. 

Germany has learned that funding films creates production, jobs, and wealth as it promotes art in a big way.  In the end the German government realized tax revenue by simply priming the pump. 

Whether it’s a Liam Neeson thriller, or one of the many edgy Quentin Tarantino films and so many in between, they’ve been funded in part by Germany.  The catch is they agreed to simply producing a percentage or the entire film in Germany.

The films themselves have been wonderful.  Frankly most of the films would never have been made without the German funding.  Simply put, our German friends are providing opportunities for American writers, actors, directors and producers to do the work they love.  Of course the same holds true for the German counterparts. 

The world’s film library has become so much richer because of some dedicated people promoting this concept.   I’ve been fortunate to make friends with some of these terrific people. 

I’ve got a special fondness for the German people since my days as a conscripted U.S. Army medical corpsman serving there 1968-70.   

If you want to get your film made Germany may well have a solution for you simply by finding one of many gifted German producers willing to work with you. 

Here is a reel of some of the films created with funding and created at Studio Babelsberg In Berlin:

Here is a video that event I attended that explains the ins and outs of German film funding: