Turns out the FAA, just like the TSA, is in the fear-mongering business, with just as much evidence behind their rules, ie none

The agency has no proof that electronic devices can harm a plane’s avionics, but it still perpetuates such claims, spreading irrational fear among millions of fliers.

2013-03-29: Ground regulations

Some FAA rules don’t make sense to us either. Like the fact that when we’re at 11900m going 640 km an hour, in a plane that could hit turbulence at any minute, (flight attendants) can walk around and serve hot coffee and Chateaubriand. But when we’re on the ground on a flat piece of asphalt going 16 km an hour, they’ve got to be buckled in like they’re at NASCAR.

2014-12-15: These new drones are amazing, but sadly not in the US because the FAA is confused.

Those cool nighttime drone cam shots from your local news networks? Illegal. Those YouTube hobbyist flyovers of Apple, Inc.’s (AAPL) headquarters? Illegal. Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN) wild Prime Air delivery drones? Illegal. Google Inc.’s (GOOG) internet drones? Facebook Inc.’s (FB) WiFi-providing fliers? Likely illegal. Hobbyist drones, like the Da-Jiang (“Great Territory”) Innovations (DJI) Science and Technology Co., Ltd. Phantom? Likely illegal too, unless you have experience aboard a real airplane.

2015-09-02: and it is going to be a Zoo

security risks mean everyone from your city’s taxi commission to the federal Department of Transportation, will want to get involved in AV regulation. With costs likely to fall between 50% to 90%, a consumer could increase VMT by anywhere from 2X to more than 5X.

2016-09-04: Pilot grift

Drones only become truly disruptive when they don’t have pilots at all. Yet, the FAA is regulating them in a way that forces drones to have pilots.

Let me put this in terms of work. Drones without pilots make the following things possible (none of which are possible with pilots at the controls):

Tireless. Accomplish tasks 24x7x365.
Scalable. Billions of drones can be used at the same time.
Costless. The cost per minute for drone services would drop to almost nothing.
If these capabilities are unleashed, it’s possible to do for drones what the Web/Internet did for networking.

2023-05-01: Flying is still far too regulated

Contrary to the narrative that today’s airline industry is a deregulatory success story, commercial air travel remains one of the most highly regulated industries in the country. Effectively what changed after 1978 was that the federal government no longer told airlines where they’re allowed to fly, and how much they can charge. That’s no small deal. However, nearly every other element of the experience continues to be dictated—and even directly managed—by the government.

We can have a future where travel is an easier, cheaper and more pleasant experience—where we’re delayed less often and where commercial airlines genuinely compete with a host of different products so we can buy the one that suits us best instead of one size fits all. But to have this kind of abundance, we need a more open and competitive system that focuses on passengers and their needs rather than existing airlines and other special interests.

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