I suspect the $5 "fee" is the tip of a future iceberg... because once you have crossed the slippery slope from free and unregulated" to "Regulated and licensed" it's a VERY short step to "Mandatory Requirements, pollution mitigation fees, FAA airspace regulation fees, ground-air recovery fees, the federal military drone support tax, etc. etc. etc... Proof you decommissioned said aircraft, a fee to de-register, Radio Licensing fees...

I bet that $5 will stay $5 for just about as long as it takes to put riders in various and sundry congressional votes on assorted omnibus riders to boost the graft, er, looting, er, "necessary reimbursement" for all these things these evil drone owners are costing the dotgov......

And once the feds do it... Betcha the states will rapidly (and greedily) follow suit...

I forgot to ask the question...when will the government begin registering laser pointers?

It seems that there have been many more instances of laser strikes than of drone avoidances.

Right! and just like guns, they will be regulated, taxed and ultimately controlled from the check out counter on........Can't miss a chance to "bureaucratize" anything in order to justify one's reason for being!

You forgot birds and insects! Believe me! If the government could, the government would regulate and tax them as well....

BrushWellman is the only supplier of Beryllium in North America because they have the only mine. They have many different grades of BeAl alloys, ranging up to 62% Be. Lockheed originally developed it back in the 60's for the space program, at which time it was called Lockalloy.

Hear hear

and it's stiff as gee-whiz, and light, so it makes perfect
speaker domes! . gorgeous, too! -- j
.

You hit the nail on the head. Operators that have yet to gain a mind to control their brain while wearing the "Made by your government" lable.

Yes and victimless crimes are another tactic.

hear hear

He said on the way to gulag.

I don't see this as any more problematic than registering full size aircraft. As you say it won't affect the guy who intends to cause harm (unless we make it open season on drones without a tail number), but it will improve accountability and deter mischief by those whose craft are registered.

If every possible danger were alleviated by the government, we'd all be prisoners in solitary confinement. It would be a boring, miserable, uneventful, unproductive life, but we'd be safe. It's called reductio ad absurdum. Take a concept, string it out to the nth degree and see what you come up with. It often shows the absurdities of government actions as in this case.

Well, golly gee then. Lets just sit right down and regulate everything in the air that a pilot might be scared of. How about kites, balloons, fire works, private car-planes, gov't rockets, gov't drones, back pack hover craft, UFOs--it's just a matter of time. And gov't bureaucrats have such a great record of non-corruption and expertise, I just know they'll make everything better and safer.

Not exactly what i would call strong evidence

“We think it’s a drone,” Franklin said. “I’m very concerned about it. It’s could’ve been a catastrophic event.”

I recall a drone strike being reported a few months back on a Piper flying out of Livermore, CA.
www.ktvu.com/news/2-investigates/2384...

I took on a partner who had contacts or so he said! to do this after all the documents were signed to share profits no contacts turned up but he still wanted money! He didn't get it! I've worked on the design to improve it but I've no idea who to see to get any movement on it

Excellent point

Just a thought; RC's (remote controlled) are not new. The first RC planes became a hobby about the mid 60's and really picked up through the 70's. The only thing that has changed is the shape and that the military finally caught on to the idea that they could be weaponized (after spending billions in development when they could have simply gone down to the local Heathkit store).

After 50 years, our investigative reporters are now making people aware that they exist, so obviously there are more sightings. Since all news is owned and controlled by large corporations; my guess is that someone wants them regulated because they are afraid of them, justified or not. People are often afraid of what they don't understand and who understands Geeks and Engineers, but other Geeks and Engineers. FYI: the British released a Intelligence Report last week citing that Technical people, Engineers, and certain Hobby activities are the "Greatest Terror Threat We Face Today".

As commented on last night's news...the people who are intent upon causing havoc in the skies won't register their drones, anyway.

Just like gun registration, you only affect the law abiding citizens...not the ones causing the problem.

Finally, what is the government going to do with their $5 registration fee? I bet it won't have much to do with drone regulation.