New Dictionary Entry: "Drone Shoot" (as in "Turkey Shoot")

Drones Displayed at Navy facility in Maryland (2005) Credit: Navy.mil

In a signoff entry in today's PRI Marketplace, the show cited a report in the Denver Post about the town of Deer Trail selling permits to shoot down drones. The town clerk has already collected more than $19,000 in permits, even though the ordinance has not yet been passed.

Whether the expression "Drone Shoot" applies is debatable, but many low cost drones being promoted for civilian use fly relatively low and at relatively slow speeds.

The proposed town regulation would allow residents to shoot down drones that stray within 1,000 feet above private property -- and pay a $100 bounty. DullDirtyDangerous is unaware of military facilities in the vicinity of Deer Trail that would sponsor such UAV flights. But citizens in the vicinity of Patuxtent River, near which a Northrop Grumman BAMS-D UAV crashed carrying nearly 6 tons of fuel in June 2012, may wish to consult local regulations.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been directed by Congress to integrate UAS devices into civilian aviation by September 2015.