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A protester landed a one-man gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn in Washington D.C. to deliver letters to Congress urging real campaign finance reform:
A 61-year-old Florida mailman was arrested Wednesday after he landed a gyrocopter on the US Capitol west lawn. The gyrocopter was carrying the pilot and 535 stamped letters for members of Congress urging "real reform" to campaign finance laws.
Doug Hughes told the Tampa Bay Times ahead of the afternoon stunt that he notified authorities "well over an hour in advance of getting to the no-fly zone, so they know who I am and what I'm doing."
Bloomberg has this analysis of the aftermath, and Tampa Bay Times has video of the incident from multiple angles. Hughes live streamed his flight on a blog entitled The Democracy Club. Ben Montgomery, a reporter from the Tampa Bay Times, knew about the planned flight for months and traveled to D.C. to witness it, but only informed the Capitol Police and Secret Service after Hughes was in the air. Hughes contacted Montgomery after Secret Service questioned him in 2014. The FAA is investigating the incident.
How long before copycats start doing the same at the personal addresses of Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices, and others?
Update: Doug Hughes has been charged with knowingly operating an unregistered aircraft (a felony punishable by up to three years in prison) and violating national defense airspace (punishable by up to one year in prison).
Hughes was released after the hearing, on condition that he observe home detention until his next court date in the capital city, on 8 May.
He was ordered to surrender his passport and banned from flying any aircraft, and must report to the authorities once a week. He was also charged with operating an unregistered aircraft.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday April 18 2015, @02:35AM
I was under the impression that no license is required for a gyrocopter, and here's what I could find on the topic -- ultralights are NOT regulated, and most gyrocopters are ultralights:
http://www.utahrotorcraft.org/faq.html#11%20Need%20license [utahrotorcraft.org]
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Q - If I build it myself, do I need a license to fly it?
A - Any civil aircraft operated in the United States is regulated by the FAA. An appropriate pilot certificate is required to fly, regardless of who owns the property under the airspace in question, or who built the aircraft. The only exception is a operation which qualifies under Part 103 of the Federal Air Regulations. Commonly called "ultralights," these aircraft must be used or be intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant, must weigh under 254 pounds, and are limited to five US gallons of usable fuel capacity and a top speed of 55 knots, or 63 MPH. They may only be used for sport or recreation.
The FAA does not consider ultralights to be "aircraft" in the official sense, instead calling them "ultralight vehicles." Such vehicles face no FAA registration, airworthiness, inspection or maintenance requirements, there are no required markings, and no pilot certificate or documentation of formal training are required by the FAA. This does not mean ultralights can be flown successfully or safely without training! In some ways they can be more demanding to fly than some heavier rotorcraft, especially during takeoff and landing, and they often have marginal performance. Since you will need to get training to fly your ultralight safely, it is a questionable value decision to avoid the little extra work needed to qualify for a pilot certificate. Ultralights also face additional restrictions in controlled airspace, and their operations may be banned at some airports.
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If anyone knows different please inform us.
Cuz otherwise this looks to me like "We couldn't charge him with any other crime, so we're gonna reclassify his aircraft."
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.