Last month’s fireball dropping drone pales in comparison to this month’s flamethrower-equipped drone, an ambiguously legal device built by the same guy who outfitted his custom-built drone with a handgun.
The flame-toting remote-controlled machine was featured in a video uploaded to YouTube on December 7, by the teenage drone enthusiast Austin Haughwout. Haughwout apparently built the drone from scratch using DIY components procured from the online retailer Hobbyking, whose logo dots the corner of the video.
Earlier I mentioned “ambiguously legal” because the Federal Aviation Administration stance on weaponized drones is a bit hazy at this point and it doesn’t quite understand what it wants; it doesn’t specifically disallow owners from strapping weapons onto their heavy-duty UAV, but then again, the agency does have an open investigation against Haughwout’s previous use of a handgun.
According to The Verge, the FAA declined to pursue any charges against Haughwout, deferring the role to local law enforcement, who also declined to take action under the basis that no laws were broken.
If the comments beneath the YouTube video are indicative of anything, it’s that viewers are torn on whether entertaining such an experiment is wise. One user writes: “Videos like this make everyone interested in the hobby look irresponsible, and damages how multirotors are viewed by the public,” another responds, If I mount a gun or a flamethrower on my SUV would that give trucks a bad name? OMG, the government might ban SUVs then.” For context: law does not prohibit you from mounting a flamethrower onto your SUV.
When contacted by local TV station WTNH, Haughwouts clarified that buckets of water, hoses, and fire extinguishers were on standby near where the video was shot, should anything go wrong.
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