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When politics and war defeats fun and joy

We live in a world where both politics and technology are changing rapidly.

Wars have either broken out or are threatening to break out in a number of locations around the planet. Pivotal to winning or losing those wars is each side's ability to harness the power of modern technology.

We've seen first-hand how Ukraine has been able to box significantly above its weight when it comes to defending against the "three day special military operation" that was unleashed against it by Russia a few years ago. Instead of a WW2-like blitzkrieg wiping them out in less than a week, tiny Ukraine has very effectively held off one of the largest and most powerful militaries in the world with drones and other innovative bits of kit.

In the wake of this stunning demonstration of technical capability, now almost every nation on earth is investing heavily in building their own stocks of FPV drones, "kamakaze" drones and other forms of intelligent ordinance.

Unfortunately, there have been far-reaching effects on people who are thousands of Km from these front-lines, perhaps even half a world away.

Another battle is the political one between the likes of the USA and its trading partners.

Using tariffs as a very blunt weapon, US President Donald Trump is bludgeoning those trading partners into accepting harsh new terms and conditions of trade -- or face unsustainable financial penalties as products enter the USA.

For those living in the USA the effect of these two battle-fronts has all but decimated what was once a fun, enjoyable, educational, family-friendly pastime.

Yes, I'm talking about the recreational flying of drones and RC models again.

Sadly, this is a hobby that looks set to be all-but relegated to the history books if things continue as they have been.

For example, right now it's pretty much impossible for anyone in the USA to buy a DJI drone because DJI's dealers are out of stock and have no way to refill their shelves.

Reports are that consignments of drones from DJI are being held by US customs, even when imported privately by individuals. For a while they were sneaking across the border with Canada but now even that route seems to have been slammed shut.

Of course DJI isn't the only option but when it comes to "store-bought" ready-to-fly drones, they are the best one. It's not just store-bought drones like DJI that have started to disappear from shelves -- even those who want to build their own drones from scratch are finding it harder to get their hands on the parts needed to do so.

There is now a multi-pronged attack on the hobby underway. Not only are uncertain tariffs causing resellers to hesitate on restocking but the fact is that many of the Chinese companies that were eager to service a bouyant US retail market are now kept busy servicing military customers. They no longer need the dribs and drabs of demand that hobbyists represent.

Even if you already have a drone or RC flying model then your problems aren't over. Increasingly restrictive regulations and dealing with a public that equates FPV drones with potential terror attacks on domestic soil (even though there have been none carried out that way) have made it harder to find places to fly.

As I mentioned in a previous recent column, even our CAA wants to exert control over how you fly your little 20g drones inside your own house -- things are really getting that bad.

The irony of the situation is that it is the very people who were largely responsible for the invention and development of the concepts of multirotor drones and RC model aircraft that now suffer the penalties and restrictions associated with their use as military weapons. Without the efforts of these innovative hobbyists, drone technology would still be in the dark ages and hugely unaffordable -- even to the military.

Every week I get emails from people around the world who tell me they're trying to sell their models and drones because "it's just become too hard" to continue in the hobby. Sadly, there are not a lot of takers for those craft because few others are keen to invest in a hobby which seems to have such a limited future.

It's kind of tragic and hard to believe that the fun I had as a young lad on a warm summer's morning with my balsa and tissue models would lead to the demise and possibly ultimate death of that same hobby due to the paranoia of the uninformed.

I guess the next generation of kids will simply remain glued to their smartphones and consoles, ignoring "the real world" and living via a screen -- with AI doing all the thinking for them as well. They will never get to experience the euphoria of watching something you built with your own hands taking to the skies and soaring against the bright blue sky of a cloudless day.

What does the future hold?

Carpe Diem folks!

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