The use of aerial drones have and their pilots have been surrounded with controversy. This has sparked some debate over government and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Benjamin Powers, a physics teacher at Westside High School. Powers has flown his drone many times without any major complications, neither technical nor legal.

“I have been flying my Phantom 3 model drone for a week now,” Powers said. “It has been a lot of fun, but I’m still getting used to flying it.”

Powers has a keen interest in gadgets and technology for quite a bit of his life.

“I always thought it was neat to get a bird’s eye-view, without having to go on a plane. I’m very curious,” Powers said.

Drones are typically not cheap, but as the price for them have been going down lately, Powers decided to buy one with his own money. The $700 drone came with a video recorder that is capable of shooting in high-definition quality.

The drop in prices raises a problem, though.

“As of right now, Nebraska is pretty lax when it comes to using drones as a hobby,” Powers said. “As more people will be buying drones, Congress will eventually pass laws in concern of the safety of other users and the general public.”

Drones typically can’t fly over 400 feet and cannot be operated near airfields. Most airports are encoded into to the drone’s GPS, but smaller airports still need to be added.

“I’m still pretty new to the experience, but a lot of people feel it is pretty awesome and I will continue to fly my drone out of my curiosity,” Powers said.