> That’s because most would classify the aircraft Evans and many other tinkerers are flying as a “drone.” Despite this definition being technically incorrect (more on that in a bit)...
This tired old semantic argument again. The word "drone" has been used to refer to unmanned remote controlled (or autonomous) aircraft at least since the 1950s. I'm pretty sure the term was used throughout WWII, but the earliest source I can find right now is from 1951:
I find it weird when press call what are basically kids playing toy helicopters 'drone operators'[1]. They are definitely playing on the negative connotations have with the word 'drone' which, as you point out, is closely associated with the military.
I obviously don't approve of blatant attempts to conflate toys with military aircraft, but that has little to do with the word "drone." The military "drones" aren't even officially called that. The reason we call military remote controlled aircraft "drones" isn't that they shoot missiles and kill people. It's because they are unmanned aircraft. We don't call manned military aircraft "drones," and they also kill people.
This tired old semantic argument again. The word "drone" has been used to refer to unmanned remote controlled (or autonomous) aircraft at least since the 1950s. I'm pretty sure the term was used throughout WWII, but the earliest source I can find right now is from 1951:
http://books.google.com/books?id=cGPJ9fJDJNIC&pg=PA41&dq=%22...