THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE UNMANNED VEHICLE

In a narrow space with roughly the dimensions of a submarine, there’s a first for Yonge St.: A store focused almost exclusively on unmanned aerial vehicles — commonly called drones.

Las Vegas-based Drones Plus opened its first store in June of 2014. It now has nearly 20 locations either open or opening soon across North America, including Vancouver and Toronto.

“It’s a multibillion-dollar industry — and it’s growing fast,” says Bador Alagraa, manager of the Toronto outlet.

That it is. Some analysts believe global consumer drone sales will top $5 billion by 2020.

This store opened in late April of this year — selling everything from the cheapest toy to the most sophisticated “pro-sumer” models.

“We have something for everybody here — from $36 to $10,000, really,” he says.

While trees may be one enemy for the drones, perhaps the greatest threat comes from irresponsible drone operators. There’s no shortage of YouTube videos showing unsafe flying.

As a result, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has announced a program whereby all purchasers of new drones (beyond tiny toys) will be required to register their device. The owner’s name would be tied to the craft’s serial number. It hasn’t happened in Canada yet, but it could.

That’s the downside of all that incredible growth. A few years back, most quadcopters were either home-built by hobbyists or very expensive. Operators tended to be more knowledgeable, and there were only a fraction of today’s drone pilots. Reports of troubling incidents were few and far between.

Not now. In fact, some of the offenders have walked into Drones Plus and bragged about their escapades.

Alagraa says his staff tries to discourage such pilots — educating them they might be endangering the activity for all.

“The drones are here,” says Alagraa. “And they’re here to stay.”