Recent content by The Drone Professor

On my ancient Phantom 2V, there was a red triangle on the control screen just as it lost power and came down. I was trying to figure out what it meant when I heard it bounce off a cabana roof.... You didn't happen to see or notice anything like that, did you? PS: The battery came down...

Remember that beach flying is fine (ocean and sand) but not "flying over people", per FAA. Also keep in mind that banner planes may be operating at 200 ft and you need to stay well clear and NEVER fly a drone over or above them. Here is where you can find the AMA clubs in your area...

These are the (only) airports participating in LAANC: FAA Facilities participating in LAANC

There are reports of airports not answering the phone and questions as to whether leaving a message on an airport or tower answering machine constitutes "notification" (I would think not). LAANC approval, for airports using it (the roll-out completes this month), is typically within minutes...

To your point, according to the FAA “regardless of the situation, shooting at any aircraft — including unmanned aircraft — poses a significant safety hazard. An unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other...

Remember that wording comes from political writers reacting to pressure from various sources, including law enforcement, military and others. They would say, don't fly where you don't belong. ....But the same people might say "if you don't do anything wrong, why worry about us reading all your...

Can you explain your question in more detail? Not clear what you are asking.

Ummm, at least in older models of P2, a single left stick (only) down (not angled) will shut the motors off mid-flight. Been there with a student. Don't know how many seconds, just know I had to run and catch it. Somebody sells a little plastic thing that prevents full down throttle for that...

Here's another idea - maybe use the air blower cans they sell for cleaning out keyboards? I wonder if there would be any problem with that? Curious....

Lots and lots of good resources and information at FAA.GOV/uas/ (imagine that!) The exam isn't really that hard if you read the study material (FAR/AIM and the Pilot's Handbook) and spend some time becoming familiar with the regulations. For many, the charts and weather/METARS are the most...

Yes, but they are not "FAA police" and "airport police" do not have jurisdiction for drone registration. In the description from the initial post it was implied that "airport police" were sent to "arrest" for failure to have registration. The "neighbor" would not know if the operator and drone...

"Cops" can respond to drone "complaints" but any enforcement action is limited to specific laws within their specific (local or state) jurisdiction (eg. flying a drone to deliver contraband into a prison where the drone is incidental to the crime). State "registration" (eg., North Carolina)...

This part interests me: "The drone flew straight down, faster than it would usually let me descend, I was close enough to hear the motors accelerate, and it crashed into a rock creek bottom at a very high speed." Although somewhat rare for quadcopters, that description sounds like Vortex Ring...

"Since these are civil violations it's unlikely LEO will arrest for no registration, etc. unless the operator is violating local jurisdictional laws or otherwise escalates the situation due to lack of cooperation or something similar." Bingo, right on target. I teach a course on that...

The airport does not have "police". The FAA is a regulating agency, not a police agency. The FAA cannot "arrest" anyone. Local law enforcement can arrest for "reckless endangerment", privacy violation or trespassing. Local law enforcement can collect information such as registration and...