A not thrilled neighbor

all my neighbors have kids, so for them quadcopter is a cool toy, no issues for the past 5 years, however prefer not to fly over any properties for safety reason. May start flying around ones get good FPV goggles. sometimes i can go 300m high over my house just to see cool P4 lights, sunset and neighborhood in the night.
 
I had a guy come down the street from two blocks over one time asking me not to fly in the area. Well I do like in s neighborhood that is surrounded by deserts. It's impossible starting from my house to get there ( and I can with a clear LOS ) with out flying over anyone's house. I don't hover or circle. Throw it into sport mode and gain to about 2-300 ft before I do. At that speed and altitude it is very hard to spot.


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Have you let them view what you see on your monitor? So many think that a drone has supernatural vision and thats what freaks so many out. You can thank news helicopters with big cameras for that point of view
if that was me I would follow them and when they were shopping etc, I would let all their tyres down.
Letting the air out of tires is as poor a thought as shooting down a drone…
 
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I live in almost the middle of nowhere - only about 4 or 5 houses in drone range. I asked all the owners for permission to overfly and showed them the results. Now most of them are considering buying DJIs!
Obviously in more densely populated areas this isn't possible. I used to live in the suburbs and my neighbours were HELL which is why I moved here!
I sadly have hundreds if not thousands of houses in drone range... :confused:
 
I sadly have hundreds if not thousands of houses in drone range... :confused:

I have also flown from my business and there are thousands of houses in that area. I fly out over the docks and along the beach then though.
Where I used to live I could never have flown my drone. Right next to a busy motorway with loads of 475,000v pylons and horrible neighbours! Oh and a few trees and phone wires!
 
There is no such thing as THERE air space so I dont say any thing to them being I try not to converse with mentally ill people that believe in things that dont exist.
 
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How many of you have had a neighbor come and say they are not thrilled with you flying over their airspace? Is there any recourse for them should they decide to get nasty about me flying my p4 in the neighborhood. I was flying a few hundred feet up so it was not like I was parked in front of their bathroom.
It depends on your state. In Florida we have an "drone law" that I've read and re-read several times and basically it says that if the complainant can prove intent on my part to surveil them and/or their property, then I can be held liable in a court of law. The key word here is INTENT, they opposition would have to prove in court that I displayed or showed INTENT to spy on them with my drone. The law also says if I'm flying commercially and just happen to be over someone else's property but I was photographing / video-ing a client's property, then I'm in the all-clear. If I'm flying as a hobby, the combo of the flight path data generated by my P3P and any photos/videos I took that did NOT show that I was spying on the complainant, then I'm in the all-clear. What would help is if you go to this neighbor and demo what it is you're doing and what his house might look like at 200' AGL, he/she would only see "ants" and that you can't zoom in and spy on them and more importantly, you didn't spend $1,500 on a drone just to spy on anyone. If they still have a problem with them, remind them that the FAA regards drones as "aircraft" and that it's a felony to fire upon an aircraft in the NAS that will result in prison and a stiff fine. Or, just don't fly anywhere near them anymore.
 
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I let all mine know I had the drone and that if they thought it was too close to their place let me know. I live out so being over another's house would be an intentional act. I've been near but not enough to see them wave. They ask me later 'Did you see me wave?' or with a grin 'did you see me flip you off?'
It might help to let that neighbor see your screen as you fly around a little. They will quickly realize that unless you're right on top of them, the cars on the road can see a lot more than you can.
I agree! I have found that if I see one of my neighbors outside, I invite them to see the neighborhood from the sky! A little bit of PR goes a long way to having friendly neighbors!
 
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My neighbor asked me not to fly over their house so...I don't fly over their house. Stress relieved. Good neighbor relations maintained.
 
How many of you have had a neighbor come and say they are not thrilled with you flying over their airspace? Is there any recourse for them should they decide to get nasty about me flying my p4 in the neighborhood. I was flying a few hundred feet up so it was not like I was parked in front of their bathroom.

Many people are under the impression that privacy and property rights extend upwards forever - but it's not true. Generally, in the US, such rights expire at 100-feet above the tallest structure of the property, with some exceptions. If you are between 150-400-ft, you are in regulated FAA airspace, and that is the prevailing guidance. However all jurisdictions have their own guidance based on a number of variables, such as population density, emergency services aircraft, etc.
An individual who thinks it's ok to shoot at your drone has two problems: In the US, our hobby drones are regulated by the FAA. shooting down a drone is a federal crime as cited under 18 USC 32. That statute makes it a felony to damage or destroy an aircraft. Secondly, discharging a weapon into the air in a populated area is a Class III felony in most jurisdictions.....What goes up, will come down. Hopefully not in a schoolyard. As hobbyist's we need to counter the media misinformation frenzy about drones w/true articles of our own in local newspapers/media. Include a link to one of your drone flights you've posted on youtube/facebook, and they will understand that you cannot peer into someone's bedroom from 100-ft altitude - but can show them the condition of their roof. Invite any complaining neighbor to "share" your next flight, beside you, as you maneuver your drone, and they observe your monitor. Even if you don't instantly convert them to "dronnies", you have given them an understanding and appreciation of hobby flight.
 
I had a guy come down the street from two blocks over one time asking me not to fly in the area. Well I do like in s neighborhood that is surrounded by deserts. It's impossible starting from my house to get there ( and I can with a clear LOS ) with out flying over anyone's house. I don't hover or circle. Throw it into sport mode and gain to about 2-300 ft before I do. At that speed and altitude it is very hard to spot.

There has been a lot of debate and discussion about when/how you can/cannot fly over somebody else's property, so depending on where you live, the local laws and how you go about it (height for example), you may or may not be flying lawfully. If you aren't familiar with laws where you live it would seem prudent to brush up on those. It can be trespassing to fly over somebody's property, for example.

Apart from that, did the neighbor tell you why he objected? Sometimes, exploring objections with the person raising them can lead to a solution or greater acceptance and understanding. A woman in my area objected to drones flying in a park where she liked to walk. She said they were "noisy, creepy and intrusive, and that the park was a bird sanctuary". I said to her that yes, they do make a little noise but I didn't understand how she reached the conclusion they were creepy and intrusive. I said that flying model aircraft has been a popular, healthy family hobby for a great many years. I also explained to her that this particular park is one of a precious few places in the area that flying is allowed and that there are a great many nearby places where she could hike that were drone free; that there is probably 10,000 times more drone-free park land with hiking close by than where drones are allowed. I asked her to please understand this and realize that parks are for everybody with all kinds of interests and to cut model aircraft flyers some slack--allow them a place to fly. I also informed her she was incorrect that this park was a bird sanctuary--it isn't. Hopefully with this new awareness she'll be more tolerant and accepting.
 
I'm in this for photography - I have absolutely no intentions of stalking anyone.

Reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch ;)

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I've found that taking off and landing from the roof deck is better than a lower, more convenient deck, as the noise is mitigated by the extra 30 feet of elevation, and, instead of flying back at a 45° angle over the annoyed neighbor's property, I now just fly directly back over the top of mine, and then descend vertically. No complaints since then. Take offs are so quick that no one ever is bothered, but safe landings are prolonged and noisy, so require a little more finesse to minimize the noise, and deflect any implication of spying on the neighbor.:cool:
 
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As I posted on a thread, I had my first complaint yesterday on a local (mostly deserted) beach from a non local holiday home owner. Not being 100% sure of my rights (I will next time) I apologised and packed drone away and carried on the dog walk with my family that I had planned on filming in track mode. In my head though I wanted to throw him in the sea.

Drone law UK as it stands
When you fly a drone in the UK it is your responsibility to be aware of the rules that are in place to keep everyone safe.

Follow these simple steps to make sure you are flying safely and legally.

Make sure you can see your drone at all times and don't fly higher than 400 feet. Always keep your drone away from aircraft, helicopters, airports and airfields Use your common sense and fly safely; you could be prosecuted if you don't.

Drones fitted with cameras must not be flown:

within 50 metres of people, except for taking off or landing I thought then 30 mts




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I let all mine know I had the drone and that if they thought it was too close to their place let me know. I live out so being over another's house would be an intentional act. I've been near but not enough to see them wave. They ask me later 'Did you see me wave?' or with a grin 'did you see me flip you off?'
It might help to let that neighbor see your screen as you fly around a little. They will quickly realize that unless you're right on top of them, the cars on the road can see a lot more than you can.
I did the same. Once they saw the picture on my device, you could tell their perception changed. Now when they drive by and I am at the end of my driveway flying, they always stop and ask if I have gotten any good shots lately. I am sure it helped that when I talked to each neighbor I told them that I fly every evening trying to get that one of a kind sunset photo and also that if they ever wanted an a aerial shot of their home, that I would be happy to email them one, and that I was always looking for reasons to fly.



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How many of you have had a neighbor come and say they are not thrilled with you flying over their airspace? Is there any recourse for them should they decide to get nasty about me flying my p4 in the neighborhood. I was flying a few hundred feet up so it was not like I was parked in front of their bathroom.
Yep I had a whole village complain about me, JUST FLYING, not over anything except corn fields and forests,Mayor came up and said it was illegal to fly as I could see houses from the sky, HAHHAH, he tried to tell me I have to write and ask permission to look at anyone's house. heheh. Insane. Then the next door said to everyone it's illegal to fly them period, Oh yea where is that then ? and he would shoot it down if he even sees it from his house, be it 100mtr 200mtrs or 700mtrs away. People are crazy nowadays. I just ignore them all and stick to my rules around here, don't do the sicko bit looking in bathroom windows, swimming pools, or large groups of people. I Like to film interesting landscapes, forests, mountains, and huge buildings like Cathedrals, NOT CIA HQ hahah or the pentagon.hehhe
 
I would invite the neighbor over for a first hand look and see.... er, rather show them what you can't see from 200 feet.

I've defused a few situations just by engaging them and having them check it out for themselves...
 

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