Approval when flying near objects, buildings, etc.

[Newman0912]

Hello.
I've moved over from the DJI forum after reading the threads here. More in depth, more interesting, and I'm learning some good tips.
I'm still new to flying my P3S - I've owned it a couple months and it's pretty cold in the Northern Ohio area where I live. Still, I've had some good flights.
No problems with the aircraft or the IOS DJI Go app - no fly-aways or anything.
I love this P3S, I had smaller, under $100 quadcopters for about 6 months - to learn how to fly before investing in the Phantom, and it was a great decision.

Ok, my question.
I live in the country, lots of open areas to fly but I'm yearning to fly in more of an investigative sense, to explore and take video of great landmarks, buildings, etc.
The problem is, I'm a little hesitant to fly around most areas because I'm concerned that people will (quite frankly), come up and yell at me, or throw something at the Phantom. Sounds stupid, I know.
But, for example, there's a car-racing dirt track not far from my home, it's obviously closed for the season, but I thought it would be pretty cool to fly the track from maybe 30 feet high. Lots of turns, and things like that. I don't think there's anyone there this time of year, the gates are locked, but it's easily accessible with the Phantom and the fences are just wire and maybe 6 foot tall.
Then there's an old barn that's falling down in a farmer's field, out in the middle of nowhere.
I'd love to fly around that, take a bunch of video up close, but again, I have this concern/fear that someone's going to come up behind me and take offense to what I'm doing.
To be clear, I'm not talking about flying around anything inhabited - no houses, no people living in the buildings,
It's all vacant.

I can't be the only one wondering about this.

I just saw the photo posted of the train. If that gentleman had gotten closer to the train, maybe taken a video while flying backwards, from the front of the train, within reason of course, is that considered illegal?

I just want to use the Phantom for more video of interesting things. I've shot so many videos of my 3 acre yard and my house, enough is enough, if you know what I mean.

I went to a local park with a good size lake and flew around there, but again, I seem to get looks and head shakes from people walking by, as if I'm not welcome.

Just wondering about all this.

Thanks!

 

[ZFR357]

It seems to me that there is unfortunately a lot of hype around drones. The news that the "non drone" folks see on TV is about drones spying on people through their windows or nearly hitting planes. That generates negative feelings in people about drones. I've not personally run into any folks that seemed to have any issues with my flying, but then I go out of my way to be invisible (i.e. keep the drone at a good height both to avoid obstacles and to minimize the sound of the blades to avoid attention)... and I know the negative folks are out there.

I also try to stick to the FAA and AMA flight guidelines (once you are airborne you fall under FAA and don't need a landowners permission to fly over them, as I understand it). If you are not a member of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) you should consider it... among other things it gives you an "extra" credential as a serious pilot concerned about proper operation, and it also gives you a big insurance cover if you are flying following their guidelines.

Also, think about recoverability in the event your drone goes down. If it goes down in the racetrack are you going to break into the track to recover it?

I agree that it can be tough to make these decisions sometimes as the regulations (federal are fairly clear, but there are a lot of local (i.e. county and township) regulations that can be tough to uncover to know if you are in the right or not.

 

[120CCPM]

once you are airborne you fall under FAA and don't need a landowners permission to fly over them, as I understand it

Unfortunately, it's not that simple, so don't make the mistake to assume that, as long as you're in the air, you can fly wherever you want. There's such a patchwork of local bans, laws and regulations across the US alone, that giving a simple answer is impossible.
It's truly a mess, and the only advice that can be given, beyond "know your local rules" is to use common sense. Generally speaking, altitude (or distance in general) is your friend: a drone flying at 200ft sounds/feels less intrusive than one flying at 20ft...

 

[Bendix]

Go to your local Harbor Freight store (or similar) and buy one of those safety vests that has the bright orange or yellow reflective stripes on it. Supposedly that will significantly reduce the number of people looking to bother you. I haven't tried it yet, myself, but the vest is on my shopping list the next time I go there.

 

[MY DRONE JOURNEY]

Go to your local Harbor Freight store (or similar) and buy one of those safety vests that has the bright orange or yellow reflective stripes on it. Supposedly that will significantly reduce the number of people looking to bother you. I haven't tried it yet, myself, but the vest is on my shopping list the next time I go there.

Yes get a High visual vest with UAV pilot in opperation . print do not disturb during flying opperations . And put on a casey niesat mask. you will be fine lol

 

[blackcrusader]

A couple of video's I did over a High Speed Railway station in Taiwan. This is allowed but as you can see I did not pass over the tracks when a train was there.