I live in the country , i was flying my p3p yesterday evening around 7:45 i just took her up to 200 ft and flew out aound 3000 feet and made a square route and when i was returning to my home point my neighbor from about a half mile from me came pulling in my drive and asked me if that was my drone flying over there home, i said yes only person who has a drone around my place, she sorta didn't like the idea, they have a pool, she said it sounded like a bunch of bees, i didn't stop over their home , i won't to know if there are any rules that says i can't fly my drone around my countryside, and yes my drone is registered, has anybody else experienced this problem, sorta wants me to just sell it and call it quits???????
Are there Rules about flying over neighbors homes???
- Thread starter snakekiller
- Start date
The only rule is to respect those that respect you. I can tell you from my own experience there is nothing good going to come from arguing with the neighbors. Take it up to 300-400ft when you go in & out of the hood.
If you get your Remote Pilot certification, here's the rule about flying over people (but not houses):
http://www.uav-groundschool.com/library/flight-over-persons.pdf
http://www.uav-groundschool.com/library/flight-over-persons.pdf
You could play "ambassador" and go to the neighbor with equipment in hand and demonstrate in person what you can (actually can NOT) see at 200' AGL. Then assure her/them that you will try to avoid their property and you'll stay higher in that area out of respect for them.
Since you live in this area you really don't want to "poop where you play".
Since you live in this area you really don't want to "poop where you play".
some people don't have the luxury of NOT flying over homes, I live in a city, not a city with huge buildings but Fort Lauderdale FL, its impossible to avoid homes. That said no one is rude because well, city people, they are used to all this stuff. I hover of homes, fly around them but usually stay high @ 200 ft at least.
I do avoid them as much as possible but you really can't
I do avoid them as much as possible but you really can't
My neighbors are cool with it but I fly over and past, not hover over and look around, nothing interesting anyways
Everyone can avoid houses by transporting your quad someplace less congested. I never fly from my yard, I always drive a couple miles to some DEC land and fly there. I avoid issues with neighbors and with no ones personal property is under my quad should a problem arise. While you may not have DEC land nearby, you should have a park or an open area to fly in, maybe even a nearby AMA field.
yea well, thats not what this thing was designed for IMO. I don't find it fun like an RC plane, where I would go to a designated area. This thing is slow and stable designed to take beautiful video, of all sorts of stuff. Not an empty field.
I consider myself as safe as could be, I don't purposely fly over people or even houses for that matter, but I also cannot avoid every single one.
Understood. I assumed when you say you fly over the neighbor hood you were just flying... who wants to film the neighborhood? The would get boring quick.
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I have some neighbors about 1/3 mile away get really pissed and made threats towards me. I even offered to show them what it's all about and my flight logs to prove the allegations.
I ended up myself calling the police after they left and the officer told me there is nothing they can do with me flying my drone. He said it is up to the FAA to govern. If I was doing things to harm someone then yes they will step in, but flying he said it perfectly legal.
What is nice about the Phantom is able to go outside your home and take off from a small area and enjoy. It's also nice to travel to different places too. But years ago you would have to pack up to an airfield to fly your planes and helicopters. This tech lets you experience almost the same thing right from pretty much any spot.
I ended up myself calling the police after they left and the officer told me there is nothing they can do with me flying my drone. He said it is up to the FAA to govern. If I was doing things to harm someone then yes they will step in, but flying he said it perfectly legal.
What is nice about the Phantom is able to go outside your home and take off from a small area and enjoy. It's also nice to travel to different places too. But years ago you would have to pack up to an airfield to fly your planes and helicopters. This tech lets you experience almost the same thing right from pretty much any spot.
I live in the country and fortunately my house backs to preserve land. I don't find homes interesting anyway so I always take off and fly directly north over the preserve where there are no homes. There are wild pigs, deer, coyotes, alligators, etc. back there and I'm more interested in those. If your setting is similar and you can avoid flying directly over homes, everyone will probably be happy. If it doesn't work out that way for you, I'd do as other suggested: just drive to another area with interesting subjects (not homes). I posted this in another thread but it helps to demo it. If your neighborhood has get-togethers, bring it and see if they are interested in you filming it and sharing. I did that on Independence Day where most of the people on our street gathered for a party, and I had people looking at my screen, asking what model it is, how much, and a couple were contemplating getting one. They have a different view when they see you flying it for fun and it goes a long way to squelching that "sketchy guy with a drone" mentality. The men were mostly in the "I want one" camp. Interestingly, several of the ladies bugged the hell out of me when I was leaving: "When is the video going to be available? Post it on Facebook so we can see it!"
Mike
Mike
doesnt apply to hobby fliers.
no 'rules' but good advice:
1. dont fly lower than any object (tree, roof, etc) in their yard and at least 60' agl. lower than that - you risk an invasion of privacy claim.
2. Talk to them if they are not A-holes if they see you flying - just avoids bad blood, offer them pics or video of their house at 300' and you will likely never have an issue
3. dont burn a complete battery just flying above their property - see #1
The document refers to Part 107 operations. However, they are good guidelines for everyone.
I have one neighbour like that too, I hardly ever fly from my yard but when I do, I go to 150-200 ft. before I send her out of my yard, seems to have solved his complaining. Also, I showed his wife the live screen, that the camera is made for shooting landscapes, sunsets, etc. She came to the realization that "oh, I see you can't zoom in on us in the backyard can you"!
All has been quiet since the couple saw a video of the drone passing over their home at 200'.
Just don't daudle over neighbours homes & you should be good to go
All has been quiet since the couple saw a video of the drone passing over their home at 200'.
Just don't daudle over neighbours homes & you should be good to go
A lot of great advice here. I've heard it said that peoples' property rights end at 83' AGL - don't know if that's true and really don't want to press the issue.
I think droning is a lot like cell phone etiquette. It's perfectly legal to be loud and cuss on a city bus, but it brings on a whole host of unwanted issues and attention. People fear the unknown (which is a handy survival mechanism), so if you stop over their house, they fear the worst. I usually fly around 200' in my neighborhood, but I'm always on the way somewhere. So, a neighbor *may* hear me flying over, but it's nothing more than a passing curiosity. Now if I was 100', or very slow or stopped, they infer that I'm taking pics or video of them. And fairly so.
I find it easy to both fly the way I want and to attract as little attention as possible. "Security through obscurity" is a good mantra here as well. The only time my front LEDs are on is when returning at night; otherwise I prefer to keep a low profile. I like to keep some distance between me and whatever landmark/building I'm flying around so it's easier to remain anonymous; conversely, when I'm flying back, I don't fly *straight* back at myself at a million feet and then descend straight down like a searchlight.
Last night, I did some flying around a prominent civic building in the area, and it was mostly deserted, but I still kept a low profile by flying 500-1000 feet away. Everything I did was perfectly legal and safe, but that doesn't mean that jumpy people wouldn't be alarmed and try to cause trouble. I've never had any issues at all.
I think droning is a lot like cell phone etiquette. It's perfectly legal to be loud and cuss on a city bus, but it brings on a whole host of unwanted issues and attention. People fear the unknown (which is a handy survival mechanism), so if you stop over their house, they fear the worst. I usually fly around 200' in my neighborhood, but I'm always on the way somewhere. So, a neighbor *may* hear me flying over, but it's nothing more than a passing curiosity. Now if I was 100', or very slow or stopped, they infer that I'm taking pics or video of them. And fairly so.
I find it easy to both fly the way I want and to attract as little attention as possible. "Security through obscurity" is a good mantra here as well. The only time my front LEDs are on is when returning at night; otherwise I prefer to keep a low profile. I like to keep some distance between me and whatever landmark/building I'm flying around so it's easier to remain anonymous; conversely, when I'm flying back, I don't fly *straight* back at myself at a million feet and then descend straight down like a searchlight.
Last night, I did some flying around a prominent civic building in the area, and it was mostly deserted, but I still kept a low profile by flying 500-1000 feet away. Everything I did was perfectly legal and safe, but that doesn't mean that jumpy people wouldn't be alarmed and try to cause trouble. I've never had any issues at all.
N017RW
Premium Pilot
Try to avoid relying on some arbitrary number/altitude above one's house regarding 'property rights'. It's not defined in absolute terms.
One of my neighbors about 1000 ft away threatened to shoot mine down if I flew over his property again. I had flown over the backside of his property which is on the community pond on the way out and then back in. I was just buzzing around my house after I returned when he pulled up and yelled at me then drove back to his house. I landed and put it away then drove up to talk to him. When I got there I could tell he had obviously been drinking when he walked up to my jeep. He has a backyard pool too and said he didn't want me spying on his daughter and wife. I tried to explain that these things aren't exactly military grade and you just can't zoom in on somebody. They're also quite noisy so you can't really sneak up and hover and that the media has everybody freaked out about the "evil drones". He didn't seem to care so I just apologized and said it wouldn't happen again. I did offer for him to come by some time and I would show him how it worked so he could see it was really no threat to his family. He never has done it so oh well, just not worth worrying about it.
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