Are there Rules about flying over neighbors homes???

[mikesmiley]

Like I said, we're losing ground every day. This is not conjecture, it's a simple statement of fact.

People that insist "exercising their rights" at the expense of good will are helping to speed this along. Local ordinances are being passed, most by ignorant public that only know what they see on TV, but more and more by pissed off neighbors.

Some people here can't see the big picture because they're only kids, and some because they can't breath with their mouths closed.

It almost reminds me of the open-carry morons that show up in groups at the local Starbucks and succeed only in looking like creepy idiots and getting more people to vote for more gun laws. Way to hurt your own cause, fellas..

 

[fastfed]

and mikesmiley, when that local ordinance happens, are you going to just sit around? no, put your foot down, go to a city meeting, become a board member at your HOA.

I know its easier said then done, but 99.9% of people with drones DO NOT attend these forums, there is nothing you can do about irresponsible people. People feared when cars became a reality, and they started adding laws, a big one was an age restriction decided by the states.
They cannot outright ban the use of a drone/airplane/RC, but maybe add an age restriction without a parent present.

if flying over houses is a bad thing or illegal, then DJI will go out of business, a very small population that owns these things are out in the middle of no where.
And my drone is a slow boring craft, designed to take beautiful pictures, it would be pointless bringing it to some big RC park, actually I'd be embarrassed and probably told to go fly it at my backyard.

these are whats at my local park

they probably don't even allow big slow drones hovering around, besides what would be the point?

 

[mikesmiley]

I fly out of my front yard all the time.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Aircraft Rules in Canada say you must be above 1000 feet when flying over built up areas.
With drones it is not a good idea to fly above people at any height.
One fellow in Vancouver crashed onto the roof of a multi-million $$$ commercial building, lithium battery shorted out and burned it down.

I thought Transport Canada prohibits all drones within nine kilometers of any airport, and they cannot be flown higher than 90 meters (295') above ground or within 150 meters (492') of people, animals or buildings.

When was the crash and fire in Vancouver? Link?

the altitude I gave is not arbitrary - its referenced in old case law regrading property rights.

As I recall it was as much space as you can reasonably use... what if a building that is 10 or more stories? Does that allow drones to spy on the floors above 83'? Of course not. It is a grey area at best.

I'm very confused about this 'flying over people'. If this is the case, how in the heck does anyone have the ability to take any aerial photos in suburban/urban areas. We all talk about 'countryside', 'oceans', 'lakes', nature. However, I'm trying to start a hobby-level side business with the hopes of building it into something better. I want to focus on construction progression, commercial real estate and very high-end residential real estate (i.e, $1MM homes and up). Has anyone ever considered modifying drones (such as my P3P) with safety parachutes so that in the event of complete loss of UAS (ie, 'flyaways'), mechanical failure where they could potentially fall from the sky and severely injure/kill someone below. It would seem likely that all manufacturers should begin R&D to add a safety feature like this so this could reduce or eliminate the chance of a major catastrophe like this. Any comments???

DJI makes one as do others - Dropsafe - Drop speed reduction system | DJI

I have an idiot neighbor who has a bunch of motorcycles and stuff - thinks he's a real badass. He's always out in his trashy yard and almost every time I fly over his house, he shoots at my drone. well at least i think he does, it's happened several times. he won't be doing any shooting but if i hover over his house for a minute i'll hear a gun shot. at first i got mad, but then i realized the chances of him hitting my drone moving slightly at 200+ feet is pretty slim, so now i do it just to piss him off. anyway, it's definitely not illegal.

And you wonder why some people get upset with your post... this is the exact thing that is making the situation worse. The only thing that will come from your behavior will be negative. This hobby needs more positive exposure, you should try to be a good steward of the hobby whenever you fly.

Rules are you must have a licence & insurance to fly over people and their property.
Cessna or Phantom you got to be a minimum of 1000' AGL flying over built up areas.
Out in the country its 500' AGL
You fall out of the air and hit someone the victim will end up owning just about everything you got or might ever get.

To the best of my knowledge, this is completely incorrect unless you are flying for commercial purposes. Please show a link or source stating the information you are providing applies to hobby fliers in the UAS.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

On topic, non-argumentative post welcome.

​

 

[BigAl07]

... However, I'm trying to start a hobby-level side business

That's an oxymoron there. Hobby = recreational where as business = commercial. Either you're flying for hobby or you're flying commercially. It's pretty cut & dried by the FAA we as a group need to realize that and work within those boundaries. It's 100% about the intent of the flight regardless of anything else.

With that being said you can do Real Estate (high end or low end) aerials without flying directly over people. The key is doing all of this safely and within the existing (at the time of the flight) regulations. Your top goal is being proficient in all flight modes (sometimes GPS/Compass systems fail) so that no matter what happens you are able to fly in a safe and controlled manner. "]Car sensor at gate caused me to crash?Here[/URL] (IMHO) is an example of where the operator was not as proficient as should be. Operator was flying in a fairly tight area when it appears the aircraft went into ATTI mode (possibly loss of GPS signal??) and the aircraft got out of control for a moment. Luckily it appears to be a very minimal accident with no apparent damage to aircraft or anything else (maybe some bruised ego). Learn to fly w/o the training wheels because it's not at all uncommon for things to happen in the air and when they do you want to be able to react correctly in the blink of an eye to keep the situation from snowballing into a bigger event.

As a group I feel like we can do a LOT to help our "Cause" by being stricter on ourselves and holding each other accountable for their actions. We CAN fly in a much safer way and help to avoid a lot of the negative publicity we are bringing to ourselves. The LAST thing the media needs is any more ammunition against our industry because anytime you put the word DRONE in an article it gets a LOT of hits. You could say, "Drone Grass Seed" in an article and the masses will click on it and give it attention only because it has that one "HOT" keyword in it. John Q. Public has been programmed to zero in on the word "Drone" and automatically put it into the BAD category before the story is even read.

 

[IronReel]

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

100% agree. I've yet to have a single person be anything but extremely curious and envious of what I'm doing. The person that instantly thinks you are using it for bad has other issues and/or something too hide... maybe I'll put my drone in the air and follow them home as they might need to be reported hahah.

 

[DroneValley]

I had to weigh in here on a few areas. I agree completely that this is a critical time in the evolution of the hobby and a few goofy drone operators can really crank up the restrictions for all of us. The key is compromise. When I fly I always take the drone up to 200' minimum and then fly to the location I want to film. That way I am high enough up where I'm not hassling anyone. I have also gone to all of my neighbors and taken photos of their home and yard for them to ease their worry. They love the shots and have never hassled me for the occasional fly-over. The 83' "rule" came from the only case the FAA actually lost with a homeowner and has been used since as a good rule of thumb for the floor of navigable air space. It's not a hard and fast rule but I always stay higher than that when there is anyone around or I'm flying to a location. I'm hopeful that when Part 107 goes into effect on August 29th that a lot of this confusion and overlapping restrictions will disappear. I really think that this new regulation will split the field into "hobbyist" and "Pilot" based on passing the test. I expect that most local bans won't apply to pilots as long as you can show your license. Probably a good reason to take and pass the test. It adds a level of gravitas to your resume that should count for something. I did a clip on the subject recently that goes into a little more detail about the 83' rule if you're interested.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

I had to weigh in here on a few areas. I agree completely that this is a critical time in the evolution of the hobby and a few goofy drone operators can really crank up the restrictions for all of us. The key is compromise. When I fly I always take the drone up to 200' minimum and then fly to the location I want to film. That way I am high enough up where I'm not hassling anyone. I have also gone to all of my neighbors and taken photos of their home and yard for them to ease their worry. They love the shots and have never hassled me for the occasional fly-over. The 83' "rule" came from the only case the FAA actually lost with a homeowner and has been used since as a good rule of thumb for the floor of navigable air space. It's not a hard and fast rule but I always stay higher than that when there is anyone around or I'm flying to a location. I'm hopeful that when Part 107 goes into effect on August 29th that a lot of this confusion and overlapping restrictions will disappear. I really think that this new regulation will split the field into "hobbyist" and "Pilot" based on passing the test. I expect that most local bans won't apply to pilots as long as you can show your license. Probably a good reason to take and pass the test. It adds a level of gravitas to your resume that should count for something. I did a clip on the subject recently that goes into a little more detail about the 83' rule if you're interested.

The 83' number means arbitrary and that number was derived from the useable space for that case. The consensus is that you can use as much space as you can reasonably use. So if you have a one story building it would be slightly higher than your building, if it was a ten story building it would be slightly above that. If it was 83', a ten story building is taller than that, then what? It is a real gray area and clear as mud.

 

[BigAl07]

The 83' number means arbitrary and that number was derived from the useable space for that case. The consensus is that you can use as much space as you can reasonably use. So if you have a one story building it would be slightly higher than your building, if it was a ten story building it would be slightly above that. If it was 83', a ten story building is taller than that, then what? It is a real gray area and clear as mud.

Well said.

That 83' ruling was for THAT case in particular only.

 

[Imabiggles]

...so now i do it just to piss him off.

Which, indeed, can open you up for a civil suit or catch a disturbing the peace charge (criminal).

 

[Imabiggles]

Corey, you've been informed before that maximum hobby/recreational flight altitude is 400 ft above ground level. The additional accommodations will be for 107 holders.

Not true and just clarified by the FAA. So whomever informed Corey of this is wrong.

 

[Imabiggles]

As I recall it was as much space as you can reasonably use... what if a building that is 10 or more stories? Does that allow drones to spy on the floors above 83'? Of course not. It is a grey area at best.

I stated "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." which would preclude spying on floors at 83'. the 83' and 60' references are from old cases. The interpretation by the courts of the envelope over your property for use. Yes it can change, but < 60' your risk goes up.

 

[CCrew]

I stated "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." which would preclude spying on floors at 83'. the 83' and 60' references are from old cases. The interpretation by the courts of the envelope over your property for use. Yes it can change, but < 60' your risk goes up.

I'm new at this, but on my second flight got a pretty harsh initiation into what seem like tinfoil hat fears regarding flying in neighborhoods. I live across from a large open space area in ours and flew from my driveway into the center of the area, and was simply practicing maneuvering when someone came out of one of the houses on the far side and made a beeline toward me. When he saw my wife and daughter there he pulled up short, but he was clearly on a mission. Lesson learned i guess, but a 200 foot vertical flight, go 100 feet then hover I didn't expect to see the reaction I got.

My local municipality isn't the most drone friendly and several have resulted in charges. Here's one: Drone dispute reaches courtroom

 

[flpholt]

is this a okay height over houses

 

[LuvMyTJ]

is this a okay height over houses View attachment 61317

We saw these back at post 78. When you post pics please knock them back to about a max of 600.
Slow connections don't like to load them that large. Thanks.

 

[Mocho]

Aircraft Rules in Canada say you must be above 1000 feet when flying over built up areas.
With drones it is not a good idea to fly above people at any height.
One fellow in Vancouver crashed onto the roof of a multi-million $$$ commercial building, lithium battery shorted out and burned it down.

No, the rules in Canada do NOT say that. Although a bit confusing our Phantoms are considered models. As such we need to stay 100 ft. away from people and you can fly over a home as long as your not 100ft from a person.

Having said that I maintain a min of 100ft. from peoples property line because I can't always tell if someone is in their yard.

You can educate yourself by going to the Transport Canada site and read Advisory Circular titled "General Safety Practices - Model Aircraft and Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems"
I keep a copy with me while flying since I was approached by an individual who had read the incorrect information.

 

[younggun84]

New member but been browsing for a long time.


I'm lucky enough to live where I have lots of space to fly. Still, I have a neighbor across the road who I'm fairly positive would NOT like my phantom over his property. He's a little nutty, keeps to himself mostly, not overly friendly when we speak. Unusual for most living in this rural area. He actually called the sheriff on us for littering because our trash can blew over during a storm and a few pieces of trash blew on to his place. Sheriff had a good laugh with us about it.

I could fly over it and get some shots in that direction. But I don't.

I stay outside of his property line. I'm sure he's heard and maybe seen it, but it doesn't cross his fence. There just isn't anything to gain from aggravating neighbors in this case.

If he made claims I was recording him from my property I would do as others have said. Offer to show him video or a live view of what I can see. Probably wouldn't make any difference to him, but I'd try.

Many things are legal, but we have to do what we can to keep it that way. Rights or not, laws get written. Cities may not be able to control the sky, but many have passed ordinances banning "drones". Some may get overturned, others will stick. It's much safer to give an effort to get along and maybe even get new, responsible flyers.




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