Contacted by FAA !

Does that mean I can literally walk off of the road into the woods and launch from there?


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A lot of that is called the Chattahoochee National Forest, but not all of that is Parks Service land. They might be stretching the definition a bit. I have a cabin in the Chattahoochee National Forest, but even though it's in land designated as the Forest, it's still private property.
 
My understanding goes like this.. if a NPS Park Ranger is assigned to patrol it then you can't launch/land from that area.

In theory (this is FAR from legal advice) you could fly from outside of the BRP but I'm not sure exactly how far that land is considered NPS from the centerline of the road. I know that all pull offs, parking, over looks etc are property of NPS and as such are no use.

Keep in mind that if you're brazen enough to fly just from the outskirts of the property they could invoke something like "reckless flight" in which it doesn't matter where you're standing. But that's a whole other can of worms. Best bet would be to find areas to fly that are not "in question" in terms of legality.
 
I certainly do appreciate all of the constructive criticism him. I have definitely learned something and will not be flying there again. But I have also found that most likely somebody on this message board reported me to the FAA. The FAA told me word for word what was said and I think it was someone here. Oh well.


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I certainly do appreciate all of the constructive criticism him. I have definitely learned something and will not be flying there again. But I have also found that most likely somebody on this message board reported me to the FAA. The FAA told me word for word what was said and I think it was someone here. Oh well.


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But the same could be learned by just lurking here.
It has been mentioned many times by site Mods that there are FAA reps who are also members.
Most likely you 'incriminated' yourself.
 
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I would agree with that. A while back I clearly posted a video on here and said that I was flying in the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So yes I get that but the FAA told me that someone reported me and said that I was not playing by the rules.


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Fair enough.
I guess I overlooked the 'reporting' issue.
 
Yesterday I received a message on Facebook from someone claiming to be from the FAA. Looking at his profile it seems legit and he actually wants me to call him at his office. He says my videos concern him and there is an allegation of me flying commercially which I have not done. He wants my name and my FAA registration number and to discuss this. I don't mind discussing this with him but I do not feel comfortable just giving him my information especially when I have not done anything wrong. I have no idea what could be concerning in my videos either. Should I call the guy or does this sound like something I should avoid? It seems like a strange way for the FAA to conduct business in my opinion. But I guess he doesn't know who I am so this is the only way they can contact me.
I am an airline pilot and deal with the FAA all the time. I DO NOT believe they would contact you this way. Any time the FAA contacts you it will be through a certified letter. I personally would ignore this request
 
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I just spoke with the FAA. There were two or three guys on the phone and they were all pretty cool about it actually. It turns out I posted some videos flying near the Blue Ridge Parkway which is off-limits and I was not aware of that. Somebody got mad and reported me because I was not playing by the rules but I honestly did not even know the entire blue ridge parkway was off-limits.


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2 or 3 people? Their lawyers? J/K [emoji1]

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I am an airline pilot and deal with the FAA all the time. I DO NOT believe they would contact you this way. Any time the FAA contacts you it will be through a certified letter. I personally would ignore this request
Bob, yes the FAA we have known for decades would NOT but . . . it has been proven several times (even here on this forum) that the new FAA does indeed use Social Media to make initial contact for "education/information" purposes. This member most likely did have contact with FAA employees as they stated.

The last member who stated this same type of "Social Media Contact" even went so far as to post the "information packet" they were sent in the mail after the phone conversation.

It's a brand new FAA and believe it or not they are on the forums and on FB.

Allen
 
Update guys... So this same FAA person went a step further and contacted one of the people who had commented on one of my videos I posted on YouTube. Guess he was hoping someone would rat me out. It's pretty lame how an official government agency is handling things now. Using social media to make contact and then pestering people who simply liked or commented on a video they watched for pure entertainment. They're not helping themselves look good. They should be happy I even took the time to call them. The other interesting thing is the guy who made initial contact with me came off as very threatening and as a bully. Then I was put on speaker and another guy, or maybe 2 others began talking. This other guy was much nicer and even laughed with me at how ridiculous some of these rules are. Then I brought up some of the threats the original guy said to me and suddenly it wasn't as serious. I'm sure this dude will be lurking the Internet for more people to bother. Whatever respect I had for these people has diminished slightly.


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Bob, yes the FAA we have known for decades would NOT but . . . it has been proven several times (even here on this forum) that the new FAA does indeed use Social Media to make initial contact for "education/information" purposes. This member most likely did have contact with FAA employees as they stated.

The last member who stated this same type of "Social Media Contact" even went so far as to post the "information packet" they were sent in the mail after the phone conversation.

It's a brand new FAA and believe it or not they are on the forums and on FB.

Allen
Possibly, but I would still be very cautious. If valid, they are on a "fishing" expedition. The poster mentioned he used a "business" name... that is probably what the FAA picked up on. If, as mentioned, there were a complaint, how would the FAA know who, when, and where the offender was?? It still sounds fishy to me. Thanks for your reply
 
Update guys... So this same FAA person went a step further and contacted one of the people who had commented on one of my videos I posted on YouTube. Guess he was hoping someone would rat me out. It's pretty lame how an official government agency is handling things now. Using social media to make contact and then pestering people who simply liked or commented on a video they watched for pure entertainment. They're not helping themselves look good. They should be happy I even took the time to call them. The other interesting thing is the guy who made initial contact with me came off as very threatening and as a bully. Then I was put on speaker and another guy, or maybe 2 others began talking. This other guy was much nicer and even laughed with me at how ridiculous some of these rules are. Then I brought up some of the threats the original guy said to me and suddenly it wasn't as serious. I'm sure this dude will be lurking the Internet for more people to bother. Whatever respect I had for these people has diminished slightly.


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Don't believe for a minute that the FAA is here to help you.... As I said to the other gentleman... they were just "fishing".... to see what they could find. NEVER give out any information..... if they want you, let them find you.
 
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Update guys... So this same FAA person went a step further and contacted one of the people who had commented on one of my videos I posted on YouTube. Guess he was hoping someone would rat me out. It's pretty lame how an official government agency is handling things now. Using social media to make contact and then pestering people who simply liked or commented on a video they watched for pure entertainment. They're not helping themselves look good. They should be happy I even took the time to call them. The other interesting thing is the guy who made initial contact with me came off as very threatening and as a bully. Then I was put on speaker and another guy, or maybe 2 others began talking. This other guy was much nicer and even laughed with me at how ridiculous some of these rules are. Then I brought up some of the threats the original guy said to me and suddenly it wasn't as serious. I'm sure this dude will be lurking the Internet for more people to bother. Whatever respect I had for these people has diminished slightly.


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Just be glad they did contact you informally. If you get that "certified letter", many times the next step is to violate you.
 
I just spoke with the FAA. There were two or three guys on the phone and they were all pretty cool about it actually. It turns out I posted some videos flying near the Blue Ridge Parkway which is off-limits and I was not aware of that. Somebody got mad and reported me because I was not playing by the rules but I honestly did not even know the entire blue ridge parkway was off-limits.


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Even had someone reported you, how would that person know who to report? How did the FAA know what FB page to look at? If they don't know your name, number, etc....how did they know to contact a specific individual on FB?
 
It's pretty simple. They reported a specific YouTube page. The YT page had a channel name. We will say it was called The Drone XYZ Company. The FAA had that name which was then easily searched on Facebook where they were able to find the same company's FB page and make contact. They could have made contact on YouTube also but FB has a chat feature which makes it easier I suppose. Luckily the company name I used was nothing more than a YouTube/Facebook name and neither page gave any specific information about me because I was simply positing random videos trying to build an audience for the future when I got certified and began flying commercially. But because I flew in the precious blue ridge parkway over wide open land in the mountains where cars and motorcycles zoom through everyday, I had to change everything.


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So guess what everybody... I received a letter from the FAA today. An actual letter in the mail. It did not state any violations whatsoever, but instead just said that it had been reported that my company was using a UAV/UAS. Then went on for 3 pages explaining several rules and regulations. It was addressed specifically to my name but like I said, not a single word about violations. Now for the bigger news... I had a note left on my door from the USPS stating I missed delivery for a certified letter from the Department of Transportation. I can't pick it up until tomorrow so I'm really wondering what that is about. What would the DOT be sending me a certified letter that I have to sign for be about? I'm still amazed by all this for simply flying out in the open air in the mountains. I mean not a single person around, not flying over anyone or any houses or anything unsafe. Could this DOT letter be a fine? At this point I don't even want this stupid drone anymore. I went on YouTube and there are tons of videos posted of people flying in state parks, blue ridge parkway and other "illegal" places. They even have their face in the videos! But for some reason I'm being harassed here. If anyone has any insight, please let me know. I'll hopefully get this DOT letter in the morning.
 
Person may be legit but this is not the way to contact people on forums. If he is legit, he should express his concern on forum and you can correct the situation. No one is breaking the rules intentionally. We should definitely know the issues collectively. My two cents

I am not sure if you should pass your information to a stranger.


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I agree. Any notification by the FAA should be presented via official postal mail by the FAA. Just like being notified by the IRS for tax purposes. Otherwise, I'd ignore the post.


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This whole situation really sucks for you, sorry man.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience and giving updates, helps us be more protective how we distribute our content. This could have been any one of us.
 
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So guess what everybody... I received a letter from the FAA today. An actual letter in the mail. It did not state any violations whatsoever, but instead just said that it had been reported that my company was using a UAV/UAS. Then went on for 3 pages explaining several rules and regulations. It was addressed specifically to my name but like I said, not a single word about violations. Now for the bigger news... I had a note left on my door from the USPS stating I missed delivery for a certified letter from the Department of Transportation. I can't pick it up until tomorrow so I'm really wondering what that is about. What would the DOT be sending me a certified letter that I have to sign for be about? I'm still amazed by all this for simply flying out in the open air in the mountains. I mean not a single person around, not flying over anyone or any houses or anything unsafe. Could this DOT letter be a fine? At this point I don't even want this stupid drone anymore. I went on YouTube and there are tons of videos posted of people flying in state parks, blue ridge parkway and other "illegal" places. They even have their face in the videos! But for some reason I'm being harassed here. If anyone has any insight, please let me know. I'll hopefully get this DOT letter in the morning.
I am curious as much as you are of that certified letter.

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