Experiences dealing with complaints?

[massey98]

Hi all, I'm a newbie here so I apologise if there's already a thread somewhere discussing this, (I looked but couldn't find anything!)

Having had my Phantom V+ for a week or so now I thought it was time to venture out of my garden and start shooting some more interesting shots. So I ventured to a field a short walk from my house (I live in the countryside) the field is publicly owned and is surrounded by crop fields however there is one small privately owned plot with some animals and sheds etc so I made a point of not flying over it, not wanting to annoy anyone given the current bad press drones are receiving here in the UK.

So my flight comes to and end and I'm packing up when a man appears (the landowner of the private plot) who insists that I've been flying over his land, says I'm lucky he didn't shoot my phantom down with his shotgun and demands to see what footage I have.

I insisted I hadn't been over his property and showed him everything I had taken, proving me right. At which point he realises I haven't done anything wrong but warns me not to fly anywhere near his land again and leaves.

To be honest I'm a little shaken by the experience, despite knowing I was not in the wrong. The thought of losing my Phantom to some trigger happy gun owner while completely within the law makes me feel a little sick

It'd be interesting to hear other experiences like mine and how you deal with people like this?
.

 

[ccase39]

First off unless you fly low and slow (less than 50 feet) over people's property the likelyhood of being shot down is very unlikely. A well placed heavy load of buckshot from a shotgun may do the trick but someone would have to be a pretty **** good shot to hit your moving bird at that altitude with a single projectile firearm.

Secondly, when people come up to me and act uneasy I take the bird up and show them exactly how it works. I let them see FPV and they quickly see there is not much to be uneasy about. Most of the time when I do this they leave excitedly saying they HAVE to get one.

 

[Mcook929]

It's good to know it isn't just the gun happy Americans that want to shoot these down.

It's really too bad some folks get so upset about something that didn't even happen like this guy thinking you were over his property. Even when you proved to him that you were not he still has an attitude about it. Not sure about UK laws but had he shot it down over an area that was public land he would be responsible for any damages and face possible criminal charges for discharging a firearm in a reckless manner.

I think you handled it the right way and acted in a responsible manner. I think all of us here appreciate that.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm American and never visited the UK, so I can't give you totally accurate advice on how to handle a situation like this in merry old England.

Here in the U.S., we drone flyers have similar experiences with irate property owners coming at us like rabid pit bulls when they think our machines have somehow violated their privacy. I only give about 5 seconds to these type of idiots to either change their demeanor to a more friendly tone so we can have a civil discussion about what may or may not have happened, or else I pull out my Glock 9mm pistol and put on my "stone cold killer" face and ask if they wanna dance? This usually shuts 'em up real quick, although a few brash a-holes seem to wanna entertain the idea of falling into an early grave over a trivial drone flight. I leave it up to them to decide their fate, but all I know is that NOBODY is infringing on my Constitutional right to fly my machine over any property I want except an airport runway or a secret military base. Also, no private citizen has ANY right to demand to see what kind of video footage you captured with your UAV. Only a police officer with a proper search warrant has that right here in the USA.

It probably would also be a good idea to wear a head-mounted GoPro to record these types of encounters for legal proceedings. Here in the U.S., anyone who approaches you with a gun in their hands and threatening you over supposed privacy infringement is going to be in a lot of trouble with the law, and recorded video will be a nice way to make sure they spend a few months in the pokey to rethink the way they deal with other law-abiding humans like yourself. Contrary to what a lot of disillusioned Tea Party members may think, no landowner in the U.S. has the right to approach a trespasser with a loaded firearm while talking or acting in a hostile manner.

 

[jahjahwarrior]

I'm sorry to see gun owners like Danny who are so willing to pull out a gun without being in valid fear for their lives as required by most state laws (ie in most states Danny is committing a crime)

You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar, I'm always glad to show people a picture even if I don't have to. And my gun stays where it belongs, which is almost always a pocket and not in my hands.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to see gun owners like Danny who are so willing to pull out a gun without being in valid fear for their lives as required by most state laws (ie in most states Danny is committing a crime)

Please point me to an actual written statute that says its illegal to defend oneself with a firearm against an armed assailant? Methinks you got your law degree from a box of Cheerios?

Like I said, I always give the other party a choice when approaching me about an alleged "privacy violation". We can either be civil and friendly, or vicious attack dogs hell-bent on bloodshed. I can handle either situation. I'm a drone flyer who packs heavy artillery. Loud-mouth landowners need to have a healthy respect for nice folks like me.

 

[jahjahwarrior]

You claimed to take out your gun with any angry person, and did not stipulate they were armed.

No need to be vicious enemies hellbent on bloodshed, you can be enemies without bloodshed,
Always a better day when both walk away with all of their blood inside of them, even if they hate each other. High road, my friend. High road and a high capacity magazine, that is. Maybe more than one you can fit 4 .45 magazines in one battery slot in your case!

 

[Andrey320]

Some people and situations are just not worth your time and effort....

With that in mind, don't be afraid to apologize and leave (even though you may not be wrong). I know I'll get some heat for this but we all have a limited amount of time and energy in our lives. Do you want to spend it on negative things that in the end are not worth the time and effort?

 

[wattage]

...says I'm lucky he didn't shoot my phantom down with his shotgun and demands to see what footage I have.

If you were more than 50 metres from structures and people outwith your control, you were doing nothing wrong in the eyes of the CAA. You also weren't obliged to show him any footage. His threat to misuse a firearm in a country which has incredibly strict laws on the use of these things is grounds to make this a police matter already. After packing the Phantom away and leaving, if I'd been you, my next visit would've been to the nearest police station to let them know of this unpleasant encounter.

 

[massey98]

Wattage, I know I could contact the police and he is technically in the wrong but it seems a little excessive to me. If he had taken a shot at my phantom I think it would be a very different matter. For the moment I think I'm just going to find somewhere else to fly, there's plenty of places around!

 

[massey98]

And unfortunately I couldn't really offer to show him how everything worked because I'd emptied both batteries to 20% though I'm not sure he would have been interested, he seemed to have an understanding of what it could do and was very concerneced about me filming his land.
He did say he wanted me to delete any footage I had but once I proved I hadn't got any that argument fell flat.

 

[Jacob]

I would just offer to delete the video if it was just for personal use.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum massey98
Hate to hear of your issue with that fellow !
Have never had any flying where I'm at but if I did I would just try and stay clear of that place or get to know him if I could and then all might be good for you there .
Good luck to ya

 

[Ezookiel]

So far I've never had a single bad incident. Nearly every flight I've had someone approach and as they come up, say, "I'm not going to disturb you, I just wanted to have a look" and at that I normally bring it in close, show them the FPV screen, give a quick run down on how easy the controls are, and generally just have a great old chat with them.
A few things in my favour - first impressions count, and I almost always do my flying after work, so I'm usually dressed just short of suit and tie, which funnily enough seems to give people an immediate feeling that this ISN'T some dodgy guy up to no good. Not saying you should all suit up to go fly, but whether it's right or not, it's an incredibly biased world out there, and you DO get a different attitude from people based on your clothes. Ever seen "Pretty Woman"?
A really open friendly manner helps immensely too. I've also only flown in large open public areas where people know I'm not peering into their backyards.

Funnily, the only time I did skim close to backyards on the outskirts of one public area, a person from those houses came out to talk to me about my quad, because he was building his own, and was interested to see what make model brand etc mine was, and we exchanged details to go fly together when his is built.

 

[Larry L]

Sorry for having to deal with Bozo. Some people are just wired that way. There is not much he could do as long as you were flying legally. I would recommend either finding another place to fly if you do not want to deal with him ever again but that is not me. I would continue to fly there & if any other run in, I would land, contact the authorities to have them come out & give them a heads up as to the confrontations you are having with him. They can let him know if he continues, they will have grounds for filing harassment charges. Hopefully that will diffuse the situation. Good luck & hopefully you will not have any more run ins with bozo the clown!

 

[Happyflyer]

Interesting thread.
I must state I am a little confused. :? I thought you could not own firearms in the UK and the only ones that have them are the criminals. Something the insane gun grabbers want here in the USA.

 

[wattage]

I thought you could not own firearms in the UK and the only ones that have them are the criminals. Something the insane gun grabbers want here in the USA.

Farmers can still obtain a shotgun licence for pest control on their land. If police received a report of one of these types misusing this privelage, I reckon that shotgun license would be suspended by the end of the day.

 

[dirkclod]

I thought you could not own firearms in the UK and the only ones that have them are the criminals. Something the insane gun grabbers want here in the USA.

Farmers can still obtain a shotgun licence for pest control on their land. If police received a report of one of these types misusing this privelage, I reckon that shotgun license would be suspended by the end of the day.

I reckon

We must be rubbing off on ya as ya starting to talk normal

 

[Happyflyer]

Thanks wattage for the gun info. I am no longer > :?

 

[tcope]

When flying I think I'm more worried about bothering other people then most fliers are. But I just started flying a month ago. I think in that situation I'd take a moment to explain the situation with the anticipation that we'd better understand each other and part as friends. However, if the person just wanted to be a **** about it, I'd explain drones could be flown over the property without permission and I could take all the photos and video I wanted. I'd think n point out that I'd still like to respect his requests. If he threatened to shoot the drone I'd probably ask him to confirm that he was going to use a gun to damage my property and offer to call the police to investigate that threat.

If some one is going to threaten property damage with a gun then discussion and a meeting of the minds is a lost cause.

I'd not loose any sleep over the interaction. Some people just don't know how to play well with others.